Antique French Fichus collar from early to on sale mid 1800’s with bobbin lace edge; all hand sewn; very soft cotton; well maintained
This is a very soft and well looked after antique collar. It is in the shape of a square back, thin, cotton fichus, however this looks as if it was attached to a garment rather than being an independent garment itself.
Fichus were worn from the 1700 to the late 1800's to keep the neck worn and to cover a plunging neck line to protect modesty. Often they were made from lace. This particular piece could either be considered a collar or a Fichus but either way, we believe it was meant to be attached at the back of the neck of the garment and was meant to hang loose on the front so that the wearer could criss cross it across the chest and tucked into the front of the dress for modesty or warmth.
This piece is made from a very thin and soft cotton fabric which does have a few small holes by the back of the neck. Around the outer edge a bobbin lace has been hand sewn. It is made in two pieces which are attached with a lovely circular stitch. It was attached to the missing garment by a piece or a “tape” of cotton fabric to keep the edge from fraying.
It is also possible that this piece was never attached to another garment but rather the maker simply used a piece of fabric “tape” to instead of finishing lace all the way around the inside of the neck for comfort and to save time. This would not have been considered a particularly difficult piece to have been created and possibly would have been made some convenience and need rather than for on sale fashion and therefore measures were often taken to save time and cost.
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