We take lace for granted in the age of mass produced textiles. Lace in the modern era is priced in the range of other fabrics, although that range can be quite wide. But before machine looms, lace was a precious commodity because it was hand made, and the finest of lace was made in Alençon, France. Point d’Alençon needle lace was very expensive because it was so labor intensive. Every square centimeter (less than half an inch) required around seven hours of painstaking labor. It took entire teams to produce the lace, from the designer who drew it to the finisher who polished it with a lobster claw. Lace was so expensive that wearing it was naturally restricted to the very wealthy or royalty. The lace industry involved so much money that there were importers, smugglers, tariffs, trade wars, and a campaign to produce domestic lace that gave rise to Alençon lace. Read what made Point d’Alençon needle lace so special, which entails a description of how it was made, at Jstor Daily. -via Strange Company
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Source: neatorama