What is Princess Polly made of?

Princess Polly is the Australian brand that's quietly become one of the biggest names in Gen Z fashion — particularly in the US, where it's carved out a niche between ultra-cheap fast fashion and mid-range brands. Founded on the Gold Coast in 2010, it's built a following through TikTok, influencer partnerships, and an aesthetic that blends Australian beachy ease with going-out energy. But what's actually in the clothes?

We looked at Princess Polly's fabric compositions across categories. The picture is mixed — literally. Some categories are better than you'd expect, others are standard fast-fashion synthetic.

A Mixed Fabric Profile

Princess Polly sits in the middle ground for fabric composition — roughly 55-70% of their catalogue is primarily synthetic, with the remainder using natural or semi-synthetic fibres as the primary component. That's noticeably better than Boohoo Group brands (70-85% synthetic) but still well short of brands like Sézane that default to natural fibres.

Polyester is still the most-used fabric overall. It appears across going-out dresses, tops, sets, and many trend-driven pieces. Princess Polly's price point — mid-range, typically thirty to eighty dollars per piece — could support better materials more consistently, but polyester remains the go-to for anything designed to look Instagram-ready.

Cotton plays a real role. Unlike ultra-fast fashion brands where cotton is an afterthought, Princess Polly uses cotton meaningfully in basics, casual dresses, denim, and summer pieces. Their cotton is generally decent quality — not the tissue-thin cotton of budget brands. Some pieces use organic cotton, though this isn't the majority.

Linen is a seasonal strength. Princess Polly's Australian heritage shows in their warm-weather collections, where linen and linen-blend pieces feature more prominently than at most competitors in their price range. Linen shirts, trousers, shorts, and dresses appear regularly in spring and summer drops. This is genuine linen, not linen-look polyester, and it's one of the brand's better fabric stories.

Rayon and viscose are significant. These semi-synthetic fibres — derived from wood pulp but chemically processed — appear frequently in Princess Polly's range, particularly in printed dresses, skirts, and flowy tops. They drape well and breathe better than polyester, which is why they're popular for the brand's holiday and festival aesthetic. However, conventional rayon production is environmentally intensive, and Princess Polly doesn't consistently specify whether their rayon is sustainably sourced.

Category Breakdown

Here's what the labels say across Princess Polly's main categories:

• Dresses — Genuinely varied. Mini dresses and going-out styles lean polyester or polyester-elastane. Summer and casual dresses often use rayon, viscose, or cotton. Linen dresses appear in warm-weather collections. This is a category where checking individual items pays off — two dresses at the same price point might have completely different compositions.
• Tops — A split. Casual tees and tank tops are frequently cotton or cotton-blend. Crop tops, going-out tops, and mesh styles are predominantly polyester or nylon. Knit tops vary between cotton and acrylic. The rule of thumb: the more casual the piece, the more likely it's cotton.
• Sets & Co-ords — Mostly synthetic. Matching sets — a Princess Polly signature — tend to be polyester, particularly when they involve prints or structured fabrics. Linen sets are the exception, appearing in summer collections. If it's a printed co-ord, expect polyester.
• Denim — Cotton-led, as expected. Princess Polly's denim is typically 95-100% cotton with elastane for stretch, comparable to other brands in the price range. Denim shorts, jeans, and jackets are consistently the safest category for natural fibres.
• Knitwear — Mixed. Some knits use cotton, which is a positive. Others default to acrylic, which is not. Princess Polly's knitwear range spans both, and the label is the only way to tell. At this price point, you'll find some wool-blend pieces, but acrylic is still common.
• Swimwear & Activewear — Synthetic, which is standard. Nylon-elastane and polyester-elastane dominate. This is expected across the industry — even premium brands use synthetics for swim and activewear — so it's not a mark against Princess Polly specifically.

The pattern: Princess Polly's casual and summer categories are their strength for natural fibres. Their trend-driven and going-out categories default to polyester. The brand's split personality — beachy casual meets nightlife — maps directly onto a split in fabric quality.

Princess Polly's Sustainability Efforts

Princess Polly has an "Earth Club" initiative that highlights products made from more sustainable materials — organic cotton, recycled polyester, linen, and Tencel. They've published sustainability targets and report on progress. They've also partnered with environmental organisations and offset programmes.

The effort is real, if incomplete. Princess Polly's sustainability work is more substantive than the token gestures of ultra-fast fashion brands. Their use of linen and cotton across meaningful portions of the range isn't just marketing — it's reflected in actual product compositions. The Earth Club labelling gives shoppers a way to identify better-material options within the range.

But the limitations are equally real. The majority of the catalogue is still synthetic. Recycled polyester, while better than virgin polyester, still sheds microplastics and doesn't biodegrade. Offset programmes don't change the composition of the clothes you're wearing. And a sustainability page on a website doesn't override what's written on the fabric label.

Princess Polly's position is best understood as transitional. They're moving in the right direction on materials — more linen, more organic cotton, more Tencel — but they haven't arrived. The brand you're buying today is still majority-synthetic. Whether you're willing to support the trajectory or wait for the destination is a personal call.

How to Check Before You Buy

Princess Polly lists fabric composition on product pages under "Details" or "Composition." They're reasonably accessible — more prominent than on some competitors, though you still need to click into each product to find them. The Earth Club badge helps flag better-material items, but it doesn't tell you the full composition at a glance.

This is exactly the problem Fibr solves.

Fibr is a free Chrome extension that reads fabric composition and displays it as a colour-coded badge on product images. Green for natural fibres. Yellow for mixed. Red for mostly synthetic. On a brand like Princess Polly, where the variation between items is wide, Fibr is especially valuable — it lets you instantly see which pieces in a collection are cotton or linen and which are polyester, without clicking into every product page.

Princess Polly support is coming soon. Fibr currently works on Zara, H&M, and Mango, and we're actively building support for Princess Polly and other popular Gen Z brands. When it launches, you'll be able to browse Princess Polly's range with full fabric visibility — finding the linen and cotton pieces without wading through polyester.

Until then, use the manual approach: open the product page, scroll to composition, and read the label. On Princess Polly, the results will vary more than on most brands — some items will pleasantly surprise you, others won't. The label is the only way to know which is which.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Princess Polly sustainable?

Partially, and improving. Princess Polly's "Earth Club" initiative highlights products made from organic cotton, linen, recycled polyester, and Tencel. They use more natural fibres than ultra-fast fashion brands, particularly in casual and summer categories. However, the majority of their catalogue is still primarily synthetic, and their going-out and trend-driven pieces are heavily polyester-based. Their sustainability efforts are more substantive than token gestures but don't yet cover the full range. Check fabric composition on individual items rather than assuming the whole brand is sustainable.

What fabric does Princess Polly use?

A genuine mix. Polyester is the most-used single fabric, appearing heavily in dresses, tops, and co-ords designed for going out. Cotton features in basics, casual pieces, and denim. Linen is a seasonal strength, appearing more than at most competitors in this price range. Rayon and viscose are used in printed and flowy pieces. Acrylic appears in some knitwear. Overall, roughly 55-70% of the range is primarily synthetic, with 30-45% primarily natural or semi-synthetic — better than ultra-fast fashion but still synthetic-led.

Is Princess Polly better quality than Shein or Boohoo?

Yes, meaningfully so in most categories. Princess Polly's higher price point (typically $30-$80 per piece versus $5-$20 at ultra-fast fashion) translates to better fabric quality, more cotton and linen, heavier materials, and generally better construction. Their casual and summer pieces in particular use noticeably better materials than budget brands. However, their polyester pieces — mainly going-out and trend-driven items — aren't dramatically different in fabric from what you'd find at fast fashion competitors. The natural-fibre items are where Princess Polly genuinely pulls ahead.