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February 23, 2005
Bruge lace
One of the many things that Bruge is famous for is its lace making. This cottage industry has been one of its staple industries since the middle ages and the founding of the city as a trading port. The lace is particularly fine and the patterns very intricate, and it was in great demand as a sign of one's status and wealth - the more lace on display at collar or cuff, the wealthier and more important you were.
Lace making classes at the "Kant Museum" in Bruge
The fashion for lace has fluctuated through the centuries, seeing a major revival in the early 20th Century as a fashion statement. The money generated helped to rebuild the war-damaged medieval buildings, but, sadly, the hand made lace was soon replaced by cheaper machine-made lace, and the craft was threatened with extinction. Fortunately, it survived and is now a popular hobby among many residents. One abiding memory of Bruge will always be the young girl seated on a chair outside her home next to a canal making an intricate piece of lace oblivious to the tourists passing by, staring at the rows of pins and the flashing bobbins as she wove them back and forth.
The art is now taught and encouraged and may yet see a return to popularity in fashion. Who knows? But there is one place it still enjoys great popularity - among the many traditional Catholics both Roman and Anglican! You can tell how "Catholic" the person is from the amount of lace on his cotta!
Posted by The Gray Monk at February 23, 2005 09:05 AM