With wedding season on the horizon, the museum's new exhibit is "Here Comes the Bride, Brides and More Brides," a collection of lace trousseaux from 1890 to 1950.

The Sunnyvale Lace Museum is the only one of its kind in the western United States and holds one of the most extensive collections of lace and lacemaking supplies. Its all-volunteer staff is dedicated to preserving historic lace samples and the craft of making lace.

The museum houses more artifacts than it can display. Boxes of dresses, lace samples and other heirlooms pile to the ceiling in the museum's storage area.

Volunteer Pat Wootten says the museum receives its artifacts primarily from donors.

"Most of the donors want someone to take care of their lace," Wootten says. "It takes great care to preserve textiles."

Because exposure to light can cause the fragile, aging material to deteriorate, volunteers draw on the large accumulation of items to rotate exhibits periodically. After being displayed for a couple of months, artifacts are carefully packed up and tucked away in the dimly lit storage area.

The museum's collection of wedding gowns is currently getting a little time in the spotlight. While the gowns, gloves and parasols provide a peek into bygone fashion trends, Wootten says displaying lace artifacts like the bridal collection serves an educational purpose as well.

"Fashion trends often mirror political trends," she says.

For instance, Wootten points to an Edwardian lawn dress made of delicate material with lace insets.

"The lawn dress was a very leveling fashion trend," she says. "It required either money or great skill. A really good seamstress could have a wonderful dress regardless of how much money she had. It showed a leveling of our society. You couldn't identify the wealthy by what they were wearing."

Wootten says that lace also helped equalize society by providing women with employment.

"Lace has been economically important wherever it was made," she says. "It would often give women a few pence in their pockets. It was one of the few ways women could earn money."

Although today lace is mostly mass-produced overseas, museum volunteer Ele Schwartz says a small but dedicated group of hobbyists is trying to keep the art of lacemaking alive. To preserve the dying art, the Lace Museum Guild offers classes on the craft and culture of lacemaking.

"We find a lot of younger people who come from the tech industry are taking our classes," Schwartz says.

The Sunnyvale Lace Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum is located at 552 S. Murphy Ave. For more information, call 408.730.4695 or visit www.thelace museum.org.