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Complete Your Vintage Wardrobe With A Thimble Cage

11 June 2020

Jayden Arnold

If you love vintage fashion, you're not alone. The days of beautiful bespoke dresses and suits may feel far distant, but that doesn't mean you can't incorporate handmade vintage fashion pieces into your daily or event wardrobe. Whether you are interested in incorporating vintage-style pieces into your everyday life or dressing up in period pieces for renaissance fairs and other events, one accessory that shouldn't be overlooked is the thimble cage. In this article, you can learn the basics about what thimble cages are and how to choose your own thimble cage.

An Accessory With A Surprising History

Thimble cages are more than just beautiful accessories. Pre-twentieth-century women used them to carry their thimbles with them at almost all times. From the 1860s to the late 19th century, women carried chatelaines on their waists with all of the tools they could need throughout the day, including a thimble. Thimbles back then were often custom fit and expensive, but they were also essential. For these reasons, keeping one's thimble secure was a priority. Thimble cages were made to keep thimbles securely attached to chatelaines, but as with any handmade item, many thimble cages doubled as works of art. 

Beautiful Materials and Workmanship

Today, the legacy of thimble cages is carried on through dedicated silversmiths. These silversmiths custom create thimble cages with motifs that harken back to the days when thimbles and their accessories were essential to daily life. Many thimble cages are made entirely from silver, but some include glass inserts to ensure there is no chance of a thimble escaping its cage.

When choosing a thimble cage for your vintage wardrobe, take the era you are trying to recreate into the equation. Make sure you purchase a thimble cage with a design that blends in well with the rest of the tools on your chatelaine. If glass doesn't suit the era of your other clothing, choose an all-silver thimble cage. The silversmith who creates it will make sure it is secure enough to hold a thimble in place for hours, even with a rustling dress shaking it around.

Handcrafted With Care

If you do find a thimble cage that isn't custom made by a silversmith, be wary. These thimble cages may be beautiful, but their quality isn't guaranteed. If you have a bespoke thimble to go with your cage, it deserves to be displayed and carried in a cage that will protect it well and showcase it perfectly. To learn more about how thimble cages are made, contact a silversmith who creates them.

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