The Alley Rose                          Antique Linens & Textiles                              ~When only the very best will do~     We’re so delighted you’ve stopped by The Alley Rose!  Here is where you’ll find spectacular antique linens for the home as well as beautiful Antique Clothing and Laces.  Whether you’re the serious collector or just looking for a few nice pieces to accent that special place in your home, you couldn’t have found a finer place to search.  You’ll find our merchandise to be extremely high quality and meticulously photographed and described.  It is our promise that when our antique linens arrive at your door they will be exactly what we said them to be with no disappointing surprises. Be sure to also check out the new Alley Rose Exclusives page where you’ll discover fabulous Victorian reproduction soaps, framed prints and place cards which you won’t find anywhere else but here.  As you browse you’ll find many fun old quotes, articles, Proverbs and customs from days gone by.  Now, simply sit back, imagine and have fun while you’re taken back to a quieter, simpler time… a time when life centered around the home.                 Valentines Day makes me instantly think of the Victorians who held Love in such high esteem.  Their homes were filled with books of romantic poetry and at least one instruction manual for the proper etiquette between males and females so love could blossom without reputations being ruined.  “Coming out” meant a young woman had completed her education and was officially available on the marriage mart. Financial or family circumstances might delay or move up a girl's debut, though typically, she came out when she was seventeen or eighteen. She purchased a new wardrobe for the season in order to appear her best in public.        Looking for a suitable mate was no easy task.  In the public eye, ladies were required to present a carefully orchestrated “gay and carefree” attitude without glorifying herself in the eyes of her family and friends.  She had to use discretion when accepting invitations and couldn’t allow special attention from anyone to whom she is not especially attracted, because, first, she may do injury to the gentleman by allowing false encouragement; and, secondly, she may discourage those whom she liked better.  Flirting was considered in poor taste as well as expressing ones thoughts on finances or politics.  On and on it went until the perfect mate had been found and they had been given the “okay” by both sets of parents.        Behind closed doors it was quite a different matter.  Frantic to compile the necessary linens needed to set up a proper home, they used every spare minute cutting, sewing and embellishing everything from clothing to bedding, curtains and table linens.  As soon as mercantile stores began offering “finished” linens, the wealthier mothers of prospective brides began snapping them up and the linen brokerage houses of Europe flourished.  Where it had once taken months to finish a sheet and pillowcases with suitable embroidery and lace, it could now be purchased by a simple trip down town.  Because it became possible to complete a trousseau in weeks instead of years, it became of less and less importance.  However, old habits die hard and in a 1905 etiquette book, the bride’s parents were cautioned that they were still responsible for providing household linens, sheets, pillows, bedspreads, tablecloths and napkins.  “Four dozen towels were a bare necessity!”        I think I would have flourished had I lived during that era.  I don’t mind hard work, I adore doing fancywork and was never much good at flirting anyway.  Then again, without my blow dryer and a means to plug it in, I doubt if I’d of had many beau’s anyway.      If you're in the market for antique lace, be sure to check out the Antique Lace page.  We've got some exceptional inventory right now!    "We should have nothing in our houses which we did not   either know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." ~William Morris~ The beauty of Life lecture, 1880