Saturday, April 30, 2011

Commemorative Royal Hankies... and Snow!?!

Although I did not get up at o’dark thirty to watch the Royal Wedding (I was awake, sick with a cold, but I did not get up), I have been fascinated with the replays, pictures and stories.  William and Catherine (hey, what a nice name she has! Why isn’t she Cate instead of Kate?) are a lovely couple.

Back when Charles and Diana wed, I did not collect any commemoratives. Nor have I gotten any of Will and Kate. But I would if they made commemorative ladies hankies! Unfortunately, they didn’t. They did make a men’s handkerchief, but in my humble opinion it is butt ugly.

I checked the actual wording of Lord Chamberlain`s decree regarding Royal Wedding Commemoratives (this is the relevant part - textiles)

            Textiles.  Royal arms, emblems and titles can be used on carpets, cushions, 
            wall hangings and head scarves, but they are forbidden from being used on
            textiles. This includes articles of clothing such as T- shirts, drying up 
            cloths and aprons.


William and Kate t-shirts abound, as do all manner of tacky items designed to lighten the wallet of the casual collector. But they are not officially sanctioned. So, maybe I will just look for one of those scarves. Or not.

In the meantime, I’d like to show you the Royal Commemoratives I do have. They are from Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.  At that time, hankies were quite fashionable, so there were a lot made.









Rather interesting, don’t you think?  And the following are also from the UK, although they are not commemorative. I had a friend who went to England about 8-9 years ago and bought me two Nottingham Lace hankies in London at a place called World of Lace in Covent Garden. They are the white ones on the right.


The Scotland hankie is silk and has been in my family longer than I have. I don’t know the story behind it, but I have always loved it.  Detail shot below.


Do you have any hankies from your mom or grandmother or other female relative that you love?  Are there memories and stories attached to them?

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway here and help me name my new Hankie Couture doll!  The winner will receive eight lovely vintage hankies (and my thanks for helping me select a name).  

And finally, this is the sight we woke up to this morning.  


Depressing, isn’t it?   But it did melt by 6:30 or so in the evening, and unless it gets really cold tonight, everything seems to have come through unscathed.

Bruce and I went to Lowe’s and bought a new electric lawnmower so he won’t have to throw out his back starting the old one.  He assembled it and charged it.  Hopefully some time in the next couple days it will be dry enough to mow (or plow) our grass.  It’s been so wet that no one in the neighborhood has mowed, so we are not the only ones with a wild lawn. We do, however have lots of those “pretty little yellow flowers” (as Bruce calls dandelions) and are also waiting for the lawn sprayer guys (I’m sure there’s a better name for them) to show up.  I sure wish spring would get here!!

Hugs,
Cathy maroon

5 comments:

  1. Love your ROYAL Hankies!! The SNOW OMG I can't take any more snow!!
    XO Shirlee

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  2. I LOVE the hankie. It looks like my Jack Russells. Where could I get one??!!
    Bummer about the snow.It's very cold for May day..
    Thanks for visiting me!
    Deb

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  3. Hi Cathy!
    I am so happy...or at least I was happy you stopped by today..until you showed that white stuff 8/ Come on it's May 1 there are times when you keep that kinda thing to yourself for others peace of mind.....argawuk (shiver)
    LOL, I am happy you stopped and are now an official 'Friend' I've been a follower/friend and you've been on my bloglist for a while now. Now that you know where I am please don't be a stranger!

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  4. Oh for pete sake..see you had to shake me with that snow!!!
    I love your commerative collection. And, as you've found I love vintage hankies. My hankie memories are of my Grandma. In the 40's and 50's she worked for Woolworth and in her uniform pocket she always had a perfectly folded (triangular) hankie. By the time I came along in the 60's she was a stay at home Grandma, but had her ironed colorful hankie in a pocket. We still have her whole collection.

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  5. Oh those royal hankies are the BOMB!!! And I like the Scottish silk that's been in your family for ages too...UNfortunately, I didn't inherit any hankies from any women in my life so I'll just have to covet yours!!

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