Chatelaines were a type of very popular jewelry item in the past, but have taken a back seat (to put it mildly) as purses and other items appeared.
A chatelaine is described as a decorative belt hook or clasp that was worn by both men and women at the waist and featured a series of chains that were suspended from it. Each of these chains was mounted with useful appendages such as keys and watches, but also sometimes with more day-to-day things like scissors or thimbles.
Chatelaines date back to Ancient Rome and were worn not just in the Italian peninsula, but also in Britain.
More modern chatelaines have appeared at the end of the Middle Ages and were worn until around the 1900s, but were immensely popular during 1700s and 1800s. They were mostly utilitarian in nature, but quite beautiful nonetheless. They were worn in multiple European cultures and were also known as just chains or clavandiers. Basically, on a chatelaine, you would hand everything you needed handy: from small objects such as your keys to sewing kits, perfume bottles and, later, watches. Sometimes, you would even see spoons, ear-cleaning sticks or pencils hung on these chains.
The advances made in jewelry making during the 18 th century made this period to be the highpoint in the history of the chatelaine. During this time, these accessories were, while still functional, highly beautiful and often had amazing designs and were embellished with stones or other ornamental elements. Some even featured biblical quotations and little by little, these utilitarian pieces turned into veritable jewels. The development of the processing of steel at the end of the 18 th century allowed for the creation of extremely polished chatelaines, which shined like diamonds when exposed to light.
During the reign of Louis XVI, the fashion codes prescribed that one was supposed to wear two watches at the same time, each hung by a separate large chain. Marie Antoinette was, of course, one of the followers of this edict.
Interestingly enough, however, the first time chatelaines are "cataloged" as such is very late, in April 1828, when they were mentioned in the English magazine The World of Fashion. A little later, in 1854, Prince Albert would offer a set of pendants for chatelaines to his wife, Queen Victoria as a wedding gift. Now, chatelaines were becoming more and more decorative and were worn very much in high society. The obsession with these items made many caricaturists focus on them greatly during that time - people were often portrayed as wearing chatelaines that were too big or too dangly.
Later, as bags become more and more popular, especially during the beginning of the 20 th century, chatelaines were abandoned, as people had more comfortable ways of carrying their "everyday essentials". Moreover, the fact that now watches were starting to be worn on the wrist, made these pieces quite useless.
Today, one barely sees chatelaine-inspired items - maybe just on some occasions, someone makes one with a decorative purpose. However, while far from the original thing, the idea of carrying your things at your waist has been modernized and now comes in the form of the fanny pack. Which, as we know, is a very controversial fashion item.
Fraquoh and Franchomme
Further reading:
Attire Club Mood Board: Racinet's Costume History book 16 strange fashion history momentsP.S. We want to hear from you! What do you think of chatelaines? Do you think they could make a come-back? How do you stand vis-à-vis fanny packs? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
