Dear Tamara,
The product, dotted Swiss cotton, is often used for delicate garments,
especially for children. It is not, so far as I can see, the same as the
fabric
of the evening gown. If you are curious, you can see it at
_www.marthapullen.com_ (http://www.marthapullen.com) , select catalog at the
bottom, and on
the next page request the product. It is enormously expensive at $30 a yard,
but I have found all Swiss fabrics to be expensive in the U.S., because of
high taxes that do not apply to cheap Chinese imports!
As to the fashions we saw during the inauguration, it seems to me that
different fabrications are being developed, and they do not resemble what we
knew
in the past.
In old fabric identification books, I found the following descriptions of
Swiss Lace in two earlier centuries:
Caulfeild Saward's The Dictionary of Needlework, first published in the
1880's - Swiss Lace - Imitation: This is a machine-made textile, employed
in upholstery for window curtains, wall paper preservers, behind washstands,
and for short blinds. The chief seat of the industry is Neufchatel, but
imitations of it are produced at Nottingham, made of coarse
cotton..etc.
Not at all like the fabrics of either ensemble worn by Mrs. Obama.
Florence Montgomery's Textiles in America 1650-1870, 1980 or before -
Swiss Lace: A machine-made imitation of 16th C. Swiss lace largely produced
in
Nottingham.etc. Again, no resemblance to today's fabric. There is a
drawing of the fabric used for summer curtains. Geometric as to design.
Lacy.
Not a floral or flowing weave.
So, I leave it to a contemporary source that has borrowed the name. It's
possible a very fine yard goods shop that caters to dressmakers and their
clients - such as those I think still exist in New York and London - carries
the
fabrics.
Do we care? Neither garment looks like our definition of lace.
Jeri Ames
Lace and Embroidery Resource Center
In a message dated 1/20/2009 9:47:41 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
t...@rockbridge.net writes:
On Jan 20, 2009, at 18:16, jvik...@sover.net wrote:
Hi All, I haven't seen a close up but somebody on the tv said Michelle
Obama's dress is Swiss Lace.
Which one? The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
has loads of photos and both dresses (the dress she wore during the
inauguration and post-inaugulral lunch and the one she wore to a
Neighbourhood Ball) are as spotty as a measles sufferer :)
And spots is what comes to mind first when I think of Swiss lace or
Swiss embroidery
OTOH, the silver necklace (if that's what it was) which she wore at the
inauguration was really very nice and lacy, in the chunky,
Le-Pompe-plaited-lace, way... I'd love to get a closer peek at those
earrings, too; it's the first time I remember seeing a photo of her
wearing *dangly* earrings.
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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