Since the invention of lace, people love it and widely use it to decorate their clothing. The French lace appeared at the end of the 17th century and is still popular today. The antique outfits adorned with lace look beautiful – sophisticated and charming. But vintage lace baby bibs are even more adorable. And we have a few examples to share with you. Just imagine how women used them on their infants – such delicate garments with such a messy function!
The lacemaking came to France from Italy and Belgium at the end of the 17th century. But people had purchased lace long before that – in the 16th century, the French were so crazy for this delicate fabric that they spent fortunes to buy imported lace. They ordered it from Venice (Italy) and the Flanders region (Belgium).
Lace was used everywhere – it adorned clothing, shoes, underwear, furniture, interiors, even the inside of carriages was decorated with lace. So the French government got really worried about this huge outflow of money from the country. And they established lace-making manufactories in France at the end of the 17th century.
These royal manufactories had 230 artisans from Italy and Belgium working on the lace production. But they soon had to leave France because of accusations in disclosure of inside information. Though, French craftswomen already have learned how to make lace and started their own production. French lace was somewhat different from Italian and Belgian fabric, so it gained worldwide popularity quickly.
Here are several vintage lace baby bibs from France, the early 20th century. They are handmade, hand-embroidered, and embellished with pretty lace.
