The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-02-17

Hoped Venetian edgings. An altogether
new and graceful style Of eostuming aD-
pears. Lew coiffures, glowing with the
opalescence Of haIf-hidden pearls. wed
with the aristoeradc laces that yelled
white necks and shoulders, in enhancing
the loveliness OF the wearers. ''Vandyck
points sprang into the vernacular, and
lives still, although generally perverted 70
mean a staiactite form Of lace, rather
than the needle-poin5 It first signihed he
painters vogue grew enormously He
was hattered and feted, and made the re-
oipient Of royal pensions Cfew Of which
ever materiaIizedl, and was closely irni-
tated BY contemporaries and BY his sue
cessor Sir Peter LEY.
Vandyck's portraits of men Of fashion
differ from the records 0f Paris fashions
Of the same period in important particu-
lars. The wearing OF extravagant boat
flounces such as were seen at the
French court the painter confines TO his
equerries and funkies The lace orna-
ments OF gentlemen's footwear ne makes
TO consist only OF rosettes worn just over
the instep. Al Windsor are kept the
choicest records Of the fine fabrics Of
Vandyck's day, and much Of the lace
seen IN his portraits IS painted with such
skilful perfection Of detail that its char
acter OF school Is easily determined.
Here may be seen the sembIance Of the
exquisite Beatrice de Cusance. who brav-
ed Pope and state for the evanescent love
Of the trifing Duke Of Lorraine. Her
point lace collar and wrist ruffes are as
perfect as any that ever came from the
Adriatic queen city. Framing king
Charles's face above his suit Of dun ar
nor is deep lace collar that claims re-
cognition As suddenly as does the noble
white horse upon which he sits. The col
lar is seen again in The canvas study Of
three heads Of the king in the same col
lection This melancholy. saturine. i'm
perious aristocrat IS wonderfully refined.
whether portrayed by the sensitive Ny
tens OF by Vandyck. and seems 70 have
priced this bit Of p recious needlework.
The collar IS still extant and was shown
TO the public at the Stuart exhibition in
1859. In the delightful pictures Of the
children Of this king the damure. mys-
teal little ones are trigged OFT with bre-
telles collars. tabuers. close turnover
caps. and petticoat trimmings Of fabulous
4e-r'-7' anu LAlr LpuE POI LdlLS OF queen
Henrietta Marie exhibit a wealth Of lace
garnitures of exquisite workmanship worn
always with the pauician grace that dis
tinguished the Medicis. Here. too. Is
the portrait Of Prince de Carignan. with
delicate collars and sleeve ornaments Of
Flemish point and near by that of Lucy
countess Of Carlisle, "a woman Of fash
ion and politics" who was sung by Dav-
enant. Cartwright. and Waller in Eng
land. and lauded by voiture in the
French saloons; syren and tratress. yet.
whose crimson gown, decked with gor-
geous lace ruffles very ike TO Genoese
point, is testimony 70 her rich taste in
dress. In Vandyck's portrait Of that
most discriminating connoisseur and ne
Eotiator Of his day. Sir BaIthazar Gerber.
and his family (which includes nine chill
dren besides the parent pair, there is no
costume in the remarkable group which
lace. generously used. does not appear
The history Of thread 1aces. as we know
them. began in the fourteenth century
They seem to have been made almost
coatempo-aneousIv in Spain and italy.
whence. overlapping France. the art
spread Flanders. in which region the in
dustry latterlv has become centered. Pre-
vious 70 that date stitched nets were
valued for the purpose Of personal and
church ornament. Records exist Of darn
ell net altar cloths and cushions that
were the property Of st. PauPs Cathedral
in 1892 Until the sixteenth century the
s0-caIed lace Of England and France
consisted Of this net and Of elaborate
cut ont cloth or silk. stitched and en-
broidered with fancy colored threads and
those Of silver and gold. Much Of this
was made by ladies' Of leisure and Of
fashion. Primitive, though ifs motifs
were. this trimming had its part in the
education Of the lovers Of hnery. and in
preparing the way for the incoming
thread and bohbinet trimmings. As ac-
quaintance with the flmy Flemish and
italian laees widened, the Indulgence in
it Of fashionable men and women grew
more and more exuavagant Gold threads
mingled with those Of fax. and laces ap-
peared AT this time made wholly Of them.
Mrs. PaIHser states that at the meet
ing IF the states Of Bl1is in 1857 the ele-
CANT Henri II Of France. familiar with
all the luxurious and splendid dressing
az italy. wore q costume embeilshed
with 1850 yards Of gold lace This king
did much to foster the commerce between
France ard italy, with which country he
was allied through Catherine. his queen
She was that complex Medici. daughter
! Of Lorenzo the Magnificent. sister Of Pope
Leo x. who from her love of all things
beautiful began the Renaissance Of art
and letters in France. yet baptized it in
the massacre Of ST. Bartholomew
At this period Venice was the most
+ prosperous city in lower Europe- Between
the coasts OF italy and Of Flanders com
merce was brisk. Great shiploads Of Ttal-
ian handicraft were carried to Bruges
and Antwerp the former then enj,ving
! the reputation of being one Of the largest
marts ia the world. as also it was one
Of the most vigorous Industrial centers.
Here first were displayed in northern Eu-
rope the textile wonders az southern
workers In these towns the brokers
from the rich court circles Of England
were kept busy in outbidding their rivals
from France for the precious Italian
laces. as each cargo arrived Here. too.
were buyers ~ English woods. of Persian
silks and If Flemish linens The Bruses
merchants grew fabuIously wealthy.
Their wives we've Eowaea So richly a.
10 amaze queen 81 France who visited
the town and caused her to sxclainl. ST
Thought myse.f alone ~ be queen B1t
here I see hundreds az women whose
frocks are as r5ch as my own." 1Eany 81
the most beautiful Venetian ard Genosss
laces that we're br1ught n Flan5ers were
reserved by the merchants fer the a5orn-