---
title: "Taffeta"
description: "Taffeta is a crisp, smooth plain-woven fabric, traditionally silk, that rustles and holds its shape."
type: Glossary
url: https://teazle.art/glossary/taffeta
published: 2026-10-14
updated: 2026-10-14
author: "The Teazle editors"
---

# Taffeta

*Taffeta is a crisp, smooth plain-woven fabric, traditionally silk, that rustles and holds its shape.*

Taffeta is a tightly woven [plain weave](https://teazle.art/glossary/plain-weave.md), classically of silk, with a slightly ribbed, crisp hand. It stands away from the body, which makes it a favourite for full skirts, ball gowns and petticoats, and it rustles as it moves.

## What kinds are there?

Shot taffeta uses a warp of one colour and a weft of another, so the cloth changes colour as it moves. Watered taffeta has been pressed to give a [moiré](https://teazle.art/glossary/moire.md) pattern. Modern taffetas are often polyester or acetate.


## Sources

1. [Taffeta (AAT 300249434)](http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300249434). Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus
2. [Taffeta (Q909391)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q909391). Wikidata

Canonical: https://teazle.art/glossary/taffeta