RESERVED - Very Vintage Victorian Lace Top

Description

Stunning. Amazing. Splendid. And RESERVED - Please do not buy if you are not tsillithesilli!

The photos should tell you more than I can.
This is the real thing. All lace. Looks bridal to me.
It must have been worn over a chemise or something, and under a jacket or waistcoat, towards the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth.
I would be very grateful if anyone could give me info on this from the look of it...

I'd call it ivory-coloured and I'd say cotton rather than linen thread, but I'm not sure.

All the original, tiny buttons are there.
A few broken threads (you can see most of them at the bottom, in front, a few, less visible, at the back too). Really few to my eye and I didn't touch them because I thought an expert hand might restaure this properly... I just washed it.

I tried it on before cleaning it and it fits me— I'm generally a size S...

More details, from a message I just sent:

First things first— this is definitely not for everyday wear.
Even though I am no connaisseur, I'm really quite sure it's an antique piece. It's not so much that it's made of lace (probably machine-made but still ancient), it's the quality of the work (it's quite literally seamless to my eye for the greater part of it, and you don't get that quality in costume making) and also those measurements.
I think it's really a collector's piece.
So it really depends on your style and lifestyle. I would definitely not wear it to a party where people tend to become rather careless. I think some people might want to wear it at their wedding ("something old" it certainly is), or maybe on stage, provided it doesn't suffer too much "business".
It's a tiny miracle that 'all' the hooks and fabric-covered buttons ('and' their loops) ar still there— they must be pretty fragile by now...

About the tears, yes some definitely look like holes. Clearly, at this stage, with no mending attempt from me at all, some are going to be visible (the kind, once you've seen them, you can see nothing else, you know...). When you look at the whole thing, you don't notice them obviously, because it's lace, and because of all the detail. But checking again on receiving your message, I've found several that I couldn't see on my photos.

I did my best to get measurements, but the waist is rather tricky, because it sort of comes down in front : I would say 26 inches, 27 tops. As for breast, I suspect it could accomodate at least 38, maybe 40 inches— which is probably why the empty front comes down so much.
But, as I remember, it fell rather nicely on me even though nature was not particularly generous with me in that quarter...

Maximum height (so, in the middle), when top is on a hanger, is about 16.5 inches at the back, with the front coming down a further 3 inches or so.

What I suggest, if you are still potentially interested, is that you give mean e-mail address to which I can send photos of all (or maybe nearly all) the tears and holes, with a background that will show them off instead of camouflage them, as the lace does.


I will ship this registered. Let me know if you want more.

Added on May 29, 2009

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