The constant drive to make clothing more attractive is responsible for the creation of the finest and most costly trimming we now call classic lace. Lace making is an ancient craft dating to the land of the Pharaohs, who used flax cloth decorated with colored threads and worked them into geometric designs. The ancient Greeks and Romans also ornamented their togas with colors or gold. A new garment needed no ornament about the immediate edge, but as it became worn and frayed, the threads had to be twisted and stitched together. Lace was derived from the twisting techniques used in decorating the fringe ends of woven fabric.

True lace was not made until the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In Flanders (Belgium), lace is called "kant", meaning border or edge. The birthplaces of lace making are generally recognized as Flanders and Italy. True lace is created when a thread is looped, twisted or braided to others threads independently from a backing fabric. Originally linen, silk, gold, or silver threads were used; now lace is often made with cotton thread. Manufactured lace may be made of synthetic fiber. A few modern artists makes lace with a fine copper or silver wire instead of thread.

For firm evidence of the origins of lace, written history indicates that Charles V decreed that lace making was to be taught in the schools and convents of the Belgian provinces. During this period of renaissance and enlightenment, the making of lace was firmly based within the domain of fashion. To be precise, it was designed to replace embroidery in a manner that could with ease transform dresses to follow different styles of fashion. Unlike embroidery, lace could be removed from one material and then replaced on another. Lace became quite fashionable on collars and cuffs for both sexes, with the lace trade reaching a peak in the 18th century.

The popularity of lace is also recorded in pattern books as early as 1540 where early reticella designs usually included pointed or scalloped edges. Lace was extravagantly used in clothing (costumes) as well as interior decorating and by 1643, lace making had become an established industry. In France the patterns became more detailed and delicate; the light, flowery point de France lace was used for every conceivable decorative purpose. For example, Louis XIII lace, also called Van Dijck-lace (named after the famous painter), was very well-known. During this period Venetian lace was at the peak of its glory and in Flanders this style was imitated with bobbins, which produced an exquisite high quality result. Later the laces of Alencon, Argentan, and Valencienne exemplified French style and design. The making of bobbin, pillow, or bone lace, which is mentioned as early as 1495, passed from Italy to Flanders, reaching its height of production there in the 18th century.

In the 18th century, the demand for very fine lace increased enormously, especially in France. The lace fit perfectly in this period of refined living. Desired by kings and courtiers, the aristocracy and the clergy, lace became a symbol of wealth and was omnipresent in the lives of rich families.

With the increased demand more specialization and several new genres came into being that were named after the cities where they were made, like Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, Mechlin, Valenciennes, etc. During this period Venetian and Flemish lace workers were drawn to France where the production of imitation Venetian lace (Point d'Aleçon) was almost identical to the Italian lace, causing Italy to lose its premiere position in the making of needle lace. However, when it came to Brussels lace, no one could copy it perfectly because of the Belgian way of organizing the work. Every lace worker was trained to specialize in one particular part of the lace making process, thereby allowing Brussels to remain as the only producer of Brussels lace.

The glorious era of lace ended simultaneously with the French Revolution of 1789. Aristocracy was out and a simple more puritanical life of comfortable clothing without lace was in. The French Revolution condemned the aristocracy and customers for lace disappeared. The lace industry has never recovered to its glory days. Machine-made lace first appeared circa 1760, and by 1813 a bobbinet machine was perfected, with cotton thread replacing the use of linen after 1832. In the 20th century many lace patterns have been revived and modified and they are called Cluny lace. The primary centers of lace making today are France, Belgium, England, Ireland, and Italy.