“Real” and “Imitation” Lace in the Nineteenth Century

Following the precipitous downturn in European lace production at the time of the French Revolution (1789–99), handmade lace began to make a slow recovery. At the same time, the recently established machinemade lace industries, especially those in Britain and France, advanced rapidly, and, by the mid-century, machine-made “imitation” lace closely resembled handmade “real” lace. While only very wealthy women had the means to purchase handmade laces from leading centers including Alençon and Chantilly in France and Brussels, those of the burgeoning middle classes enjoyed well-made, well-designed, and substantially more affordable machine-produced goods that were manufactured in Britain’s East Midlands and the French towns of Calais and Caudry.

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Lace was now solely the domain of women’s fashion. While an elegant toilette still required lace accessories such as caps, collars, and cuffs, lace was also increasingly incorporated into day and evening dresses as trimming and as deep flounces that decorated the expansive skirts in vogue from the 1830s through the late 1860s. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, the handmade lace industries were once again in decline, and, since World War I, machine-made laces have dominated the market.