Clothing - Lace cuffs, 19th century

Historical information

These matching cuffs could be attached to and detached from sleeves as needed in order to embellish an outfit and for ease of cleaning as cuffs would soil more quickly than the rest of an outfit. Their original owner is unknown, but it was purchased in the late 1990s by the donor who later moved to Emerald but, at the time, had a 2nd hand decoration shop in Camberwell when she purchased this as part of a group of garments which included bloomers, lace collars and cuffs, camisoles etc - all of which have been donated to the Museum. The donor was informed at the time of purchase that the garments were over 100 years old.

Significance

These lovely handmade cuffs enabled more personalisation and variety of outfits as well as facilitating more efficient cleaning of clothes.

Physical description

A pair of cream-colored lace cuffs made of silk tapes with infilled needle stitching. Hand-made.

Other parts of this item

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