Map showing Belgium between France, Holland and Germany.
ProblemI see a lovely lace lady's top in a shop window in Belgium, the country across the Channel from England, just north of France.
The item is expensive, dearer than lace from home in England. Why is the price so high? Am I being cheated or is this lace better quality?
Who Loves Lace?
Lace gifts include large tablecloths or small earrings to fit in your pocket or carry-on luggage.
Story
I love lace. But lace is not for everybody. I once reluctantly gave away my souvenir lace ear-rings from The Netherlands as a surprise gift to an unknown bride-to-be. She turned out to be a sporty type. I should have kept the lace for myself and found her something suited to her.
Story
I remember standing in a shop in a tourist area, while my husband parked outside anxiously watching for parking warden in a spot for a stop which was only intended to be brief. I had seen a lace blouse in a window. The seller produced the lace blouse, then a tablecloth, in different styles and colours, beyond what I wanted or expected to pay. I wondered whether he was simply doubling prices because I was a foreigner.
After a few moments, I found the courage to ask, "Why so expensive?"
He replied, "Most of our visitors want genuine Belgian lace, handmade. If you want something cheaper, machine-made, not from Belgium, try the supermarket souvenir shop on the other corner."
Cheaper lace edge to curtain remnant.
Lace edge to old-fashioned anti-macasser
Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Lace Bought in In England
I had seen many lace cloths in England. Whole tablecloths were made with lace. Protective antimacassars, placed over sofa backs and sofa arms, had lace edges.
Lace tablecloth.
Italian Lace
A factory may be asked to produce a huge lace tablecloth several feet long for the dinner table for an international event such as a society wedding or a United Nations type of conference. The design has to be made to fit the size and shape of the table.
Lace for a wedding dress might require raised patterns of flowers to create a 3D effect. On the other hand, a tablecloth might not have areas rising to a point to be sure that champagne glasses do not fall over. The machine is many feet long, with hundreds of needles and if one needle or thread breaks the entire operation has to stop.
I just went to Wikipedia to get a picture of lace because it was quicker than finding a piece of lace jewellery to photograph and photographing lace tablecloth (which I did later). When I read the article which explains Brussels Lace I then realized what had caused my conversation with the Brussels Lace salesman. I read the Wikipedia article three times. It seems to say that Brussels Lace originated in Brussels and was made by bobbins in a particular style with a particular number of strands.
Later the term Brussels lace was used by many people to mean lace from Brussels but not in this style. Alternatively, they meant lace in this Brussels style - but not from Brussels. That story sounds like what happened with Prosecco which has been a place name, a grape. Now producers are trying to retrict usage to make life easier and fairer for both seller and consumer.
Champagne and Controlling Names And Place of Origin
You can see why the makers of Champagne started the whole movement to restrict the use of the word Champagne to drinks made in the Champagne region from a particular style. The customer would know that what was offered was from a particular place and made by the traditional method.
Let's go back to the subject of lace. If you just want a piece of lace as a souvenir, buy whatever you fancy - after asking where it is made and how and comparing the quality of goods in different shops at different prices.
Italian Lace Museum
I also looked at lace in a museum in Italy, in the Umbria region, attached to a vast shop, owned by the local wine producers. If you want to know about the quality of lace, read the Wikipedia article on Belgian lace and look at my article on the lace displayed in the Italian museum. See my post on lace.
In the early days white was favoured for cleanliness. Later, cream and then colours came in. Now last season's colours might not sell any longer, so new designs have to be produced.
Italian Lace
When you find the products you see displayed in windows are beyond your budget, ask what else they have. In Italy I missed out on half price cashmere hats in a tub, which my friend bought. I did not know about them until after we were back on the coach and she brought out her bargain to show everybody.
In the Italian factory shop, again I found goods at two prices. Some bracelets were dearer because they were Disney designs. Others were cheaper because they were for children and smaller sizes.
Shanghai Carpets
I had better luck in Shanghai at a carpet factory. I was shown carpets for several hundred pounds. I knew they were beyond my budget and could not be carried home in a suitcase. I asked if they had anything cheaper. I was shown a pile of smaller carpets which were old and unsold. Still too dear. Not the pattern I wanted. Then I spotted a carpet with butterflies. It had a torn edge and some staining. I got it for under £100. They folded it into 8, tied it with string and wrapped it up till it was small enough to fit in a suitcase. When I got it home I cleaned it and sewed up the edges with wool and hid the end under a piece of furniture.
My lace and my rug have given me enduring pleasure.
Belgium
Belgian Lace
Italy
Italian Lace
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, and photographer.
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