Wedding veil

This highly fashionable veil or shawl combines both handmade needle lace and bobbin lace motifs.

The market for all qualities of lace grew in the mid 19th century. Handmade lace was a status symbol that demonstrated wealth and position. In the 1850s and 1860s people began to spend large quantities on luxury lace as they had done in the 18th century. Silk lace and embroidered nets were fashionable in the early years of the 19th century. By the 1840s delicate but richly patterned Brussels lace had become fashionable again. Manufacturers made great efforts to improve and expand the industry to meet demand. Lace schools opened, and producers commissioned new designs from Paris. By the mid 1840s, Brussels was again the leading centre for fashion lace. Handmade net remained fashionable until the 1850s, when this piece was made.