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If you currently don’t own anything with eyelet, I bet your mother or grandmother might. For those whose mind is blanking, it is material-usually cotton-that has a series of holes in an even pattern. It’s not as airy or delicate as lace, and each little hole is reinforced around the edges. Right now, it’s often used on the ends of flat sheets, on the part that goes at the top of bed and folded over under the pillow. It definitely imparts a sense of femininity, so its uses are fairly limited. Years ago, it was seen in white doilies, those furniture coverings to protect dresser tops or night stands, and eyelet still lends a touch of old-world charm to bedrooms.

Well, it appears that eyelet has been rediscovered by fashion designers and put to use in some of the newest spring styles. As I was flipping through my “research” papers the other day, I picked up the most recent Lucky magazine and noticed a page dedicated to this concept. One of the aspects of today’s eyelet is that it's not a throwback to the small holes of the past, but embraces oversized openings. In my opinion, this sort of coincides with clearly making a statement of “I’ve arrived.” Not content to be a small asymetrical pattern of holes that are merely a few notches up from lace, eyelet of 2008 demands to be noticed, which makes its placement and pattern more intriguing than ever.

To give you some ideas of how it is now used, here are seven ways oversized eyelet appears to work well when it’s taken off furniture and bed linens and moved into closets:

1. Picture a peasant blouse, with the traditional gathered neckline and waist. Yet, instead of the bottom just puffing out into a standard hem, the edge appears wavy, due to the eyelet pattern that extends ¾ of the way up towards the waistband. The focus, then, would be around a gal’s midsection, not only streamlining her waist but camouflaging her hips with a loose draping that allows the colors of her skirt or pants to show through.

2. Think of a cute little A-line skirt, but add a tier of extra material halfway down. On this, as well as on the bottom layer, imagine a series of eyelet holes about 5 inches high in a flowery pattern, all around. It would be quite fun for casual wear and flirty enough for nights. To work the best, though, it should be above the knees and worn with a very plain top, so the emphasis is on its intricacy.

3. Although not entirely practical enough for winter wear, an eyelet scarf consisting of nothing buy eyelet patterning would add pizzazz to any outfit. It may be just the thing for early fall days, when it’s not really needed for warmth, but would impart interest to an otherwise boring jacket or sweater.

4. One of the featured items in the layout was a longer tunic (or short mini dress) that utilized a circular pattern of eyelet over the entire front and down its ¾ length sleeves. The repetitiveness was relieved by wide bands of matching material around the neck, cuffs, hem, and front of the garment. This is the kind of thing that, if fully lined, would be wonderful for occasions that require more than jeans and a tank, but not fancy enough for a dress.

5. Probably my least favorite item was a silk blouse that was entirely done in an eyelet pattern of circles. Perhaps because it reminded me of something a school marm would wear, I couldn’t get excited about this particular choice. However, there’s no denying that it would garner more attention than a plain polyester blouse of similar design.

6. Last but not least was a dress that utilized eyelet stitching only along its wide, attached collar (almost a boat style, but extending down onto the shoulders). What made the positioning intriguing is that the bottom half of the eyelet pattern showed the white of the dress through the holes, while the upper half showed the tanned skin through the holes.

Clearly, eyelet adds interest in a way that nothing else can. It certainly has evolved from just protecting furniture and rightfully owns a place in fashion.