lace

Lace Fabric

Rare Brussels silk Point de Gaze net lace wedding cape with applied decorations, 1840s, photo: Rubylane.com

by Melody Amsel-Arieli Faded doilies and lacy gloves may evoke visions of bygone afternoon teas in overstuffed parlors. Yet these openwork textiles were likely inspired by highly embroidered Italian Renaissance church vestments. In time, decorative needle lace—hundreds of impossibly tiny,…