Saturday, January 26, 2013

Vintage Millinery Veil


"The art of making flowers was said to begin during the 12th century in Italy when they made flowers by hand from silk cocoons. By the 14th century the French had taken the art of hand making flowers and really began perfecting the techniques and materials.  It was said that in 1775 Marie Antoinette was given a single silk millinery rose, and because it looked so real she fainted! Eventually the craft made its way to England and then on to America. The Victorians were huge fans of anything floral and over the top, so at that time Milliners were a part of every community."




"Starting around the 1970's is when it all began to change, we discovered how to make these flowers, that for all these centuries had been made by hand, by machine. The beautiful velvet and silk fabrics used for the petals were replaced with polyester and synthetics.  The stems were assembled with plastic and no longer laboriously hand wrapped. We could make them cheap.  So the art of hand crafting these beautiful flowers pretty much ended and this is what makes collecting millinery fleurs so desirable today."  



Creating treasures using vintage millinery fleurs is a true art today.
Rachel Pallas is a talented Washington state artist who takes these fragile, silky pieces of history and weaves them into small rings of sheer beauty.   




She recently made this pale, mauve millinery veil for me.




Tiny baby blue velvet forget-me-nots are tucked between large, floppy, frayed edged silk petals.
Rachel is carrying on the history and skills of using these beautiful fleurs in millinery veils, wreaths, and petite veils.
I can truly see her one-of-a-kind veils on the chignoned heads of brides to be
or on the tresses of little girls attending their first garden party... 

But I'm just having fun moving this sweet hoop of silk around the house from room to room.











If you haven't met Rachel yet,
be sure to visit her beautifully inspiring blog, Shabby French for Me.
You will find yourself swept away by her photography and her talent for creating breathtaking vignettes
in her beautiful west coast home that overlooks the Sound.




Thank you so much, Rachel ~

You are such an inspiration!


Beginning to work on my Inspiration Board.



~  Blessings  ~





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49 comments:

  1. I am teaching a class on making fabric flowers next month at our library. My favorite ones I ame is with ribbon with wire edges. I will post a tutorial on it soon.

    Yours is so pretty. Makes me want to make more!

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    1. Oh Brooke! That sounds like so much fun! I'll be looking forward to your tutorial!!! ♥ xoxo laurie

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  2. Beautiful images Laurie...very beautiful!

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  3. Hi Laurie-beautiful post!!!I love Rachel's veis very much-she is amazing!!!!Love your post ♥♥♥
    Have a nice day :-)
    xoxo...by Vicky

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  4. How Sweet to share Rachel's beauties and her blog.Rachel is very Sweet and talented for sure.I just love her blog as well as your's and Tausha's.All my Favs!

    Have a Blessed Weekend~Kim xoxo

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  5. That is beautiful!! I also love the vintage purple bottle!!! Hope all is well and pray your mom is doing better!!

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  6. Hi Laurie....Very pretty florals. Don't you just love things made from flowers? I also love inspiration boards. Many things I've put on similar projects came to fruition. Take care. Susan

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  7. How absolutely beautiful! I cringe at the things that have been done in the name of progress. Some are great and some are just a crime, this is one. Another that I can think of is the synthetic compounds being used to make perfumes instead of essential oils and flowers. Hopefully both flower making and perfume making will return to their roots soon!

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  8. Oh so pretty and delicate looking. And I so love your lamp with the angel wings!

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  9. What a treasure your millinery veil is Laurie. Gorgeous photos.

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  10. Lovely veil. I'm going to visit her blog. Your inspiration board inspired me to do the same. Wonderful idea.

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  11. This just so sweet and pretty...it looks beautiful wherever you have it. And Laurie, your pictures are not too shabby either! ;-D

    XO,
    Jane

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  12. So beautiful and such a lovely post. I love how you have used your beautiful hoop of flowers here and there.

    Hope you are doing well my sweet friend.

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  13. I am always so happy when I find millinery flowers--love yours!

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  14. So nice and enchanted pictures, the millenery Rachel's veil is so nice. I love also you inspiration board.
    I love to come here to breathe scent of quietness. I love these flowers and use them everywhere in my house, and I played with them in my hats for the next Venice carnival (I'm leaving on thursday for the entire carnival. so I used millenery flowers that I dyed into pink.
    xoxo from PARIS
    .__♥__♥_____♥__♥_Peace
    ._♥_____♥__♥_____♥_ Joy
    ._♥______ ♥_______♥_ Light
    .__♥____________♥_Love
    .____♥________♥_ Harmony
    .______♥____♥_ Sunshine
    .________ ♥____ Hope

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  15. I just love millenery flowers! However they are so difficult to find in the uk. Rachel's veils are so gorgeous. Her blog is so inspiring! Love the hat boxes and all your Florentine treasures. Your blog is one of my favourites as everything is simply beautiful!
    Hugs,
    Amanda @ www.notsoperfectmess.blogspot.co.uk
    xxx

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  16. Laurie, Your styling and photography are exquisite! Thank you for the history of making silk flowers! Both you and Tachel possess a very similar style. In the mid 1980's my cousin has a Victorian wedding that was stunning! I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. We all wore antique vintage attire (even the guests) and wer rode in antique cars (The Victorian era ended in 1901) so the cars were probably from the 1920's. My aunt and cousin loved Victorian style and their homes were filled with antiques! Your wreath is lovely. You're going to have fun moving it around. Hope things are okay with your mom. I've been thinking about you.

    Hugs, Sandy

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  17. On the ole I-pad and just realized I misspelled a few things.....darn!

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  18. So beautiful. The flowers are gorgeous, delicate works of art. And your photography is beautiful. It's really a shame what has happened to this craft.

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  19. Very pretty Laurie! I love how soft and feminine they look.
    yes, Racheal has such a gift for designing so many beautiful treasures.
    You too!
    I love how ebverything looks so soft, so timeless.
    Hugs!

    All my heart,
    Deborah xoxoxo

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  20. So beautiful Laurie!Yes I adore Rachel's blog! Her photos are exquisite!
    xx
    Anne

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  21. Laurie,
    What a wonderful homage to Rachel. She is indeed a talented lady and has an eye for beauty as her home reflects that! Loved the insight on the history of millinery. These beauties are certainly coveted and are a delight to find. Thank you for your lovely post and beautiful photographs :) love the inspiration board as well! Have a wonderful week!

    Warmly,
    Jacqueline

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  22. i loved making tissue paper flowers as a young girl, and i love to make them still! what a gorgeous veil, laurie.

    michele

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  23. I am in LOVE with ALL your photography Laurie !!!! I am seriously oohing and ahhing over every romantic detail !!! How clever and lovely to explain the art and history about vintage millinery veils. I always wanted to learn about how the originated as well ! Speaking of..... your Rachel Pallas hand crafted veil is to die for !!!!! Did you have her cutom create that one? It's sooooooooooo GORGEOUS !!! You must be looking at that beautiful creation all the time.... I know I would be ! I think I'll have to ask Ms.Pallas to make me one too.... Well, just returned from my vacation, so it may take awhile coming back to reality with all the snow and COLLLLLLD weather we're having!!!!! What a SHOCK to my body... Anyway, can't wait to post more pics on my blog tomorrow, so look out for that. I'm also in dire need of going to the market to pick up my ROSES !!!! My house is naked without them!!! LOL !! Thanks for missing me and glad that God looked over my family and I while flying the friendly skies.

    XOXO~ Steph

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  24. So beautiful Laurie and your photos are as well!

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  25. The history of these lovely works of art is so interesting Laurie! All your photos are such "eye candy"! I particularly loved the one with the lamp shade and angel wings AND your inspiration board is WONDERFUL! It is always such a pleasure to visit with you over here! xoxo

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  26. Such pretty pictures. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  27. What a lovely vintage millinery veil that can be used in so many ways. Your pictures are incredible!

    Have a great week,
    Bev
    http://eclecticredbarn.blogspot.com

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  28. Another great informative blog, Laurie! Thanks for sharing the origin of milinary!!!! I am really interested in the crafting & design of the flowers!Sent away for a vintage milinary tool set that I found on Etsy!I think the tools are beautiful for display as well to craft flowers with! Snatch them up whenever you run across them, they are hard to come by : )

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  29. I am in heaven!! How did you discover this artist? I will certainly head over to see her blog as your post is so inspirational. Lucky you to have one of her treasures! And I love your last photo with it pinned to your inspiration board! Such sweet mellow colors!

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  30. Old and lovely and so romantic! Rachel has that style down pat!! You do too Laurie! Hey my picker brought me the most delicate lace panels yesterday....I will try to blog about them, but they need to go to a home like yours or Rachels. Wait til you see them.

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  31. Laurie you are a true artist in words and pictures. I love the veil. So pretty. I really enjoyed reading a viewing your post as always. Thanks so much for linking up at Transformed Tuesday. Hugs, Peggy

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  32. Oh I LOVE millinery of all kinds Laurie and this is beautiful! Yes, Rachel does such beautiful vignettes!
    sending hugs...

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  33. Laurie...Thank you for your writing on millinery...My grandmother was a milliner and your post brought the art to life...Blessings, Becky

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  34. What a beautiful veil wreath! Rachel did a wonderful job, and it fits right into your lovely home decor. Did you see the article on wedding wreaths in the January issue of JDL? Gorgeousness.
    I love how your inspiration board is coming along, too. SO Shabby Chic!

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  35. Laurie, I love your new vintage millinery veil. It is such a beautiful work of art. The color of the roses and flowers are so perfect. I love it hanging on your inspirational board. The fabrics are so romantic! You and Rachel inspire me!!! Thank you so much for sharing at Simple & Sweet Fridays.

    Jody

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  36. so beautiful, Laurie, and your photos look like they came from a magazine! love the wonderful inspiration board and hatboxes!

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  37. Wow.....now that is what I like about linky parties and I found you through Share your cup Thursday. Never knew about millinery flowers and your post sure taught me something today. I'm your newest follower. Off to read the rest of your blog.
    Kay
    Gallery Fifty Eight

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  38. These are so pretty! Love everything! fascinators

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  39. Beautiful images, Laurie. Always so inspiring. ❤

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  40. oh my goodness, its beautiful just beautiful, I love it! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things hop xo P.S. the new giveaway started Friday :-)

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  41. It's no wonder you're having fun moving it room to room...it is gorgeous! congrats on the feature at PJH designs!

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  42. Absolutely beautiful veil. Thanks for sharing it in on Fluster's Creative Muster Party. I can't wait to see what you link up next week.

    Hugs and Smiles,

    Robin
    Fluster Buster

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  43. Oh Laurie, it is stunning. I love the history of the flowers. My mother once told me that her grandparents owned a Millinery shop. Oh how I would have loved to have been here to see that! Thanks for sharing with SYC. I am going to check her out. Such beautiful work!
    hugs,
    Jann

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  44. I have only just stumbled upon your blog and read this very first article. I adore vintage and antique millinery flowers too. There is something so unique and romantic about them. Even the ones that have been crushed beyond recognition in an attic somewhere still have beauty. I love your beautiful piece and I can see that you do too. Have fun playing with it and decorating little vignettes with it. I look forward to now reading some of your older posts and being inspired.
    Blessings to you
    Melanie @ FrenchBlueandPeachyPink

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  45. The pics are stunning. I love the millinery flowers.

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