Radium Silk
Radium silk was a commonly used name for a type of lightweight, lustrous silk primarily used in women's clothing and undergarments from the middle of the first decade of the 1900s until the term went out of vogue in the 1920s. Although the name references radium, a radioactive element first discovered in 1898, the substance is not contained in the fabric. As the deleterious effects of radium on the human body became better known in the middle-1920s, the use of the word as an adjective gained a negative connotation and fell out of favor among advertisers and consumers alike. History Origin The descriptive term "radium silk" began to be used no later than 1903.Lynne K. Ranieri"Lustrous or Glossy Fabrics: Radium Silk,"Vintage Fashion Guild, vintagefashionguild.org/ April 16, 2021. The term apparently originated in the fashion markets of Paris in association with particularly lustrous fabrics, with reference made to the newly discovered element radium, first identified in 1898. The ...
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