Sentence:  She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in <WSD>velvet</WSD> and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]&mdash;all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A closely woven fabric (originally of silk, now also of cotton or man-made fibres) with a thick short pile on one side.