A lightweight, often sheer fabric with a crinkled surface and a springy drape.
Georgette is a crêpe. The Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus describes crêpe georgette as a semi-transparent fabric of silk or artificial fiber, plain-woven with warp and weft yarns twisted alternately two to the right and two to the left, and files it under crêpe, cloth whose crinkled surface comes from hard-twisted yarn or other means.
The usual confusion is with chiffon, which the Getty also describes as sheer, lightweight and plain-woven, of fine, tightly twisted yarn, used for scarves, dresses, blouses, underwear and veils. The difference lies in the yarns: the Getty records alternating twists for georgette, which make it a crêpe, and files chiffon among fabrics classed by weaving technique. The V&A holds a 1972 Christian Dior London evening suit with a knife-pleated silk georgette skirt and bodice, a 1996 Calvin Klein blouse in satin-face georgette, and John Galliano trousers of 2001-02 in crêpe georgette.
In job listings
Georgette appears in the skills of those who sew it. One listing for a tailor of samples and small production runs asks for experience with silk, chiffon, duchesse, georgette and voile; a boutique alterations listing for eveningwear and bridal names chiffon among its delicate fabrics. See current roles that name these silks.
