Guide · 5 min read
খাঁটি সিল্ক, হাফসিল্ক, আর্ট সিল্ক: ট্যাগের নামগুলোর মানে
Pure silk, half-silk, art silk: the names on the label, explained
একই 'সিল্ক' শব্দে খাঁটি রেশম, রেশম-সুতির মিশ্রণ আর চকচকে পলিয়েস্টার — তিনটাই বিক্রি হয়। তিনটাই কিনতে পারেন, শুধু কোনটা কিনছেন জেনে। নামগুলো আলাদা করে দিলে দাম আর ব্যবহার দুটোই পরিষ্কার হয়ে যায়।
Pure silk· খাঁটি সিল্ক
Silk is the filament spun by the silkworm, reeled and woven. Pure silk feels warm and dry to the hand, has a soft lustre that shifts as the cloth moves, crushes gently in the fist and recovers slowly. It breathes, takes dye deeply and lasts for decades if it is kept dry. Rajshahi silk is the Bangladeshi silk; Katan is pure silk twisted tight and woven close; Banarasi brocade is usually woven on a Katan ground.
Half-silk· হাফসিল্ক
Half-silk is silk one way and cotton the other — most often a silk warp with a cotton weft. It has the sheen of silk with the ease of cotton, drapes with more body than either, and costs between the two. Tangail and Jamdani are both woven in half-silk, and for a wedding guest or a dinner it is often the better choice than pure silk: lighter, cooler, less anxious.
Art silk· আর্ট সিল্ক
"Art" is short for artificial. Art silk is polyester or viscose finished to look like silk: bright, cheap, wrinkle-shy, machine-washable — and airless in heat, with a mirror flash under light rather than a glow. It is an honest cloth at its own price and most of the "silk" sold online is this. The fault is only in the word alone on a tag with a silk price beside it.
Organza, georgette, chiffon· অর্গানজা, জর্জেট, শিফন
These are weaves, not fibres, and each can be silk or polyester. Organza is stiff and sheer and stands away from the body — an evening saree. Georgette is crinkled and matte, chiffon is smooth and floating; both are light, drape close, need a fall and a matching petticoat, and are often polyester at everyday prices. Ask which fibre it is; the name of the weave does not say.
Telling them apart· আলাদা করার উপায়
Touch, light and weight will sort most of it in a shop: silk warm and dry, polyester cool and slippery; silk glows, polyester flashes; silk of the same size hangs heavier. The burn test on a loose thread from the edge — silk smells of burnt hair and leaves a crushable ash, polyester melts to a bead — is the sure one, and a shop that will not let you take a thread has told you the answer. Then ask, and have the fibre written on the bill.
প্রশ্ন · Questions
হাফসিল্ক কি খাঁটি সিল্কের চেয়ে খারাপ? · Is half-silk worse than pure silk?
Different, not worse. It is lighter, cooler and easier to keep, with a gentler sheen. For daily and small-occasion wear it is often the better saree; pure silk is for the evening and the wedding.
আর্ট সিল্ক কি কিনব না? · Should I avoid art silk?
Buy it knowingly, at its own price, for occasions where it will be worn once or twice under lamps. Do not pay a silk price for it, and do not expect it to breathe in June.
রাজশাহী সিল্ক কী? · What is Rajshahi silk?
Silk reeled and woven in Rajshahi, the centre of Bangladesh's own silk industry — a soft, matte-lustre pure silk used for plain and printed sarees and for panjabis.
See the real thing · হাতে নিয়ে দেখুন
Every piece described here is on the shelf at Sha Ali Plaza, Mirpur 10, and on this site at the same price with cash on delivery anywhere in Bangladesh.
More guides · আরও
Written by RAFI SHAREES, Mirpur 10, Dhaka. Published 2026-09-27.