The crinoline is a divisive garment. Some argue these stiff, usually hooped underskirts that held dresses out around the body during the 19th century are a symbol of women’s oppression; a tax exerted by the whims of fashion on the very bodies of women, weighing them down figuratively and literally, forever getting caught in machinery or brushing against candles and open hearths with disastrous results.
Others believe that they allowed women to take up physical space and exert presence and power in a highly patriarchal society. They point out that Punch magazine – a staunchly anti- feminist publication – loathed them, criticising ‘the state of isolation in which fashionable females are placed by the extraordinary amount of crinoline which they wear about them, and which renders it impossible for any one to approach within some feet’. (Put like that, they don’t sound so bad.)
But it’s also true that crinolines are at least partially responsible for the prevalence of broderie anglaise. This is a type of cutwork embroidery, usually in white thread on white fabric. Cutwork refers to any kind of embroidery in which individual threads or whole sections of cloth have been removed; it was popular across Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries and was a precursor to lace.
With broderie anglaise, the pattern – often floral or sinuously geometric – would be planned out and perhaps simply stitched. Then holes would be cut out and the edges sealed and decorated with overcast or buttonhole stitches, and more embroidery would be used to fill out the space and unite the design. Edges are often scalloped to complete the effect.
Originally the patterns, cutting and stitching were all done by hand, making it time-consuming, skilled work that was expensive and a sign of wealth. From the 1870s, the work was done on machines and prices came down significantly.
The style has close cutwork cousins across Europe, but is believed to have originated in Eastern Europe. The ‘anglaise’ part of its name is thanks to its popularity in the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century, when it was frequently used for luxurious underwear and crinolines. Being light and stiff, if caught in a breeze they had an unfortunate tendency to blow up, revealing what was beneath, and so chemises and drawers became increasingly decorative and pretty – a way of clawing back dignity in the face of sartorial disaster.
Broderie anglaise has come and gone ever since. It was fashionable in the 1950s and again at the start of the 21st century. It is a feminine style, less formal, delicate and romantic than lace, with a more contemporary feel. As a trim it works brilliantly and, thanks to its peek-a-boo heritage, it is perfect for bedrooms and dressing rooms – just the thing to surround yourself with while slipping into something more comfortable than a crinoline.
