Flea Market Item 26-308

Antique Edwardian Whitework & Lace Bodice Fragment — c.1900–1915

An exquisite surviving fragment of an Edwardian whitework garment, measuring 28x25cm, beautifully constructed from fine, almost transparent cotton lawn with lace insertion, delicate drawn-thread details and richly worked floral embroidery.

This piece appears to have originally formed part of the front of a woman’s blouse, camisole or lingerie bodice. Although no longer complete, its surviving construction provides a wonderful record of the elaborate needlework used in fashionable women’s clothing at the beginning of the 20th century.

The lower section is particularly beautiful. Panels of fine white lawn are embroidered with trailing flowers and leaves in raised whitework, interspersed with narrow openwork bands and wider lengths of delicate floral lace insertion. The embroidery has wonderful texture, with tiny eyelets, padded satin stitching and clusters of raised flowers.

Across the upper section are two panels of exceptionally fine lawn decorated with closely spaced horizontal bands, creating an almost striped effect. These are framed by further lace insertion and would originally have provided texture and transparency across the bodice.

The whole piece demonstrates the Edwardian love of combining different white-on-white techniques — sheer lawn, embroidery, lace, openwork and applied bands — to create detail through texture rather than colour.

It is now very much a textile fragment, with raw edges, losses, small holes and areas where the original garment has been cut away. For the textile collector or slow stitcher, however, this is part of its appeal: there are numerous beautiful sections that could be studied, displayed or carefully repurposed.