Brands

The Rayon Craze

Published on July 20, 2011

In recent years the demand for rayon blended vintage tees has been a bi-product of the surge of vintage tee popularity in Thailand and Malaysia. A t-shirt with a tag that features a rayon blend can make even the most run-of-the-mill design much more desirable (and valuable.) Heads up to all you sellers and pickers out there – shirts you typically passed over during the pick can be well worth grabbing given these tags can trump a lame design. Many sellers on top of their game are now including “rayon” in the title of their listing if tee in question features the fiber. Furthermore, this trend has increased the price of already sought after prints that just to happen to be on a t-shirt with rayon.

What’s the big deal with rayon fabric blends? And why does the trend seem indigenous to these two countries? Well, it actually has a lot to do with the climate in this region of the world. Thailand and Malaysia both share a tropical climate characterized by heat and humidity. Contrary to popular belief, rayon isn’t an artificial fiber like polyester. However, it also doesn’t occur naturally like cotton. It’s classified as “manufactured” yet still a by-product of something natural unlike polyester. Rayon is ideal for hot and humid climates because it has the same absorptive and breathable qualities of cotton and it doesn’t insulate body heat like polyester. So a t-shirt that features a blend as such: 44% Poly, 43% Cotton and 13% Rayon (Wolf) makes it superior to a 50/50 poly/cotton blend in terms of comfortable wear in a tropical climate. Since the rayon has cotton like properties the t-shirt mimics the feel of a 44/56 poly/cotton blend – small percentages that are appreciated on a hot day.

Rayon tees with a more common blend of 50% poly, 35% cotton and 15% rayon are actually more durable than standard tees. Since they have a higher percentage of stronger fibers they can better withstand the test of time from wear and your washing machine. As the cotton deteriorates the other two fibers hold strong creating a micro ventilated shirt due to the lack of cotton fibers in the fabric weave. The optimal paper thin worn tees are those comprised partially of rayon because you’re still left with a fiber that has natural qualities when the cotton has called it quits.

And weather conditions aside, rayon just plain enhances the life of your vintage t-shirt. So seek ’em out and wear ’em more often.

Brands that are known to have a line of rayon blends:

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Jimmy J

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10 Comments

Mustaqim Sapie

July 21, 2011 at 8:31 am

like your article a lot!
skippy haha

July 21, 2011 at 3:38 pm

this is so funny – i just had a huge order of 9 heathered shirts go to malaysia last week, i was wondering what the deal was, now i know it’s the rayon! thanks, defunkd 🙂
hattrick

July 21, 2011 at 4:22 pm

i’ve been selling rayon shirts for about 3 years now and don’t just go buy items that have rayon in them…it must have all three blends ploy/cotto/rayon….also they just don’t buy anything print that has those 3 blends…they like tourist shirts ie hawaii, california, caricature ie mickey, popeye, nike, adidas and harley will bring you the most $$$$$…outside the camel joe shirt…the shirts above are way over price for the malaysia and thailand market
Stussy Syafeque

July 25, 2011 at 3:32 pm

i like u too mustaqim sapie. haha
Mohd_3012

October 2, 2011 at 11:55 pm

thanks for the info..here i would like to know how to spot a fake sneakers tag rayon shirt?
Tq..
Anonymous

October 3, 2011 at 12:02 am

I haven’t seen a fake Sneakers tag yet…but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Mohd_3012

October 3, 2011 at 12:58 am

oh..so the tag shown above is original one? what is the different between FORTREL@PLYSTER and kodel@ polyster..can they be determined either as fake or oroginal or they both are original one..pls advise..
Anonymous

October 3, 2011 at 1:16 am

Yes, it’s real – I used the photo to showcase its rayon content.

Polyester is a synthetic fiber – it’s manufactured – not naturally occurring like cotton. When it was first introduced it was pitched as a miracle fiber because it was wrinkle resistant, super strong, dried quickly – even fire resistant to some degree.

So when it became popular companies began trademarking their own formulas for making it – Fortrel and Kodel are just brand names for different polyester fibers used in the fabric blend.
Mohd_3012

October 3, 2011 at 4:49 am

orritee defunk..TQ so much for the info..:)
Busydiscoboy

February 16, 2012 at 4:28 pm

dat rite..femes in mlysia..hak3