Passementerie

Passementerie of cording and braid, embellished with beads, French, 1908.

Passementerie or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings.

Overview

Passementerie worked in white linen thread is the origin of bobbin lace, and passement is an early French word for lace.

Modern passementerie includes the gold braid on military dress uniforms, the elaborate trims used on some lampshades and draperies, and for decorating couture clothing and wedding gowns.

Fringe and tassels are categorized as forms of passementerie.

History

A tassel is primarily an ornament, and was at first the casual termination of a cord to prevent unraveling with a knot. As time went on, various peoples developed variations on this. In the 16th century, the first Guild of Passementiers was created in France and documented the art of passementerie. The tassel was its primary expression, but it also included fringes (applied, as opposed to integral), ornamental cords, galloons, pompons, rosettes, and gimps as other forms.

Tassels, pompons, and rosettes are point ornaments; the others are linear ornaments.

References

• Caulfield, S.F.A. and B.C. Saward, The Dictionary of Needlework, 1885.
• Montupet, Janine, and Ghislaine Schoeller: Lace: The Elegant Web, ISBN 0-8109-3553-8.
• Picken, Mary Brooks, The Fashion Dictionary, Funk and Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition ISBN 0-308-10052-2, 1999 Dover republication ISBN 0-486-40294-0)

External links

• Passementerie page at "The Tailor's Art," Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology.