Lace fabric is practically synonymous with bridal designs. Women currently shopping for or who have purchased a dress will recall the flurry of fabric choices that open to them the moment lace is selected as an option.
Here’s the Eve in Eden crash course: all the basics you’ll need to distinguish Chantilly from cutwork, Tambour from tape and macrame from Mechlin.
For centuries, lace was manufactured exclusively by hand; entire cities economies were buoyed by the industry and regions lay claims to certain styles or signatures in the design of their lace. In 1768, John Heathcoat created the first lace-making machine and turned the industry on it’s head – handmade lace became a hobbyist’s project and industrial lace manufacture took the reins.
Lace exists in many varieties; the broad categories are needle lace, bobbin lace, crochet lace, knotted lace, knit lace and machine-made lace. Many modern wedding gowns employ antique (ie not machine-made) styles but are in fact machine made; finding a hand-made lace, even when shopping for a vintage dress, is uncommon. There are exceptions, though! Sonia Kasparian of Urchin Redesign, a Portland-based line of couture-level handmade gowns, jewelry and accessories sources and incorporates antique and vintage laces in her designs, available at Eden and through custom order!
Now, a short primer: needle lace falls into two broad categories which each contain their own subcategories: embroidered lace and cutwork lace. A few examples of embroidered lace:
Clockwise from top left: Teneriffe lace, Tambour lace, Reticella lace, Filet lace.
A few examples of cutwork lace:
Catherine Middleton’s royal wedding gown was made with Carrickmacross lace. Top right, another example of Carrickmacross lace. Bottom right, Battenburg lace.
Bobbin lace also comes in many forms: ancient, continental, point ground, and Guipure. A few examples of those:
First row: Antwerp lace, a type of ancient lace; Mechlin lace, a type of continental lace; blonde lace, a type of point ground lace. Second row: another example of blonde lace; Point de Venise lace, a type of Guipure lace; Chantilly lace, a type of continental lace.
Finally, a few examples of knotted lace, knit lace and crochet lace:
Clockwise from top left: tatted lace, a type of knotted lace; knit lace; macrame lace another type of knotted lace; and crochet lace.
Eve in Eden has many vintage lace gowns, veils and accessories available for purchase. View some of our selection here; to see it all, stop by the shop!
I might have been the last person on the planet to encounter Arthur Russell’s music last year. During a sweltering summer week of repeatedly playing old school disco and dance (along the lines of ABBA, Donna Summer and Dee D. Jackson,) I came across Loose Joint’s “Tell You Today.” During college, I worked at my University’s student-run radio station. We’d take the equipment to someone’s off-campus house on weekends and my friends who ran the show paid homage to Russell (and his bandmates in the Loose Joints project) by calling the series of parties they hosted Loose Joints Dance Parties. It wasn’t your average college-kid-learning-to-use-a-turntable situation; most of the djs brought stuff that wouldn’t get popular for another four or five years (this was when indie-rock was all anyone wanted to listen to, and disco hadn’t yet begun to make a comeback.)
Finding the precious few Loose Joints recordings brought back some memories, and kindled my interest in Russell. His biography is a sad read – Russell lived during an era when precautions against HIV and public health knowledge were not what they were today – he contracted HIV near the end of his life, though ultimately died of throat-cancer related complications. A life-long cello player, Russell experimented over the course of his career with countless genres of music – electronic, avant-garde, minimalist, orchestral, disco, tech house, electro-pop. He also helped foster the careers and music of many underground musicians through collaboration, producing and offering a venue for them to play – Russell acted for a time as music director of The Kitchen, an avant-garde performance space in New York.
One of Arthur Russell’s most well-known – and acclaimed – albums is Another Thought, a series of recordings made during the last decade of his life and released posthumously.
Via AllMusic: “Compiled from selections from a daunting number of tapes and recordings made by Arthur Russell over the last decade of his life, Another Thought serves as a somewhat unintentional sequel to the majestic World of Echo. While it’s a primarily vocal/cello recording, Russell himself might have arranged and performed a final version differently, given his never flagging interest in the possibilities of dance and disco. Whether seen as a tribute, a collection of demos, or something else, it’s still a truly excellent record, Russell’s evocative, soulful-in-its-own-style singing and performing given a sweet showcase… His cello performances are jaw-dropping on their own, at once pop and not pop. Brief appreciative liner notes aptly convey his successes and the tragedy of his death, but it’s the songs that serve as the best epitaph for a unique artist.”
You can stream the whole album here.
-Marika
Last September, Eden introduced Kiowa Rose Jewelry – an ornate hand-beaded jewelry line that, like many of our other jewelry lines, also happens to be local! We also interviewed designer Rosie Long about her passion for beadwork and jewelry here – check it out, it’s a great read! This Spring, a few Eden staffers travelled out to Rosie’s country house for a visit. Her studio is incredible – stockpiled from floor to ceiling with new, vintage and antique findings beads and other jewelry flotsam and jetsam. Her decor is equally unbelievable – treasures from the Victorian through Nouveau and Deco eras adorn every room. It was completely inspirational for us – here’s a sneak peak at our studio visit with Rosie Long. All photos by Carlie Armstrong for Eden. Special thanks to Rosie for letting us come visit, and for being kind enough to allow us to look through all of her collections!
Even more exciting news… Kiowa Rose will be presenting a line of bridal jewelry at Eve in Eden along with several of our other designers! Here’s a preview of some of the amazing pieces she made, exclusively for us!
Eden is expanding! Our newest shop, Eve in Eden, will be based in a brand new annex space in the back of Eden at 221 NW 11th Ave and feature antique, vintage and locally-designed gowns, jewelry and accessories. Opening day is March 15th and we are throwing a Grand Opening Party on March 23rd, starting at 6 pm! There will be live music, champagne and treats and plenty of opulent and bespoke shopping, bridal and otherwise! Like Eve in Eden on Facebook and RSVP and share the event with friends on Facebook. In the meantime, here’s a preview of Eve in Eden’s bridal magic… a beautiful film starring Annie Montgomery shot by Eric Rose.
Want to see more? Check out our first Eve in Eden Look Book as well as the Les Belles Femme Look Book, both shot by Eric Rose.
We debuted the first Look Book for Eve in Eden just a few weeks ago, and talented photographer Eric Rose has shared with us more images from that lovely day – enough for a second look at what’s to come from Eve in Eden. This collection of images is so filmic and reminds us of glamorous silent film era brides, a theme no doubt amplified by the beautiful theater in which these photos were taken. Enjoy!
This look book was shot at The Crystal Ballroom by photographer Eric Rose with models Annie Montgomery, Haley Robison and Lyla Rokoff. Art Direction by Cindy Rokoff. Styling and set design by Carlie Armstrong, Jesseca McCloskey, Brehan Todd and Marika Emerson. Hair by Jessica Adams, Makeup by Marta Heitz. Gowns by Urchin Redesign and Eve in Eden vintage. Jewelry by Acanthus, Ay Marieke, Brehan Todd, Demimonde, Jesseca Anne, Kiowa Rose and Sahlia. Shoes provided by Solestruck.