Until the 80s, lace had always signified two things – elegance when worn in public, and an underlying alter ego of sexy and seductive when worn in private. One thing lace had never signified, however, was casual; it was reserved for weddings, little girls dresses and, on occasion - the adult bedroom.

That is, until a certain Material Girl got a hold of this frilly material and redefined it for a new generation. Madonna always had a reputation for mixing innocent sweetness with sex and lace provided the catalyst for her newest fashion statement. Wearing oversized laced bows and seductive fingerless lace gloves fluorescent colors, she brought lace out of the closet, so to speak, and wore it in ways that would make a proper girl from earlier decades faint in their tracks. Never at a loss for admirers, Madonna’s fans embraced her fashion faux pas and made it their own. Soon a lace revival was sweeping the nation as the lace-trimmed anklets of little girls past were paired with high-heeled pumps, and accentuated by stretch lace gloves, worn layered in shocking colors.

The lace floodgates now having been opened wide, off-the-shoulder lace tops, lace skirts, lace tights were all fair game, many offered in a variety of day-glo colors. The elegant reputation of lace was forever changed, thanks to the modern fashion visionary, Madonna -and there was no looking back.