Date: c.1920s
Origin: Great Britain
Fabric: Silk crêpe, Schiffli embroidered tulle
Brand: Custom made
This boudoir cap has a crown of gathered silk crêpe, seamed to a cotton bobbinet tulle with a Schiffli embroidered trim appliquéd over. The scalloped edge of the tulle has been seamed at the ears to form covers. Silk blue ribbon embellishes this boudoir cap, with a lattice formation caught in the seams around the cap crown, and rosette bows at each ear. A silk multicolour rosette ribbon trims the seam at the crown of the cap.
The boudoir cap was originally a type of lingerie headwear, most commonly worn during the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. It was originally worn over undressed hair, worn in the privacy of the boudoir alongside nightwear. In the 1910s and 1920s, it would be commonly worn to protect shorter hair styles during sleep. As the designs became more and more elaborate towards the 1930s, it began to be considered more of a decorative hair net. Like other forms of lingerie, boudoir caps were usually made in fine fabrics such as lace, tulle and satin. Embellishment was often profuse, with techniques such as ribbonwork being particularly commonplace.
From the collection of Karolina Laskowska
