Crimplene is a thick yarn

Yarn

Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...

 used to make a fabric

Fabric

A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...

 of the same name. The resulting cloth is heavy, wrinkle-resistant and retains its shape well. Britain's defunct ICI Fibres laboratory developed the fibre in the early 1950s and it is commonly thought it was named after the Crimple Valley

Crimple Valley

Crimple Valley is an area south of Harrogate surrounding the River Crimple . It gave its name to the synthetic yarn Crimplene, which was developed at the nearby ICI Laboratory....

 in which the company was situated. It is, however, a combination of the words crimped and Terylene. Crimped Terylene, or Crimplene

Crimplene

Crimplene is a thick yarn used to make a fabric of the same name. The resulting cloth is heavy, wrinkle-resistant and retains its shape well. Britain's defunct ICI Fibres laboratory developed the fibre in the early 1950s and it is commonly thought it was named after the Crimple Valley in which the...

 was used in garments that required a permanently pressed look, such as skirts and trousers.

History

The fabric enjoyed popularity upon introduction in the 1950s in response to its convenient 'wash-and-wear' properties. Crimplene was often used to make the typical A-line dress of 1960s Fashion

1960s in fashion

The 1960s featured a number of diverse trends. It was a decade that broke many fashion traditions, mirroring social movements during the period. In the middle of the decade, culottes, box-shaped PVC dresses and go-go boots were popular...

. Likewise, it was popular amongst men in British Mod Culture for use in garish button-down shirts

Dress shirt

A shirt, or dress shirt in American English, is a garment with a collar, a full-length opening at the front from the collar to the hem, and sleeves with cuffs. Shirts are predominantly used by men, since women usually wear blouses...

.

In the early 1970s, Crimplene began to fall out of fashion. Other, lighter-weight polyester fabrics like Trevira replaced Crimplene for their ease of movement and ventilation. Crimplene is seldom used today as fashion-preferences have drifted towards more "natural" cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

s.