276 | Herbarium
FILED UNDER: ARCHIVE OF PETALS
Recovered from an unmarked textile drawer within the Archive of Petals. Original label missing. The flowers still hold their color. Whoever pressed them never recorded why.
SHELL
Golden olive brocade, reclaimed vintage textile, woven with gold metallic thread, floral motifs, and traditional medallion patterns. Era: 2000s.
LINING
Crisp, unbleached cotton.
DETAILING
Matching detachable choker, cream trim, tassel embellishments, and flowing cream ribbons.
STRUCTURE
Precise 11-panel construction reinforced with synthetic whalebone. Shaped with a softly pointed hem that elongates the torso.
LACING
Cream ribbon threaded through reinforced gold-tone grommets.
SIZE
S [size guide]
EDITION
One of one.
FROM THE CITY ARCHIVES
The Archive of Petals
The Archive of Petals occupies a quiet gallery within the Conservatory of Quiet Things. Its collection consists primarily of preserved botanical material: pressed flowers, seed cases, dried stems, botanical drawings, and textiles bearing floral motifs. Specimens were retained after the gardens and collections from which they originated had been altered, abandoned, or otherwise disappeared from the City's records.
Herbarium was transferred into the Archive without an accompanying ownership record. Its original label had already been removed by the time it was catalogued, leaving no indication of where the textile was first acquired or whether the corset was made for a specific wearer.
The brocade is unusual among the Archive's garments. Its floral motifs are woven rather than embroidered, with metallic thread incorporated into the ground. The colours remain comparatively clear, despite visible softening to the textile's surface. The matching choker, tassels, and ribbon detailing were retained with the garment and appear to have been made as part of the same set.
The name Herbarium is a later archival designation, assigned when the specimen was entered into the Archive of Petals. No earlier name has been recovered.
The reason for the garment's original placement within the Archive is unknown.
