Collar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lace in the eighteenth century was an expensive item that was only affordable for the upper classes. It was therefore highly valued and kept. As fashions changed in the 19th century, it was common practice to reconfigure the lace from its original form to one that expressed the current mode. This collar is such an example. The lack of symmetry in the design as well as the collar shape which did not exist in the eighteenth century are evidence of this practice.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art