"Why don't you buy clothes like these?"
"Um . . .because it's the twenty-first century?"
"You shop vintage. I want that lace dress. Can you buy me that white lace dress?"
"It's not just vintage, Mimi. That dress is historic. And it's definitely not for sale."
My travel buddy took these photographs at the Dallidet Adobe and the Dallidet Exhibit at the History Center is San Luis Obispo. According to Rose Dallidet, the white dress shown above belonged to her great great great grandmother. It was purchased in Paris and is made from pineapple cloth covered with tambour embroidery. I thought perhaps there were one too many "greats" attached to "grandmother", but upon researching tambour embroidery, I think she was probably right.
The Chinese introduced this embroidery technique to France in the 18th century. It had been widely used in China, India, Persia and Turkey for centuries. It became very popular in Europe and consequently, the United States, in the 18th and 19th centuries. Tambour means "drum" in French and was named for the small frame resembling a drum that is used in the process. The stitch is a continuous chain stitch formed with a hook and similar to a crochet chain. It is not an easy technique. One hand must hold the thread underneath the fabric while the other hand inserts the hook through the fabric from the top to grab the thread. A loop is formed and the stitch is laid. This continues until the desired design is completed.
There is a wonderful blog called "stitching in the pursuit of happiness" that provides a more detailed description of the technique. The lucky writer of this blog spent two weeks in Paris studying at the Ecole Lesage. Tambour embroidery is used today in haute couture.
"So that means you could go to Paris and find tambour embroidery in the vintage shops?"
"Yes, I suppose I could."
"Well? Wouldn't it be fun to find a two-hundred year dress and rework it into a skirt or blouse?"
"Yes, Mimi, it would. I'll add that trip to my mile-long list!"
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