Ribbon in Bloom

In this context, I will discuss the history of ribbonwork as it applies to creating stylized flowers from ribbon. If you're looking for information on Native American ribbonwork, check out the Milwaukee Public Museum Website.

Introduction

Saturday, June 26, 1926. Frankie Devine was stuck in her boarding room, long after nightfall, standing before her chipped vanity mirror and an overstuffed trunk filled with various fancies. Pouting like her favorite film starlet, she tossed yet another hat across the room in frustration. Frankie could already hear the Clover Club's tunes echoing from down the street, and she just knew there wasn't a soul sittin' still in those walls.

I can't just waltz in with a naked noodle, Frankie thought. Not when every girl there's shinin' brighter than the chandeliers!

Frankie spots a crumpled metallic Juliet cap at the bottom of her trunk. She pauses. It's almost perfect, she thinks. But, it's missing something.

As she grabs for the gold-and-silver netting, she remembers a diagram from a mail-in about a three-minute rosette, made from ribbon:

Edited by Ribbon in Bloom. Original: Ribbon Art, Volume 1, No. 2. 1923. Antique Pattern Library.

"Jazz me!" Frankie exclaims happily. "This'll drop jaws."

She hangs the netted cap over the corner of her mirror as she examines the contents of her trunk strewn about the place. Frankie's room looked like a haberdashery had blown its top.

The perfect ribbon was there, somewhere. She reached for a daffodil-yellow trim spiraled over her pillow sham. Squinting, she held it up to the cap. "Too spring chicken." Tossing it, she spots a slinky navy one next. Frankie briefly holds it up before tossing it too. Like a girl who's never broken a rule in her life.

Coral with bronze accents, mint with Swiss dots, lilac with silver scallops... she walked to and fro, continuing deliberations fervently. The mirror smirked at Frankie as she danced.

And then, barely peeking out under a fluffy ostrich boa, she spots it. The perfect ribbon.

Black satin, No. 9, with 6mm Swarovski trim and floral beadwork throughout. How on earth could Frankie forget her most treasured piece?! She lunges, practically rabid for the thing.

As she holds it up to the mirror, she forgets to breathe. The ribbon caught the candlelight and scattered it back to her, glittering across her boudoir. As Frankie gasps for air, she smiles foxily.

"You'll do, my darling. You'll more than do."

🎀

Although Frankie Devine's story is a fictional one, the world she occupied was not. The fanciful ribbon she clutches is a culmination of traditions far more intricate than those established in the Roaring Twenties. Frankie's most treasured ribbon isn't just a flourish, it's an inheritance.

But how did the art of ribbonwork, once occupying the domain of aristocratic fashion, weave its way into the vanities of every fashion-conscious girl in America? To answer that, we will leave Frankie behind and dive into the historical roots of ribbonwork, and the traditions spanning court dress, millinery, and global trade.

Early Origins of Artificial Flower-Making ➡️

Early Origins of Artificial Flower-Making

The concept of creating artificial flowers is ancient. Throughout history, humans have attempted to preserve the fleeting beauty of blossoms; using everything from wax, paper, cloth and porcelain, to rare and expensive materials like gold. This art can be dated back as early as ancient Egypt (c. 3000 BC), where palace interiors were adorned with handmade blooms. A biblical anecdote describes how the Queen of Sheba tested King Solomon with a series of riddles to gauge his wisdom. One such puzzle involved him being presented with both real and artificial lilies, having him discern which were living and which were crafted.

Two Riddles of the Queen of Sheba. Upper Rhenish, c. 1490-1500. The Met.

⬅️ Introduction

Blooming Into Fashion - The Middle Ages to the 18th-Century ➡️

Blooming into Fashion - The Middle Ages to the 18th-Century

By the Middle Ages and Renaissance, artificial flowers were mainly used in ceremonial and religious contexts throughout Europe. Nuns would make artificial roses to decorate church pews and altars, as well as ornaments for headdresses.

In France, the creation of artificial flowers was a highly-specialized trade performed by skilled artisans known as fabricants des fleurs artificielles, which literally translates to "makers of artificial flowers". Techniques, materials and knowledge of the trade were transmitted between guild members only, and members were forbidden to share with outsiders.

Originally, these artisans belonged to the guild of Feather-Dressers and Flower-Sellers (plumassiers et bouquetiers), formally recognized by Henri IV in 1599. However, in 1784, nearly 200 years later, artificial flower-makers were officially accepted into the guild of Fashion Merchants (marchandes de modes). Although seemingly insignificant, this incorporation signaled a significant cultural and economic shift in Parisian life, one which proved a growing demand for artificial flowers in secular fashion on the eve of the French Revolution.

In the 17th-century, the French Nobility:

⬅️ Early Origins of Artificial Flower-Making

The Ribbon Revolution of the 19th-Century ➡️

The Ribbon Revolution of the 19th-Century

Ribbonwork

A Ribbon Renaissance - Early 20th-Century

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Late 20th-Century

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The 21st-Century and Beyond

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References & Bibliography

🎀 A Little Bit of History of Flower Making. FlowerMakingTools.com.

🎀 Artificial Flowers in the Credit Records of an Eighteenth-Century French Fashion Merchant. Cambridge University Press.

🎀 Ribbon Art, Volume 1, Nos. 1, 2, 3. Antique Pattern Library.

🎀 The Fanciest Feathers and Flowers. Textile Tours of Paris.

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