lace curtain
Delicate window draping
Lace curtain describes a style of window covering made from delicate, openwork fabric featuring decorative patterns.
Beyond this literal meaning, the term carries significant social connotations, particularly in the phrase lace curtain Irish, which describes Irish Americans who adopted middle-class respectability and distanced themselves from working-class roots.
The lace curtain in a window signaled aspiration to refinement and gentility.
By extension, lace curtain can characterize anyone or anything affecting pretensions to higher social standing than their origins suggest.
Ornamental hanging cloth
- valanceOrnamental window heading
- swagStolen goods, slang
- tasselOrnamental hanging cluster
- trimmingCutting away excess
fretwork · scrollwork · pattern · motif · ornamentation · scallop · edging · border
Interlace strands into fabric
- textileMaterial from woven fibers
- cottonPlant fiber for textiles
- linenFlax-derived textile
- polyesterSynthetic petroleum-based fabric
mesh · netting · tatting · crochet · embroidery · broderie · Chantilly · bobbin
Permitting diffused light passage
- gossamerFilmy, delicate material
- delicateEasily broken or harmed
- filmyThin and translucent
- diaphanousDelicately translucent
airy · tulle · voile · batiste · organza · gauzy · lightweight · see-through
Elegance of manner
- sophisticationCultured elegance and complexity
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- ornateElaborately decorated
- finesseSubtle, deft handling
tasteful · genteel · formal · drawing-room · bourgeois · respectable · proper · aspirational
Old valued collectible
- VictorianOf a prim era
- heirloomInherited family treasure
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- retroEvoking recent past
old-fashioned · heritage · parlor · grandmother · cottage · farmhouse · period · traditional
drapery
Ornamental hanging cloth
trimming · fretwork · scrollwork · pattern · motif · ornamentation · scallop · edging · border · panel
weave
Interlace strands into fabric
polyester · mesh · netting · tatting · crochet · embroidery · broderie · Chantilly · bobbin · knit
translucent
Permitting diffused light passage
diaphanous · airy · tulle · voile · batiste · organza · gauzy · lightweight · see-through · diffused
refinement
Elegance of manner
- sophisticationCultured elegance and complexity
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- ornateElaborately decorated
finesse · tasteful · genteel · formal · drawing-room · bourgeois · respectable · proper · aspirational · gentility
antique
Old valued collectible
retro · old-fashioned · heritage · parlor · grandmother · cottage · farmhouse · period · traditional · restoration
screen
Display or barrier
- partitionBarrier separating spaces
- veilingConcealing with covering
- concealmentAct of hiding something
cover · modesty · discretion · diffusion · obscuring · shielding · filtering · layering · inner · net
- curtainsdrape, drapes, sheer, sheers, valance
- lacechantilly, Chantilly, lacemakers, punto in aria, tatting
lace curtainblinds
Adjustable slatted window coverings
shutters · blackout curtains · roller shades · plantation shutters · wooden shutters
lace curtainplain
Basic and unremarkable
simple · unadorned · minimalist · stark · austere
lace curtainworking-class
Manual laborers as group
rough · unrefined · common · uncultured · coarse
lace, curtain, laces, laced, lacing, lacy, lacework, curtains, curtained