Introduction
Chatelaines are fancy metal belts worn for decorative purposes. However in older days chatelaines were worn for a purpose- usually it was the lady of a manor house who wore a chatelaine. She used the metal belt to hang her keys and other tools.
Chatelaines in Olden Times
The word ‘chatelaine’ means the lady of a castle. Thus the belt bears a name that clearly indicated its original wearers. In those times, castles and manor houses stored a lot of wealth and food against a backdrop of relative poverty. The lady of the house could not trust the servants who came from poor families, so she kept many things under lock and key.
For instance, the lady generally kept the pantry under lock and opened it personally to give the servants what they needed to make the day’s food. Imported items like tea and sugar were kept in separate chests. This way, the lady typically had to keep a large number of keys handy to carry out her daily management.
As the ladies had to wear chatelaines for majority of the time and even when guests were around, chatelaines had to look attractive. The business of decorating chatelaines started this way. Silver and gold chatelaines were worn by ladies of very wealthy or aristocratic families. Chatelaines lost their function with the passage of time, but the jewelry item remained an elegant reminder of the wearer’s class.
The Look
Chatelaines are usually very long chains made of flat rectangles of metal. The metal rectangles are held together with chain links. The chain can be wrapped around the waist with one end dangling down the front to the floor. The chains often sweep the floor as the wearer walks. Chatelaines are highly decorated with jewels or enamel and some are made of precious metals. Chatelaines look elegant with Celtic outfits.
In our times, chatelaines are not part of everyday fashion. They are reserved for going to special costume functions like Renaissance Faire, especially if you are planning to wear the costume of a high born lady.
One reason chatelaines are not part of everyday wear these days maybe due to the length of the chain. Its sweeping structure does not go well with the activities of modern life. However hip length chatelaines can solve this problem. They look good with slacks and can be used for what they were originally made- holding keys.
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