Bagheera is fine, uncut pile velvet.  It was originally made of silk, but after the introduction of cellulose fabrics it could be made of rayon.  It was popular in the 1930s & 40s. A 1933 fashion column describes it as ‘a crepe velvet with a matte surface’.  The ‘matte surface’ refers to the rough, uncut pile which absorbs rather than reflecting light. The crepe makes it crush-resistant, and gives it a lovely drape, making it very popular for evening wear.  Heavier bagheeras are also used in furnishing, because the crush-resistant quality makes it suitable for chairs and other items that get heavy wear. Bagheera is first used as a term for the particular type of velvet in the early 30s, and mentions in the early ’30s sometimes use quotation marks, indicating it was a novel term.   It was used for evening dresses and skirts, glamourous house-robes (the replacement for the tea gown), as an alternative to fur for wraps and jackets, and in millinery. Bagheera remained popular into the early ’40s, but was another …