Lace me up, Baby!
How a Trip to Belgium Got Me Obsessed With Lace, Again.
I recently spent four days in Belgium on a side trip from France, where I’m from. Bruxelles! Home to the great chocolatiers, vintage shops, frites (french fries), comic books, the famous Manneken Pis, delicious gaufres (waffles), and… dentelle (lace).
Manneken Pis statue, Brussels. Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
I’ve always loved, loved lace since I was a teenager. I always loved its delicateness, and the sensual void that allows the skin to peek through… It is so elegant and so evocative.
On a day trip to Bruges, I got to see more of those fine, intricate threads, and had to find out how it’s made.
A Brief History of Lace
Lace’s origins are still up for debate, but its birth is usually traced back to the late 15th century to the Venice/Milan area or to Flanders (a region covering what is now Belgium and part of northern France).
It was originally made from silk and linen, worked with needles or bobbins, and used to furnish interiors or adorn the collars of clothing. I went to the Musée Mode & Dentelle (Museum of Fashion & Lace) in Brussels and was able to appreciate the bobbin techniques and see a few samples. The complexity of the design determined the number of bobbins required; some had dozens, even hundreds
Lacemaking rapidly spread among the aristocracy to adorn the dresses and collars of noblewomen and noblemen. The lace âge d’orcame between the 16th to 18th centuries, when lace became a status symbol for the European nobility. Each region developed its own specialty.
In France, to encourage domestic production and to compete with Flemish and Venetian lace, King Louis XIV created a royal lace Manufacture (a state-sponsored royal workshop) in Alençon (northern France), called the Manufacture Royale des Poincts de France. He even issued a royal decree forbidding the French nobility from wearing lace made in other countries, which made it even more popular and fueled the interest even more. Seems like Louis XIV could have used some tariffs on foreign lace… Despite the decree, by the 1670s, smuggling thrived! People smuggled lace in coffins, on animals, even wrapped in bread. So French!
To give you an idea of lace’s significance at the time: in some towns, the entire economy revolved around it. In 1685, a cravat (collar) would cost four and a half times the annual salary of a servant. In 1765, a lace maker would need to work 15-hour days for a full year to make one meter of a Valenciennes sleeve ruffle. A pair of sleeve ruffles would require at least 4 meters, and more for women of higher social standing.
Point de France lace cravat with hunting motif, late 17th century. The Met Museum, New York.
I couldn’t help but wonder how this industry was tied to the slave trade and impacted local communities. And sure enough, like many luxuries, lace was produced by leveraging a global textile industry where exploitative labor was baked in.
Locally, in Europe, it often employed women and children in orphanages or convents who worked on labor-intensive pieces for low wages. This Cowper & Newton Museum article does a good accounting of the conditions in the lace-making industry in rural England. Workhouses for the poor and prisons also exploited incarcerated lace makers, enabling these institutions to profit from their labor.
Globally, through the slave trade, the raw materials, such as cotton, became more commonly used for lace in the 19th century and were produced under inhumane conditions on plantations.
It’s important to appreciate the beauty of these pieces, but I also want to stay mindful of the fact that the production of beautiful garments is never detached from the hands that make them.
Lace in the Modern Era
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century democratized access to lace, with machine lace production starting in England. By the 20th century, it appears in all sorts of garments, and designers began integrating lace into evening gowns, underwear, bridal wear, men’s lace underwear, and so on. I took a picture of an upcycled wedding gown by Ester Manas, crafted from polyester and elastane, on display in the Chambre des dentelles (Lace Room) at the Musée Mode & Dentelle in Brussels.
Lace is not only made with silk and linen anymore; cotton, nylon, polyester, and elastane are all used to create different textures and fits. While machine-made lace is everywhere, handmade lace still holds a special place for designers, lovers of the craft, and those who appreciate its intricate delicacy.
Iconic Lace Moment in… My Camera Roll
I dug through years of fashion exhibitions and found a lace look. I saw this Karl Lagerfeld design at the A Line of Beauty exhibition at The Met in New York a couple of years ago. I believe it was for Chanel. Across the design houses he led, Karl Lagerfeld consistently employed lace, tulle, crepe, and chiffon.
I love the delicate placement of the lace and the subtle drape.
La Dentelle et Moi !
As for me, my love of lace just keeps getting more informed. The lace I own, sadly, leans more playful boudoir than haute couture designer-made. As much as I’d love to show off a few pieces, I am also not trying to get banned from Substack on my very first post because of NSFW photos… So instead, I’ll share the grandma-like coasters I bought to use when I host friends over in my NYC apartment, and the equally grandma-like tissue holder I picked up in a lace shop in Bruges.
Moving forward, I might invest in a couple of nicer pieces, dive deeper into lace beyond Europe (African lace?), and explore some innovative uses of lace.