Literary notes about old lace (AI summary)
In literature, "old lace" is often used as a color—a delicate, antique off-white with hints of cream—that evokes a sense of refined nostalgia and genteel elegance. Authors frequently employ the term to describe both characters and settings, suggesting a softness and fading beauty reminiscent of heirloom textiles. For example, one passage describes a woman with a demeanor as gentle and refined as "old lace" itself, lending her a timeless quality [1]. In another instance, the pairing of "lavender and old lace" in a title not only hints at complementary pastel hues but also conjures up an atmosphere steeped in the charm of a bygone era [2]. Similarly, a character dressed in "pearl-grey and old lace" embodies the same delicate, almost ethereal quality, reinforcing the color’s association with fragile, refined beauty [3]. Finally, when an entire world is depicted as consisting of "old lace and lavender," the imagery transports the reader to a realm of understated, vintage splendor [4].
- She was a gentle-looking woman with soft, white hair and a pink-and-white complexion—the sort of woman one always associates with old lace.
— from Penny Plain by O. Douglas - According to Bertram she always made one think of “lavender and old lace.”
— from Miss Billy by Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter - It was a faded lady of a day—a lady of waxen cheeks, attired in pearl-grey and old lace, her dim eyes illumined by a last smile.
— from Simon the Jester by William John Locke - And I lived in a world of old lace and lavender, of crinoline and brocade.
— from Tramping on LifeAn Autobiographical Narrative by Harry Kemp
