Chic Shawls from the Early Twentieth Century

I visited the Perelman Building at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in May 2015. They have textile and costume collections on chic shawls from the mid-twentieth century. Known as versatile garments that drape over the shoulders in Western Europe and United States since 1760s, shawls became stylish in the early 1900s. Fashionable women would wrap themselves in bright fields of flowers, bold graphic designs, or dramatic prints. Shimmering metallics, luscious velvets, and delicate net and lace were well known materials, and often included embellishments of embroidery, beads, sequins, as well as long silk fringe that would swing dramatically. I enjoyed the shawl collections from France, Spain, United States, and Egypt during my visit. I am especially interested in Manila Lace Shawl from Granada, Spain.

Mantilla Lace Shawl

The city of Granada in Spain is the home of a type of lace shawl called mantilla. It made by embroidering fine silk net stretched on large frames. The technique contrasts the transparent machine-made silk tulle with the lustrous floral designs worked in shiny silk floss. The mantillas were usually embellished with silk fringe and become famous to visitors to the Southern Spain who could choose from colorful, pastel, or strikingly monochromatic fabrics and garments. As Granada specialized in the Spanish embroidered lace shawls, it was featured in August 1924 by National Geographic magazine.

At the end of my visit, I was amazed by a table provided the museum for visitors to try their hand at embroidery. It had drawings on the netting fabrics such as flowers and emotion expression symbols. Some people embroidered their names utilizing stitches such as the running stitch, cross-stitch, satin stitch, or chain stitch. [mgw]