Grana Silk V-Neck Tank Review (Grana silk is now better than/equal to Everlane)

Ok if you're a Grana fan then this is the review you need to read!  When I first tried Grana's silk (Grana silk tank top review here and Grana silk camisole review here), I didn't like it.  The silk quality wasn't great (way worse than Everlane's and Cuyana's).  But thank goodness Grana decided to give it another try with their new line of Georgette satin silk.  So far they only have this V-neck camisole and the V-neck slip dress available in this new silk.  But man oh man it is 100 times better than their original crepe de chine silk they were using.  

Wearing a medium here

Small in Marzipan (the light here is terrible)

First of all, Georgette satin is just another way of spinning the silk threads that produces a silk that's lightweight but with a dull finish.  And at first the idea of silk with a dull finish might seem unappealing but Grana's georgette satin still has a subtle sheen and makes it the perfect silk item for everyday wear.  But let's get to the numbers here!  Grana's new silk thread comes in at hefty 25mm (for a refresher on momme weight plus more details about silk, read my first Everlane vs Equipment vs Cuyana silk comparison post here).  Grana's old silk items used  14mm thread.  Everlane uses 16mm silk threads (which feels about the same as Equipment shirt so let's say Equipment is also around 16mm) and Cuyana uses 25mm.  So now you're looking at silk that's similar to Cuyana's!  For A LOT less!  (This cami is $49 while Cuyana's cami is $135).  Now I wouldn't say Grana's silk is exactly like Cuyana's but it does feel pretty darn close.  Here are some other reasons why this Grana tank might be the best silk tank out there (for a decent price):

~ For the camisoles Grana use two layers of the georgette silk.  So this tank has a good weight to it and is not sheer at all.  Even the light silk is opaque (I ordered it in marzipan here).  Even though their old silk camisole used 2 layers of silk, you could still see every bump from a lacy bra or the lines of your invisible bra.  No such problems here.

~The cut of the v-neck camisole is super flattering and the back V is just deep enough to show skin without flashing your bra strap.

~ And I know I already said this, but the price!  For $4 more you can get this awesome georgette satin version instead of their old crepe de chine version.  You're gaining a lot with those extra $4.

First a note on sizing since I made the mistake of ordering the wrong size.  I usually wear a size 2-4 on top (In Everlane and Cuyana I'm a small), but in Grana pima tees I'm a medium.  So I ordered a M, but when it comes to the silk, order true to size from Grana.  So that means a small here fits me best.  

So the lesson here is don't buy the crepe de chine silk from Grana, make sure you only get the Georgette satin (double check under their "details & care" section.  If you're looking for a good price (but also excellent quality), then I can't recommend Grana's new silks enough.  (I'll also be reviewing their v-neck silk dress which I loved so much I wore it all day the first time I tried it on, and ordered a second one that same day).  If you want to purchase these awesome silk camisoles for yourself, use this referral link to get 10% off your first order (which makes these silk camis an even better deal!).  And you can read all my other Grana reviews here.

Grana Silk Review (and Grana vs. Everlane vs. Cuyana Silk Shirts)

Happy Monday guys!  And here's a review that some of you have requested: a review on Grana silk.  So for those of you who are unfamiliar with Grana as I was, Grana is a bit like Hong Kong's version of Everlane.  Their mission is to make quality clothing and sell it directly to consumers, thereby keeping prices reasonable.  Their basic model below:

When I first hopped onto their site, I immediately thought if Everlane and Uniqlo had a baby, it would be Grana.  It's the combination of Uniqlo's styling and Everlane's concept.  But Grana has a wide selection of items to choose from, whether it's denim from Japan, linen from Ireland, and cotton from Peru.  So I ordered a little bit of everything to try them all out, but today I'm starting with the silk since that was item that readers asked about most.

If you haven't read my first review of Everlane vs. Equipment vs. Cuyana silk then check it out becuase I go into the differences in types and quality of silk, and it'll probably help with some of the terminology coming up.

So here are three black silk items from Cuyana (top right), Everlane (top left), and Grana (bottom half).  The first picture is in indirect light and the second is in full sunlight.  

When laid in this way you can't really tell any differences.  But here are the same three but with my hand under one layer so you can somewhat see through the silk starting with Grana, then Everlane, and last Cuyana.

Grana

Everlane

Cuyana

Can you see that the Grana one is ever so slightly more see-through and a different texture than the Everlane one?  And the Cuyana one is a lot more opaque than both the Grana and Everlane silks.  So here is my impression of Grana's silk:

~ Grana feels like the lowest quality silk of all the shirts I've tried so far.  I think Everlane and Equipment are at about the same level of quality, but Grana is a step below.  Grana's silk feels the least silky, the least smooth and the least soft.  It also seemed the thinnest.

~ To find out about the momme weight of their silk, I emailed Grana and was told it was 16mm, which would put it exactly the same mm as Everlane's silk.  However the difference in feel between Everlane and Grana must mean there is a difference in the thread count (or something but I'm not sure what).

~ And to try to rule out some bias (since I know how much each of these shirts costs), I had my husband do a blind feel test.  And he knows nothing about silk but based on what he thought was the best feel, he rated Grana the lowest, Everlane next and then Cuyana as the best (he was completely on his own and I did not say anything to bias his opinions).

To incorporate findings from my last silk review which included Equipment, here's my current silk standings (not really to scale except to say that Everlane's and Equipment's silk were very similar):

As for the actual tank top I purchased from Grana, I ordered a size small.  As you can see both the arm holes and neckline are super oversized (so you better be sure you wear a cute bra underneath since it will most likely be peeking through).  If I were to order a silk top to keep I might even go with an XS on this.  (For reference I'm 5'4" and wear a small/size 4 on most tops).

So even though the silk was a slight disappointment, I'm not giving up hope on Grana yet.  I still have yet to try their other items.  In the meantime if you want to try out some of Grana's item for yourself (though at this point I would recommend spending the extra $$ and going with Everlane silk if you can), here's a referral link to get you 10% off your first order (and full disclosure, I get $20 if you order from that link which of course I'll use to review more of their items).  

P.S. By the way, their silk just happened to be the first product I reviewed and one out of two things I didn't love.  I also ordered their pima cotton shirt, their Japanese denim and their Irish linen and loved them all.  Those reviews coming soon.  So don't write-off Grana just yet!

{August 2016 edit: I have since reviewed Grana's newest silk offering, their V-neck tank and slip dress, and those are waaaay better than the silk top reviewed here.  Grana's georgette satin is as good as Everlane silk at about half the price.  Read the full review on Grana's V-neck tank top here.}

{December 2016 edit: here is a comprehensive list of all my Grana Reviews.  Grana is quickly becoming one of my go-to brands for well-made basics!}