There is little doubt that it is wiser to buy fabrics online. These days, you can buy virtually anything and everything online.
However, when you know your different options while buying fabric online, you can make an intelligent move that suits you. Moreover, various choices of choosing, selecting, and buying online during the pandemic have surged.
Fabrics typically have been an excellent choice for clothing, upholstery, decoration, and so on. The global fashion industry, for example, runs on choices of clothes and innovative ways to create stylish products out of those.
How good is the idea of buying fabric online?
We will explore different types of fabrics and where to get them later, but let’s do the first things first and find out why it is wiser to buy materials online.
Historically people have bought fabrics by visiting the shops nearby or in a marketplace. That helped people to see the fabrics and compare and feel them with their hands.
Is it a bad option to visit stores and buy your favourite design?
Of course not. A typical store is a great place to shop, no doubt that! In our view, the charm and nostalgia of old buying habits will never disappear!
The store owner, maybe, is your friend and can guide you to make a wise purchase or offer you a great deal you would love to have.
However, some of the big blockers you face while visiting regular stores may not realise. Let’s look at those:
- How many fabric items can you see and touch in a routine visit? 10? 20? Or maybe 30. You cannot see 100 products in a visit, can you?
- Moreover, when you request the salesperson to show you the products just for checking and not buying, you know they don’t feel significantly energised! They tend to spend more time with more prospecting buyers than those who are just browsing.
- You need to spend time and energy commuting to a store, even if that is in your neighbourhood. You cannot visit a store effortlessly.
- You can visit only a very few stores in a day. And when you do that once, you cannot do that daily.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is safer to stay at home.
- Last but not least, if you return, you will have to revisit the place.
Here comes the smartness part of the story. You can explore many choices when you turn on your mobile or laptop and visit a fabric shop online.
According to a website, 71% of shoppers believe they can find a better deal online than in a regular shop.
On the other hand, if you focus on online shopping, there are several advantages because of why people choose that shopping option. Such as,
- Unlimited styles and colours to choose from when you buy fabrics online. That can give you 1000 times more options by virtually visiting all the shops across the country or outside. Not only are you more likely to find your desired fabric, but you will also find some new styles you didn’t think of!
- It is easier to search online. Your searches are boosted by search engines rather than your car engine. You can search by describing the fabric you need, using your voice (just like you do when you visit an average store), or even using an image of a design.
- A cheeky thought is that you can shop online all hours of the day! This may sound funny, but it is very true.
- Your comfort matters more than anything else. You can shop from the comfort of your home and without moving much.
- You don’t need to carry your fabrics after shopping; your online shop will deliver them to your home free of cost.
- Finally, there is a price factor. If you buy fabrics online, you will get high-quality fabrics at an immensely cheaper price. If you don’t believe that, do check out some of the online fabric prices.
Is it safe to buy fabric online?
Wish the answer could be a blunt “yes” for all stores. But, the truth is, it is safe for those websites that are SSL certified and use secured payment options like PayPal or Razorpay or other secured online payment gateways. These safe sites will have a tiny lock symbol at the beginning, indicating that the site is safe.
Make sure there is an SSL certificate on the checkout page, and your payment gets processed via a secured payment gateway.
What are the different types of fabrics you can buy online?
Here is a detailed guide to help you make your purchase decision.
Pure cotton fabrics
Fabrics made of pure cotton are the classics. The most beautiful aspect of cotton-made clothes and running materials is that there can be various artistic prints designed on them that make them a great fashion choice.
Cotton-made clothes have tiny microscopic pores which keep you cool during the hot summer and store your body heat during winter. Also, the texture of the surface is very soft, which makes your skin feel the best comfort among all the other options available.
There are plenty of options to buy online. Still, you can buy printed cotton fabric online at a bargain price only in a few online stores, which handpick quality materials across the country and make them available for people to choose from.
The evergreen use of pure and printed cotton fabrics is for Indian Kurti, tops, shirts, skirts, and many more.
Silks
The queens and kings were famous for their silky luxury wardrobes. Silks are, however, solid natural fabric that makes a durable outfit. That means silks are primarily for luxury dressing! It is sometimes difficult to wear a silk-made garment for a long time.
You can buy silks from several online stores, including Amazon.
Silk is of great use in making Saree, a traditional and widely popular Indian dress.
Apart from Saree, kurta, dupatta, sherwani, and many other Indian dresses made of silk.
Chiffon
Chiffon is a synthetic fabric made of silk, nylon, or polyester. It is a low-cost but viral material for dresses, shoulder wraps, loose dresses, and so on.
In general, chiffon is a very lightweight fabric, and its smooth texture makes the dresses look elegant. However, unlike pure cotton, chiffon is semi-transparent. That makes chiffon a choice for particular uses, as wearing chiffon all the time can be difficult in hot countries.
There are plenty of options to buy chiffon online, such as Amazon, and you can peacefully buy it from them. You will find a lot of chiffon with various colours and designs that will give you plenty of dressing choices!
Satin
Satin is a particular type of natural fabric that is glossy on one side and dull on the other.
Satin is also very lightweight as compared to the other varieties of fabrics.
Originally, Satin was made of only silk; however, these days, it is also made of nylon and polyester, making it more affordable.
Because of its typical texture, Satin is extensively used for lingerie, evening, and nightgowns. Fashion designers make many luxury and memorable dresses with Satin.
You can buy satin fabrics from many online stores, such as Amazon, Indiamart, and others stores. Though, we feel that the options are limited in India, with a few specialist online sites in India, such as Fabriclore.com.
Velvet
One more unique type of fabric that catches royal attention is velvet. Velvet is super soft, and it has a furry feeling when touched by hand.
Velvet, these days are made of a combination of silk and rayon. This makes velvet more affordable, though the quality is below that of pure silk.
However, because of its unique nature, only extraordinary dresses and accessories, such as bags, are made of velvet.
You can buy velvet online. Needless to say, Amazon would be a great place to purchase velvet online.
Other variants of cotton fabrics
Crepe: Crepe is a particular type of woven fabric with a rough surface and wrinkles. It is the texture of the surface of the fabric that gives it its name.
Though it is made of cotton, this deserves a special mention in the world of fashion because of its unique textures. Crepe is used in women’s blouses, pants, scarves, and many other dresses.
Linen: Linen is another variety of fabric that feels like pure cotton. However, linen is made of fibres of flax plants.
Linen is softer than cotton fabrics and absorbs water much faster. Because of this property, linen is an excellent choice as a dress material during summer. In our view, linen is slightly difficult to maintain, and without enough care, linen is likely to lose its charm.
As usual, you can buy crepe and linen online in various online stores, including Amazon.
Synthetic
Though most fabrics are sourced from nature, synthetic fabrics are manmade.
It is called “Polyester”. Various companies make polyester fibres from petrochemical compounds.
These synthetic materials are generally solid and are hard to be torn with bare hands. These are also wrinkle-free.
However, polyester is not breathable and doesn’t absorb water and other liquids well. Hence, many sweatshirts, sports trousers, and other sportswear are made from them.
You can buy synthetic polyester fabrics online from Amazon and other stores. We did not find many online options for this, but it is worth a try if you are looking for sportswear and sweatshirts.
Conclusion
Fabric is the most fundamental block of fashion across the world. India is at the centre of fabric production and export. Indian fabric producers and marketers have now taken “Online” as one of the primary channels to market their products. This is fully supported by the online stores and eCommerce platforms thriving in India. Explore and use these opportunities to make a more informed but much faster buying decision!
As you have come along this far in this article, you perhaps have followed one message:, despite so many varieties of clothing materials in this world, almost all of them can be bought online without much of a long search. Hence, I wish you a wonderful online experience choosing your desired fabric.
I dont think so
You may disagree, but this is what we observe.