ABSTRACT
Frans Hals's portraits illustrate the development of embroidery in fashion, especially in the 1620s and 1630s. They show the opulence of this embroidery to its fullest effect. While virtually no garments have survived, examples of similar embroidery still exist, mainly in the form of decorated bindings for bibles and songbooks for young women. These book bindings allow every stitch in Frans Hals's portraits to be identified, despite the artist's rather impressionistic style.
