Monday, June 09, 2008

Can you help me date this design?






I bought this bead and sequin applique in a vintage clothing store. I don't think the applique itself is all that old, but I'm wondering about the age of the design. The clerk suggested the 1930's or 1940's, but it doesn't seem to me to go with the styles of those decades. I was thinking more along the line of 1910-1915.

Does anyone have any idea how old the design is or know how it was used? I can see this tacked onto a cream colored silk jacket.

1 comment:

Clay and Fiber Artist said...

That's "passamentrie", a term used for decorative trim used on clothing from about the Renaissance to it's peak in the Victorian era. It is probably a part of a larger decoration, most commonly made with beads, lace and sequins and sometimes ribbons and braids.

They were either made or purchased for attachment to garments and could be removed from one and transferred to another. And of course, black was very much in vogue during the rein of Queen Victoria.

The use of this kind of clothing decoration lasted until the 1920-1930's.