plant
Muslin
Gossypium
Origin
Muslin is a fine plain-weave cotton cloth originally woven from the cotton plant in and around Dhaka in Bengal, prized for its near-transparent delicacy. The cotton fibre itself surrounds the seeds of the plant, grown across India, Egypt, and the Americas.
The smell
Soft, dry, and faintly powdery, the clean papery scent of fine cotton cloth warmed by skin. There is a starchy innocence to it, a hint of sun-dried laundry and pressed linen. It smells of nothing much and yet of comfort itself, the breath of fresh fabric against the body.
Key quality
The soft, clean, powdery scent of fine cotton against warm skin.
Historical use
Dhaka muslin was among the most coveted textiles of the eighteenth century, so fine it was poetically called woven air, and beloved of European courts. Its lightweight drape defined the high-waisted Regency gown, replacing the heavy brocades of earlier fashion, until the British colonial collapse of the Bengal weaving industry erased the craft.
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