Lace was once so popular that during the Renaissance, it was used to decorate even doorknobs. During Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the monarch, a known lace devotee, declared the delicately intricate piece of fabric exclusive to royalty. By the 19th century, however, it had been reduced into a decorative element on undergarments.

During that period, with the invention of the single-needle knitting machine in the 1870s, Pauline Zimmerli learned to knit men’s socks and stockings. Soon after, she invented her own knitting machine and expanded her products from socks to ribbed fabrics and underwear that combined soft cotton with lace.

Today, you can wear Zimmerli’s 260 Maude Privé to keep yourself cool even in the summer heat, or like actress Nicole Kidman, lull you to sleep with comfort. No matter how you wear it, you’re bound to feel like royalty.

Zimmerli. Moressi. GF S’Maison Mall, Conrad Manila.

This story was originally published in Southern Living, May 2017.