Learning Lingerie: Leavers' Lace

Before I plumb the depths of my bloggy brain for this post, I'll start with a simple question: Is good lace worth dying for?

I spent this past weekend in Pennsylvania, attending the wedding of my amazing childhood friends. In the flurry of joy, libation and friendship, among the hand-rolled cigars, the 20-year whiskeys, the jubilant attendees and the crisp rush of taffeta, there was the bride. The gorgeous bride, my friend, swathed in the loveliest Alençon lace gown. The gown itself was a simple cut, but you'd never know it by looking at it, because the lace was so stunning that the dress looked painstakingly assembled despite its easy construction. Glimpsing my pal in her stunning ensemble, I was inspired to write a blog post about lace for A La Folie. Because when you think about it, a basic bra construction, while painstaking in its own right, really is a fantastic canvas upon which to display some truly amazing laces. A two piece cup in a plain satin can look, well, plain. In lace, however, that same two piece cup takes on a whole new attitude, one that is imbued with femininity and sensuality.

Lace is a language that takes encyclopedias and glossaries to fully comprehend. There's no way to address all the subtle nuances between a machine-made tape lace versus a handmade one, or how to adequately decipher European filet lace from Chinese filet lace. However, I can at least start in familiar territory!

Cluny Lace which has been produced in the Leavers' Lace fashion

If you're a fan of French lingerie, you may have heard the term Leavers' Lace before. It's exceptionally common in fine lingerie and comes in a variety of different incarnations. Knowing that the name of the lace usually categorizes a specific style or region in which a lace is made, how can that be? The reason is that the name Leavers' Lace describes the machine it is made on, and not the style or the region. From The Lace Book by Jessie F. Caplin:

[The Levers' Lace Machine was] originally able to make lace 18 inches in width, [and] was invented in England by John Levers (sometimes spelled Leavers) in 1813. It is the basis of our present-day lace machines... [The Jacquard] can be repeated automatically across the 230 inches of width of machine, thus allowing many breadths of lace to be made at one time.

The Leavers' Lace machine

Even though the book quoted above was published in 1932, it's apparent that the Leavers' Lace machine is just as important today, as the lace is still regularly used in lingerie collections. The ability to mass produce beautiful figural laces that were previously only made by hand truly revolutionized apparel manufacturing. Also interesting to note is that machine made lace did not find its beginnings in France as many might think, but in England.

The making of lace by machine is usually conceded to have started in England and the inventors of that country receive credit for most of the major developments in this field. England tried to protect the industry and decreed laws to prevent the exportation of machines. These laws carried penalties of imprisonment and even death. Nevertheless, lace making by machine started in France very early. Perhaps the nearness of Calais to teh English coast may explain the early start of this city as a French center for machine-made lace.

How about that? The Leavers' Lace we all covet and wear so close to our bodies was cause for imprisonment or death! I've heard about dying for love before, but dying for lace? So much more romantic (and fashionable)!

Learning Lingerie: A Discourse on the Demi

Going to a lingerie store and asking for a demi cup bra is much like walking into a grocery store and asking where the food is. That's not to say that a customer who requests a demi cup doesn't know what they're asking for -- it's just that a demi cup is a blanket term that does nothing more than describe the scope of coverage the bra offers.

Nina Ricci's Lettre d'Amour demi (which is also a balconnet)

The word "demi" is French for "half". So a demi cup bra is literally a half cup bra, and the term doesn't necessarily describe cut. Many refer to a balconnet bra as a demi cup and in fact many balconnet bras are demi cups, but there exist fuller-cut versions as well as smaller-cut versions.

A demi is best suited to petite to average figures (about A - D cup), and sometimes have padding or molding, depending on the chosen style. Our bustier customers are always looking for the white whale: the ultimate demi cup suited just for them. In general companies who cater towards larger busted women will not make demis for the simple reason that they do not do enough work to support a prominent bust. Chestier girls who wear demis often find that they wear out faster because they have more work to do.

Learning Lingerie: The Bra in Brief

The first bra I ever had was, well... not very fun.

If you keep up with our blog and know anything about Poupee Russe, you know I've got an uncontrollable obsession with all things pretty, lacy, colorful and embellished. That obsession didn't start at adulthood, so naturally when my mother took me to buy my first bra, it was an experience ripe with disappointment and shattered hopes. Plain cotton? UGH. My very unreasonable (or so I thought at that moment) mother wasn't having her daughter swathed in satin and lace at such a young age. And at that young age, how could I comprehend the reasons?

We each have our own tales to tell about buying our first brassiere. The experience is a rite of passage for the modern female, signaling her entry into womanhood.

Early Minoan women wearing bra-like garments (via)

Surprisingly, the bra (in some form or another) has been a part of a woman's wardrobe for quite some time. Early Minoans are believed to have used a bra-like device to compress and support the breasts of female athletes. Art among the ruins of Pompeii shows women wearing bandeau style tops. Another bra-like device arose during the Ming Dynasty, and was worn by wealthier women. Later, in the 16th to 19th centuries, corsets dominated the shaping of the bustline in western cultures. The bra we know and love first became commonplace in the early 20th century and began to be mass produced in the 1930's as steel shortages encouraged the demise of the corset. Short chemises (what closest resembles a modern day bralette) were also worn in the 1920's as part of a woman's undergarment or sleepwear. Our modern concept of the cup construction became commonplace in the 1910's. (via)

A few fun tidbits:

• According to a survey of bra size conducted by Triumph, the UK has the highest percentage of D cup sizes (57%) out of 10 other European countries.
• In 2000, the average bra size of American women was 36C. It is now 36E. (via)
• The idea of the cup size was invented in 1935. (via)
• The most popular bra color is white.
• Some bras consist of 40 or more parts (in the case of Prima Donna - 50!) to assemble.

Got questions for us about lingerie? Ask away!

Learning Lingerie: Humble Beginnings

When it comes to my personal lingerie stash, my basics are not basic and my simple everyday bottoms are anything but. Instead of plain white, I revel in pinks and reds. Instead of modesty, I covet peek-a-boo cuts. Cotton jersey is an endangered species in my lingerie drawer, and while that may not be the case for every woman, it's just fine with me.

All that considered, it's hard to imagine a time when lingerie was considered strictly utilitarian. The term lingerie comes from the french word linge, meaning linen or washables. Hundreds of years ago, it was rare to wash ones outer clothes, so undergarments (commonly made of linen) were an easy-to-launder protective layer both for the wearer and the clothing.

Typical Chemise, English, 1851 from V&A Museum

Such pragmatic applications may not seem all that fun, but consider this: In times that lacked today's technology and germaphobic sensibilities, staying clean was the best way to avoid illness. As regular bathing and laundering fell more into practice, lingerie's emphasis shifted, first to the fashionable shaping of the body (through, for example, corsetry), and then to seduction. To this day, we continue to don undergarments for protection, but the divide between utility and beauty has been bridged.

Today lingerie is not only utilitarian, but beautiful. At times it's even avant garde! We've been proud to carry some truly edgy pieces from designers like Andres Sarda, while still stocking our shop with the feminine simplicity of brands like Nina Ricci and Huit.

We're excited to bring a new facet to our blog: Learning Lingerie. Each week we'll bring you stories from the land of lace and loveliness, teaching precious bits of knowledge about fit, construction and history.

Got questions about anything lingerie related? Let us know here!