mysterious fabric

[Steve Marder]

Deborah Hoffman wrote:

> Dear Seelangovtsy!
>  
> I was wondering whether any of you may have encountered a fabric known as
> malestin (малестин).
>  
> The context is: a family is in exile after having been dekulakized, and the
> mother turns an old coat out of this material into a jacket for her daughter.
> "Mne mama sshila iz staroi malestinovoi kurtki-spetsovki pal'to."
>  
> No living person I've encountered seem to know what it is, and some claim the
> word does not exist in Russian or I otherwise must have been mistaken, so I'm
> thinking it must be obscure and/or obsolete.
>  
> I've found only 2 references online (and none on paper)
>  
> here: http://kazaki-sc2.narod.ru/exc1.html
> «В летние школьные каникулы нас гусей у священника за трёхразовое питание,
> малестиновые штаны и ситцевую рубашку, которые получал к началу занятий в
> школе осенью.»
>  
> and here: http://libsi.liim.ru/creations/f-003/f-003-05.html
> <<Переводил деньги домой родителям, рублей 500 перевел, одежду хорошую завел:
> костюм, сапоги лакированные, рубашки и штаны малестиновые широкие>>
>  
> Any tips welcome - moleskin has been suggested but I always thought of that as
> a more delicate fabric than these usages would suggest.

Not necessarily so. Cf.:

MOLESKIN: A heavy, strong fabric woven with coarse, carded yarns. The fabric
is made with a short nap and then sheared. The surface is smooth and solid,
often suede-like. ( http://www.execstyle.com/Fashion_Dictionary.asp)

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