Silk, Velvet, Velveteen, Coupe de Ville, Peachskin, and other Fabrics
Choir robes come in your choice of three primary fabrics: Seville, Silkstone, and Tissue Faille. Each of these fabric types are available in a variety of colors, listed below.
Graduation robes come in your choice of four primary fabrics: Seville, Islander, Verona, and Keeper®.
Judicial Gowns come in your choice of six principal fabrics: Seville, Islander, Tissue Faille, Coupe de Ville, Peachskin, and Silk.
We also have four additional fabric types: Starlight Satin, Coventry, Velvet, and Velveteen. Starlight Satin is used for Choir Stoles. Coventry is a heavier fabric used for some Choir Robes. Velvet and Velveteen are a lush fabric used for our tams and as an accent to certain specialize gowns like doctoral robes. Of course, we also have a variety of trim and tassel fabrics to highlight various aspects of our gowns.
Seville
A 100% VISA®* polyester gabardine fabric, this American made fabric is high quality, built to release stains, and has excellent life and draping qualities. It is also wrinkle resistant and washable. VISA®* fabrics like Seville offer lasting cleanability and absorbency, color retention that lasts four times longer than cotton or blends, minimal shrinkage over the life of the products, and includes a soft, natural feeling and a graceful drape. And Seville generally will not cause lint, or suffer fiber loss!
*VISA® is a Registered Trademark of Milliken & Company.
Silkstone
Silkstone is one of our coolest fabrics, yet it is very strong. This high quality fabric features a brushed finish, and is made from a 100% micro polyester fabric. It will wash well, will not wrinkle, and is opaque to dark clothing. Silkstone has an excellent draping quality and will give you many years of beautiful comfortable wear.
Tissue Faille
Made from 100% micro fiber polyester, Tissue Faille (pronounced "file") is a lightweight fabric with a silky feel and a slight sheen. It has an excellent draping quality. Though lightweight, it is an extremely strong fabric.
Starlight Washable Satin, and Acetate Satins
Starlight washable satin is machine washable, and color fast. These satins will not fade over time. On the other hand, acetate satins must be dry cleaned. Acetates are also not color fast, and are priced as "Imperial Satin" instead of Polyester.
Coventry
This is an American made fabric. It is the highest quality we offer as far as durability. Coventry is wrinkle resistant and completely washable with "stain release" qualities. Coventry is a much heavier fabric than Seville, and we generally recommend Seville, Tissue Faille, or Silkstone instead for most choir robe purchases due to this fact.
Islander
A luxurious fabric in 100% two-way texturized polyester crepe weave. Islander has a very good wrinkle resistance, drapes well, is machine washable and needs little ironing. Islander is a heavier fabric than seville, and we therefore recommend the use of Seville, Silkstone, or Tissue Faille instead of Islander for Choir Robes, and Seville for most Academic Regalia gowns, unless you live in a colder climate where a heavier fabric like Islander will be an advantage.
Verona
The Verona fabric is a relatively new fabric to Academic's line of college graduation robes. It includes a matte finish and lower sheen. Verona fabric features a stronger weave than our Keeper® fabric for more durability, and holds up fairly well in a washing machine.
Keeper
Our Keeper®* polyester fabric offers a shiny finish, and is primarily used for our high school graduation robes, middle school gowns, and elementary school robes. It is a strong fabric which tends to resist stretching, chemical stains, and abrasion. It is crisp and resilient, retains heat-set creases, and can be washed in ordinary washers and dryers (though we do not recommend long-term use of our Keeper line of graduation robes, as they are built as single use or brief-use gowns) .
* Keeper® is a trademark of Academic Church and Choir Gown Mfg. Co., Inc.
Velvet
Velvet is a pile fabric made by cutting the warp (lengthwise) yarns. Velvet is a luxurious fabric used primarily for Academic Regalia tams and gown panels for Doctorate robes, Judicial gowns, and Pulpit robes.
Velveteen
Velveteen, a close cousin to velvet and sometimes mistaken for velvet, is also a pile fabric but the pile is formed from the fill yarns (crosswise). It is generally used for Verona tams, and Verona Doctoral robes.
Coupe de Ville
A Light weight 100% polyester fabric. This fabric is generally reserved for use in Judicial gowns only, and is usually only available in black color.
Peachskin
A brushed finish of 100% micro polyester. It is strong, cool, wrinkle-resistant, and drapes well. This fabric is generally reserved for use in Judicial gowns only, though it is available in a variety of colors.
Need to contact us? You can call us toll free at (800) 626-5000 in the US, or locally (or internationally with the appropriate country code) at (818) 886-8697. We cannot accept orders on the phone. You can fax us your order at (818) 886-8743, or mail your orders to 20644 Superior St., Chatsworth, CA 91311, USA. In-person visits can also be arranged by appointment. You can email questions to us at the link listed on the menu to the left.
We have many different pages of information on putting together a choir robe order. Please explore the topics to the left for details.
