Clothing & Accessories

Work, play, fashion, economic class, religious faith, even politics—all these aspects of American life and more are woven into clothing. The Museum cares for one of the nation's foremost collections of men's, women's, and children's garments and accessories—from wedding gowns and military uniforms to Halloween costumes and bathing suits.

The collections include work uniforms, academic gowns, clothing of presidents and first ladies, T-shirts bearing protest slogans, and a clean-room "bunny suit" from a manufacturer of computer microchips. Beyond garments, the collections encompass jewelry, handbags, hair dryers, dress forms, hatboxes, suitcases, salesmen's samples, and thousands of fashion prints, photographs, and original illustrations. The more than 30,000 artifacts here represent the changing appearance of Americans from the 1700s to the present day.

This stovepipe hat was worn around 1850 and is made of black beaver fur. Inside the hat bears a personal note, “Hat made for Uncle Abe.”Currently not on view
Description
This stovepipe hat was worn around 1850 and is made of black beaver fur. Inside the hat bears a personal note, “Hat made for Uncle Abe.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1837-1847
maker
Mugnier
ID Number
CS.015678
catalog number
015678
accession number
58845
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.171
catalog number
033675.171
accession number
70138
This dress, designed by the House of Worth, was worn by Alice Jane Earl Stuart, who was born in Lafayette, Indiana on October 23, 1850 to Adams Earl and Martha Jane Hawkins.
Description
This dress, designed by the House of Worth, was worn by Alice Jane Earl Stuart, who was born in Lafayette, Indiana on October 23, 1850 to Adams Earl and Martha Jane Hawkins. Her father was a wealthy man and very important in the history and development of Lafayette, becoming president of the Lafayette and Chicago Railroad Company. At age 17, Alice left home to attend the Rockland Female Institute in Nyack, New York. On December 20, 1876, she married Charles Benedict Stuart, who became the founder of the Stuart law firm in Lafayette, Indiana. Their only child died at birth. The Stuarts were very wealthy as well, and Alice was one of the most prominent women of Lafayette and Tippecanoe County, working for many organizations of social welfare and improvement.
From surviving letters Alice wrote to her parents from school, she mentioned how important clothing was to her. As evidenced by this Worth dress, Alice was said to have a preoccupation with stylish apparel. Alice visited a cousin in Washington, DC on several occasions and attended a reception at the White House on one trip. She also traveled abroad many times, and it was probably during one of these trips that she had this dress made to order from the House of Worth, which was famous for creating beautiful gowns such as this one. Charles Frederick Worth was notable for his use of lavish fabrics and trimmings, and his son Jean-Phillippe, who followed the same aesthetics as his father, may have designed this dress. Alice Earl Stuart died on July 27, 1937 at Earlhurst, her family home in Lafayette. Although Earlhurst has not survived, this portrait of a young Alice Jane Earl Stuart is in the hands of a local doctor who owns the land that belonged to the Earls.
The House of Worth, which was the longest running fashion dynasty and the arbiter of women’s fashions for more than a century, was founded by Charles Frederick Worth, who was born in Lincolnshire, England on October 13, 1824. As a young man, Worth worked as an apprentice and clerk for two textile merchants. He relocated to Paris in 1845, and in 1858 he co-established his own dressmaking salon, Maison Worth at 7 rue de la Paix, Paris. Although his sons, Gaston-Lucien and Jean-Philippe, took over their father’s business after his death on March 10, 1895, they had been an indispensable part of the House of Worth long before he died. In 1954, the couture house was sold to Pacquin, and the name continued until the 1970s. Parfums Worth, which was created in the early twentieth century, is still in business. Besides dressing royalty and famous actresses, Worth was immensely popular among wealthy American patrons.
This elegant two-piece dress is constructed of pink satin and brocaded silk. The bodice of pink silk satin has a square neckline in front that is rounded at the back. The center front portion of the bodice is covered with pink chiffon, and four pleated chiffon ruffles with a lace ruffle inserted between two of them frame the neckline in front and extend down to the center front of the bodice. Additional ruffles are inserted at the back neckline to form a multi-layered ruffled collar effect. Reveres are cut in one piece with the bodice fronts using the fabric selvedge as the reveres edge. The reveres, similar to lapels, are covered with net and lace appliqué with decorative rhinestones. The bodice has side seams and is cut in three parts at the back. The back is covered with the same lace as the reveres. The short satin sleeves that are lined with pink satin are extremely full and pleated into the armholes with fullness at the top of the sleeve created by elaborate folding of the fabric. The sleeve openings are trimmed with three pleated chiffon ruffles tacked to the sleeves at intervals to form a decorative trim. A wide ruche of pink velvet lined with pink taffeta forms a cummerbund effect at the lower edge of the bodice closing at the left front. Two decorative velvet bows trim the closure. All inside bodice seams are finished and boned, with additional boning at the center front and either side of the center front. The center front of the bodice closes with metal hooks and eyes. This pictured label with the words “PARIS C Worth PARIS” is woven into an inner waistband tacked to the inside boning at the back waistline. The gored skirt of brocaded silk satin is slightly trained at the back, with box pleats creating fullness at the center back. A back opening closes with a large hook-and-eye. The skirt is completely lined with pink taffeta with a stiff interlining and an additional partial pink taffeta lining that is narrower than the skirt and tacked to the seams. A pink dust ruffle finishes the hemline.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1893 - 1901
1893-1901
maker
Worth
used by
Stuart, Alice Jane Earl
maker
Worth
ID Number
CS.264090.001
catalog number
264090.001
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.181
catalog number
033675.181
accession number
70138
This exotic Eastern-influenced dress was designed by Callot Soeurs, a popular Parisian fashion house.The dress was worn by Mrs.
Description
This exotic Eastern-influenced dress was designed by Callot Soeurs, a popular Parisian fashion house.
The dress was worn by Mrs. Florence Sheffield Keep, a prominent Washingtonian whose busy social schedule and contacts within the diplomatic community were often noted in the Washington, DC and New York City newspapers. It is possible that this dress was worn to a diplomatic event in Washington, DC.
Callot Soeurs opened in 1895 at 24, rue Taibout in Paris, France. It was founded and operated by four sisters: Marie Callot Gerber, Marthe Callot Bertrand, Regina Callot Tennyson-Chantrell, and Josephine Callot Crimont with Marie being the head designer. Coming from an artistic family, their mother was a lace maker and their father a painter and teacher of design. Before opening the salon, the sisters first worked with antique laces and ribbons to adorn blouses and lingerie. They later expanded into other clothing to include daywear, tailored suits, and evening dresses being best known for their eighteenth century inspired dishabille and their exotic evening dress influenced by the East. In 1914, the design house moved to grander quarters at 9-11, avenue Matignon, and they became involved in Le syndicat de defense de la grande couture francaise. Through this organization Callot Soeurs along with designers Paul Poiret, Jacques Worth, Jeanne Paquin, Madeleine Cheruit, Paul Rodier, and Bianchini and Ferier, put in place controls to protect their original designs from copy houses that sold them to ready-to-wear manufacturers without their permission. This is the time when the Callot Soeurs began to date their labels.
As evident with the design of this dress of bright orange color, gold lace, and elaborate trim, in the 1920’s, Callot Soeurs used brilliant and rich fauvist colors and Eastern inspired designs with exotic details in their formal evening wear. Along with other designers such as Paul Poiret, they were strongly influenced by the wave of orientalism in fashion and the arts. It was during this period that Callot Soeurs became one of the leading fashion houses in Paris, serving exclusive clientele from Europe and the United States. In 1928, Pierre Gerber, Marie Callot Gerber’s son took over the business and moved it to 41, avenue Montaigne. It remained there until Marie retired in 1937. It was at this time that the House of Callot Soeurs closed and was absorbed into the House of Calvert.
This dress is constructed of bright orange silk chiffon with a lining of off-white satin. Gold metallic lace trim and elaborate decorative motifs of beading and iridescent sequins decorate entire dress. The bodice section forms a deep V at front and back with the under bodice lining covered with net forming an insert at center front. Bands of lace and decorated chiffon form diagonal straps at front with at a criss-cross pattern at back. A large decorative diamond-shape emblem of pearls, green and blue beads, and glass stones at corners and center are attached at lower edge of bodice front insert. Five pearl tassels extend from lower edge of the emblem. Horizontal bands of two-inch wide gold metallic lace centered with a band of beaded orange chiffon are set in at the mid-section of the dress. Long tails of chiffon decorated all over with beading and sequins are shirred at the shoulders forming a flowing sleeve-like appearance. The decorated orange chiffon skirt section has an inverted V insert of two-inch gold metallic lace at front which extends into a horizontal band at back. A scalloped pattern at the lower edge has an insert of gold metallic lace. A label woven into a waistband at inside lining reads: “Hiver 1922-1923, Callot Soeurs, Paris, Nouvelle Marque Deposee”.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1922-1923
used by
Keep, Florence Sheffield Boardman
maker
Callot Soeurs
Callot Soeurs
ID Number
CS.057028
catalog number
57028
accession number
202244
A sample book of machine-made lace, French, 2nd half 19th century. From: J. Gaillard, Pere et Fils. Saint-Pierre-lez-Calais, France. Blue cloth covered volume, 19.25” L x 12” W x ¾” D; Embossed gold lettering and border on front cover.
Description
A sample book of machine-made lace, French, 2nd half 19th century. From: J. Gaillard, Pere et Fils. Saint-Pierre-lez-Calais, France. Blue cloth covered volume, 19.25” L x 12” W x ¾” D; Embossed gold lettering and border on front cover. Interior of 26 blue paper leaves with pasted in samples of machine-made lace in various styles, sizes, mostly black or white. More than one sample per page; each paper leaf has samples on both sides. Each sample has a small paper tag in the upper right corner with a style number and price per yard. Exquisite examples of Leavers-machine made lace trimmings for apparel and furnishing uses. The U.S. Leavers lace industry grew after the tariff on imported Leavers machines was removed for several months by the Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1899
1850-1900
ID Number
2015.0324.01
accession number
2015.0324
catalog number
2015.0324.01
Valenciennes bobbin lace border with round mesh in the Louis XV-XVI style. The pattern repeat is four and a half inches longCurrently not on view
Description (Brief)
Valenciennes bobbin lace border with round mesh in the Louis XV-XVI style. The pattern repeat is four and a half inches long
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1675-90
Associated Name
Pinchot, Mary Eno
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.L6487
catalog number
L6487
accession number
48717
This dress, designed by Jeanne Lanvin, was worn by Marjorie Wilder, who may have been known as Martha as a child. She was born, we believe, in 1891, in Kentucky to Amanda and Wilson Wilder. Information about her life is sketchy, but around 1910 or 1911 she married Edward A.
Description
This dress, designed by Jeanne Lanvin, was worn by Marjorie Wilder, who may have been known as Martha as a child. She was born, we believe, in 1891, in Kentucky to Amanda and Wilson Wilder. Information about her life is sketchy, but around 1910 or 1911 she married Edward A. English of Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately, that marriage lasted only a short time, as Mr. English died within a few years of their marriage. It was, however, around the time of their marriage that this dress was made. According to the donor, who was an old friend, Mrs. English wore the dress to a garden party at the American Embassy in London in 1911. This corresponds with the 1911 date written on the label. We speculate that the trip to Paris and London may have been a wedding trip for the newlyweds, but to date, we have been unable to find any documentation to confirm this speculation. The style of the dress, with its youthful appearance, would have been appropriate for a new, young bride. Later, Marjorie moved to New York City, where she married James Cunningham and became part of the social set. According to articles in the New York Times, she made several trips to Europe during this marriage. After the marriage ended in divorce, she married a third time in 1943 to I. Henry Walker, who died a few months later. According to the donor, Marjorie died in 1953 in a boating accident.
Jeanne Lanvin was born in Paris, France in 1867. She began her fashion career, which lasted over fifty years, as a milliner, opening her own establishment in Paris in 1889. Her daughter inspired her to branch out into making children's clothing, and she began selling matching mother and daughter garments. As those children became adults, her styles evolved to include wedding and evening gowns that would appeal to youthful women as well as more mature women. Before World War I, Lanvin created her famous "robes des style” which was based on eighteenth-century designs. These full skirted dresses with waists remained popular into the early 1920s. By 1925, she was frequently featured in Vogue with both text and illustrations. She preferred clear, subtle and feminine colors, especially a shade of blue that became known as “Lanvin blue.” The use of cummerbunds and net openings with piping, which were both used in this dress, were indicative of her feminine and youthful designs of the early twentieth century.
This one-piece "robes de style" dress is constructed of green silk taffeta. A cape-like collar of net with a pleated taffeta ruffle applied in a swag pattern with loops of bias piping between ruffles is attached to a low, round neckline edged with narrow bias piping. The bodice is gathered to the waist and the yoke at the front and the back with piping at the lower edge. A center back opening has a hook-and-eye closure at the neck. Barrel shaped buttons, covered with bias piping, extend from part way down the back to just above the waist and from below the waist into the skirt section with bias piping loops on the right side of the back for closure. A cummerbund style waistband is quilted and applied to the dress just above the waist fastening at the center back with three barrel shape buttons and loops. Elbow-length sleeves have fullness at the armholes that is controlled with pleats. Shirring at the elbow of the sleeves is covered with cuffs of the same construction as the collar. The skirt section is gathered at the waist. The lower portion of the skirt is also made of the same construction as the collar. An attached petticoat of white chiffon has a band of green taffeta at the lower portion that is visible beneath the net of the skirt. The dress is unlined, with a wide, heavy grosgrain band attached to the waist on the inside extending above and below the waist. All seams are hand finished. The label, which reads "Jeanne Lanvin Paris" and "Ae 1911," is sewn to the inside of the waistband. The waist measures 26 ½ inches.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1916 - 1918
1911
maker
Lanvin, Jeanne
wearer
Walker, Marjorie Wilder English Cunningham
maker
Lanvin, Jeanne
ID Number
CS.293275.001
catalog number
293275.001
accession number
293275
This evening dress was created by internationally renowned designer Oscar de la Renta in the fall of 2002 for the House of Balmain.Oscar de la Renta, born in 1932, was the son of a Dominican Republic insurance agent. He received his education in Santo Domingo and in Madrid.
Description
This evening dress was created by internationally renowned designer Oscar de la Renta in the fall of 2002 for the House of Balmain.
Oscar de la Renta, born in 1932, was the son of a Dominican Republic insurance agent. He received his education in Santo Domingo and in Madrid. While studying to become a painter, he began sketching for leading Spanish fashion houses to help pay for his studies. He first thought seriously about a career in fashion when he designed a debutante gown for the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Spain, John Cabot Lodge. Soon after a photograph of the dress appeared in Life magazine, he was given his first professional job at Eisa, Balenciaga’s couture house in Madrid. In 1961, de la Renta was hired by Antonio del Castillo as an assistant at the Lanvin-Castillo couture house in Paris. He moved to New York to design for the custom-made collection at Elizabeth Arden in 1963, and in 1965 he joined the wholesale house of Jane Derby and became a partner in the business. After Derby retired in 1967, de la Renta changed the name of the company to his own ready-to-wear label, producing feminine, romantic, and dramatic evening clothes as well as accessories and fragrances for both men and women.
In 1993, de la Renta was hired by the House of Balmain to design their couture collection. He was the first American designer since Mainbocher to design couture in Paris, France. De la Renta worked at Balmain for ten years while also running his own company in the United States. In 2002, this dress, which was from the final collection designed by Oscar de la Renta for the House of Balmain, was shown on the fashion runway in Paris and then worn by Lee Radziwell, Jacqueline Kennedy’s sister, to the American Friends of Versailles event at the United Nations in September of 2002. It was also loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute for their exhibition “Goddess the Classical Mode” in 2003 before being donated to the Smithsonian in the fall of 2003 during a presentation called “An Evening with Oscar de la Renta.”
This two-piece dress is constructed of gilt cock feathers attached to a silk top and a gold lame skirt. The top is sleeveless with a wide bateau neckline formed with a band of small hand-clipped overlapping feathers horizontally placed from shoulder to shoulder, meeting at the center front and back. The remainder of the top is covered with small feathers vertically overlapping in graduated rows that end in three rows of larger feathers from the waist to the hip area. There is a center back nylon zipper opening with a hook-and-eye closure. The back and bust darts shape the fit of the top with a gold China silk lining. The skirt is a column of crimped and pleated silk lame that hangs straight at the sides, ending in a lettuce-edged bottom. An invisible left side zipper opening ends with a hook-and-eye closure at the waistline. A gold China silk fabric partially lines the skirt. A Balmain/Paris label is sewn to the inside lining at the left back neckline. The dress measures 19 1/8" at the center back of the top, 43 1/4" at the center back of the skirt, and 26" at the waistline of the skirt.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
2002
costume nmah
National Museum of American History. Division of Social History
designer
de la Renta, Oscar
used by
Radziwill, Lee
maker
Balmain, Pierre
ID Number
2003.0274.002
accession number
2003.0274
catalog number
2003.0274.002
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
designer
Heim, Jacques
ID Number
2011.0229.04
catalog number
2011.0229.04
accession number
2011.0229
This flounce of stylized floral motifs is executed in Blonde bobbin lace. The flounce is made of cream colored silk thread in three sizes. The ground is point ground, with the motifs made in dense linen stitches and lighter half stitches outlined with a heavy gimp thread.
Description
This flounce of stylized floral motifs is executed in Blonde bobbin lace. The flounce is made of cream colored silk thread in three sizes. The ground is point ground, with the motifs made in dense linen stitches and lighter half stitches outlined with a heavy gimp thread. Honeycomb ground is used as decorative fillings. The flounce is edged with a narrow machine made picot edge on both sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1845
maker
unknown
ID Number
1984.0111.243
accession number
1984.0111
catalog number
1984.0111.243
Jules Jacquemart reproduced these jewels in Bijoux Antiques (Musée Campana), working directly from the objects. He started by making detailed drawings or watercolors of the objects, but sometimes he etched them directly on the plate.
Description
Jules Jacquemart reproduced these jewels in Bijoux Antiques (Musée Campana), working directly from the objects. He started by making detailed drawings or watercolors of the objects, but sometimes he etched them directly on the plate. This print was considered a still life by Jacquemart’s contemporaries. One enthusiastic author even praised him as “the most marvellous etcher of still-life who ever existed in the world. In the power of imitating an object set before him he has distanced all past work and no living rival can approach him.” This etching originally appeared in 1863 in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, which first published one of his etchings in 1859. Of the almost 400 prints Jacquemart made, about two-thirds reproduce objects.
The Museo Campana housed the art collection of the Marchese Giovanni Pietro Campana in Rome. When the collection was disbursed in 1861, France acquired a large part of the jewelry, which comprised mainly Etruscan, Greek, and Roman pieces, as well as some 19th-century work. The jewels were exhibited in Paris from 1862 and helped start a fashion for archeological jewelry. They can be viewed today in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1863
graphic artist
Jacquemart, Jules
printer
Delâtre
publisher
Gazette des Beaux-Arts
ID Number
GA.14602.01
catalog number
14602.01
accession number
94830
Colored print of two men dressed in sporting attire and standing in a wooded glen, confering across a fence about the news in the New York "Herald." One man holds a pitchfork, the other has a rifle that is leaning against the fence and a dead bird that is lying on the ground next
Description (Brief)
Colored print of two men dressed in sporting attire and standing in a wooded glen, confering across a fence about the news in the New York "Herald." One man holds a pitchfork, the other has a rifle that is leaning against the fence and a dead bird that is lying on the ground next to the rifle.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1854
publisher
Knoedler, M.
lithographer
Thielley
artist
Mount, William Sidney
ID Number
DL.60.2437
catalog number
60.2437
accession number
228146
Date made
1867-04
bequest of
James, Catalina Juliana Mason Myers
ID Number
CS.033675.202
catalog number
033675.202
accession number
70138
This collar is cluny bobbin lace with raised and rolled tallies embellishing the floral shapes. It measures 13 inches around the neck, so might have been made for a child. It is one inch wide at the center, while the points are three inches wide.
Description
This collar is cluny bobbin lace with raised and rolled tallies embellishing the floral shapes. It measures 13 inches around the neck, so might have been made for a child. It is one inch wide at the center, while the points are three inches wide. The collection includes a matching set of cuffs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1865
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T13173
catalog number
T13174
accession number
250794
This hand made triangular black silk shawl is made in the Chantilly bobbin lace technique and was purchased in Paris in about 1860. Elaborate floral motifs, including roses and leafy stems, decorate this large shawl.Currently not on view
Description
This hand made triangular black silk shawl is made in the Chantilly bobbin lace technique and was purchased in Paris in about 1860. Elaborate floral motifs, including roses and leafy stems, decorate this large shawl.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T13741
catalog number
T13741
accession number
261642
This elaborate and delicate border fragment of Argentella needle lace from the early 18th century is made of fine linen thread. There is a great deal of raised work with picots added as embellishment.Currently not on view
Description
This elaborate and delicate border fragment of Argentella needle lace from the early 18th century is made of fine linen thread. There is a great deal of raised work with picots added as embellishment.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
early 18th century
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T16272
catalog number
T16272
accession number
300957
This seventeenth century French style needle lace border was reputedly made in Schleswig-Holstein. It is a rare specimen with vase and flower motifs in a dense pattern with symmetry and wide scallops. The scalloped edge is made of buttonholed bars with picots.
Description
This seventeenth century French style needle lace border was reputedly made in Schleswig-Holstein. It is a rare specimen with vase and flower motifs in a dense pattern with symmetry and wide scallops. The scalloped edge is made of buttonholed bars with picots. The small areas between motifs have Alençon type mesh. See the same pattern made in bobbin lace in Santina Levey, Lace – A History, Fig. 138. The lace was joined and mended during the third quarter of the nineteenth century, and a narrow machine made edge has been whip-stitched to the lace to protect the lace when sewed onto clothing.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1640-1650
associated date
1640-1650
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.L6452
catalog number
L6452
accession number
48717
This handmade black silk Chantilly bobbin lace shawl is from the third quarter of the 19th century and is in excellent condition. The large scale design with swags and great bouquets of flowers is typical of mid 19th century exuberance.Currently not on view
Description
This handmade black silk Chantilly bobbin lace shawl is from the third quarter of the 19th century and is in excellent condition. The large scale design with swags and great bouquets of flowers is typical of mid 19th century exuberance.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1850-1875
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T13164
catalog number
T13164
accession number
250794
Grape and vine motifs with shadow effect decorate this cotton Alençon lace collar from the late 19th century. Horsehair is used to support picots on the outside edge and on some interior motifs. The entre-deux at the neck edge is made with Droschel bobbin lace.
Description
Grape and vine motifs with shadow effect decorate this cotton Alençon lace collar from the late 19th century. Horsehair is used to support picots on the outside edge and on some interior motifs. The entre-deux at the neck edge is made with Droschel bobbin lace. It is attributable to the Lefébure workshop, Bayeux, France, and the pattern for this collar is in Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle, Alençon, France. See Bruggeman, Kant in Europa, (L'Europe de la Dentelle), 1997 p. 169, and Dépalle, Brigitte Delesques, La Dentelle à l'aiguille, p. 81. It matches cuffs or borders TE*T17893B and TE*T17893C.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855-1900
designer
Lefebure, Ernest
designed and made by the workshop
Lefébure, Ernest
ID Number
TE.T17893A
catalog number
T17893A
accession number
319013
This cotton Alençon lace border or cuff from the late 19th century matches collar TE*T17893A and cuff TE*T17893B. In this set, horsehair is used to support the picots on the outside edge and some interior motifs. The entre-deux at the edge is made with Droschel bobbin lace.
Description
This cotton Alençon lace border or cuff from the late 19th century matches collar TE*T17893A and cuff TE*T17893B. In this set, horsehair is used to support the picots on the outside edge and some interior motifs. The entre-deux at the edge is made with Droschel bobbin lace. It is attributable to the Lefébure workshop, Bayeux, France, and the pattern for this collar is in Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle, Alençon, France. See Bruggeman, Kant in Europa, (L'Europe de la Dentelle), 1997 p. 169, and Dépalle, Brigitte Delesques, La Dentelle à l'aiguille, p. 81
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1855-1900
made by workshop of Lefébure, Ernest
Lefébure, Ernest
ID Number
TE.T17893C
catalog number
T17893C
accession number
319013
This cotton Alençon lace border or cuff from the late 19th century matches collar TE*T17893A and cuff TE*T17893C. In this set, horsehair is used to support the picots on the outside edge and some interior motifs. The entre-deux at the edge is made with Droschel bobbin lace.
Description
This cotton Alençon lace border or cuff from the late 19th century matches collar TE*T17893A and cuff TE*T17893C. In this set, horsehair is used to support the picots on the outside edge and some interior motifs. The entre-deux at the edge is made with Droschel bobbin lace. It is attributable to the Lefébure workshop, Bayeux, France, and the pattern for this collar is in Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle, Alençon, France. See Bruggeman, Kant in Europa, (L'Europe de la Dentelle), 1997 p. 169, and Dépalle, Brigitte Delesques, La Dentelle à l'aiguille, p. 81
date made
1855-1900
made by workshop of
Lefébure, Ernest
ID Number
TE.T17893B
catalog number
T17893B
accession number
319013
Napoleonic bees decorate this Alençon needlelace collar. The bee motifs are applied to the background net, motifs of laurel wreaths adorn the outside edge. It was pieced together to make collar, probably during the third quarter of the 19th century.
Description
Napoleonic bees decorate this Alençon needlelace collar. The bee motifs are applied to the background net, motifs of laurel wreaths adorn the outside edge. It was pieced together to make collar, probably during the third quarter of the 19th century. The collar matches the pattern on the bed set Napoleon ordered for his firstborn. The background mesh is mostly wrapped Argentan brides tortillées.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1805-1810
commissioner
Napoleon I Emperor of France
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.L7689
catalog number
L7689
accession number
58000
This elaborate border is handmade Lille bobbin lace made with cotton. The ground is dotted with small squares called tallies. The straight edge is decorated with picotsCurrently not on view
Description
This elaborate border is handmade Lille bobbin lace made with cotton. The ground is dotted with small squares called tallies. The straight edge is decorated with picots
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1830-1860
maker
unknown
ID Number
TE.T14082
accession number
272350
catalog number
T14082

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