0000 Crape and Crêpe : its association with mourning dress

[gius]

I was surprised this fabric has a story to it; then one thing led to another...

Crape (English name)
Crêpe (French name)

It is a fabric with a crisp and crimped or wrinkled surface

• caused by the texture of a highly twisted yarn(s)
• or the structure of the weave (the way yarns are interlaced together to form a fabric)
• or through finishing ... ie. pressing with heated engraved metal sheets, which form a pattern on the fabric

vintagesewing.info

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There are two kinds of crape:

1. soft (aka Oriental or Canton)
2. hard / crisped

Thin crape is known as crêpe de Chine

 

[gius]

The origins

Crape had existed since the Middle Ages
It was first made of 100% silk
transported through trade
from East to West

omifacsimile

mid-1500s all silk transported to Europe from China via Middle East

transported to England via countries bordering Mediterranean
(ie. Italy, Spain, France)
as raw / thrown silk ...

 

[gius]

Crape in England

It is in England where the crape becomes more associated with mourning dress...

honors.astate.edu

• Crape had already been associated with mourning 300 years before 1850 and only after that time did it become solely associated with it

• Bologna, Italy was the main centre for the production of crape in the medieval times. It then moved north to Antwerp, Belgium, and it is this time period that crape’s association with mourning can be traced

 

[gius]

England as the main centre for mourning crape

time period is 1837 - 1901
(the Victorian era)

The hard type of crape, which originated in Bologna,
becomes a specialty of manufacture in England
when the silk industry begins to thrive in the 1750s: production became easier with the power-driven machines, and it was also possible to refine the technique and imitate high quality imported fabrics, such as those from Bologna

morbidoutlook

when this hard crape is dyed black that it is associated mourning ,
for crape was favoured for its magnificent ability to reflect absolutely no light, to be drab and be completely dark

• dyes: black dye came from sundry vegetables, as well as copperas, logwood and valonia
• What makes crape stiff is that while dyeing, the natural gum of the silk is lost, softening and brightening the fabric in the process, so it is put through dressing with gums, starches, glue and even treacle to return the stiffness, originally produced by the natural gum

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So why crape and England?

The Victorian age was named for England’s Queen Victoria. She took the throne in 1837 and died on January 22, 1901. Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died of typhoid in 1861. During this period of forty years, the Queen was in mourning. She remained in full mourning for three years and dressed the entire court that way. The Victorian era reflected the Queen’s prudish ethics as well as, most visibly, her personal taste in mourning.
Victorian mourning fashion was aimed mainly at women, widows in particular. The fashion had a way of isolating a widow in her time of need just as the Queen had done.

morbidoutlook

 

[gius]

mourning bonnet
crape

corsetsandcrinolines

would have been worn during the later stages of mourning when some color was permitted to "slight your morning". Lavender was considered an appropriate color to wear, which would explain the lavender cloth flowers decorating a rather sombre bonnet. It most likely would have been worn by an older lady as it's near identical in style to the matron's bonnet above.
This style of bonnet would not have been thought fashionable by younger ladies. The ties are purely decorative and would not have been tied. The crinkled crepe is of good quality, and is not the cheap widow's weeds which had a tendancy to turn brown.

 

[Hanne]

Gius thank you so much for starting these textile threads..
There's so much to learn..