Black Crepe Mourning Veil"Crape" (sometimes called crepe now) fabric was used in the Victorian era for mourning clothing. The stiff, textured fabric was somewhat scratchy and was symbolic of the discomfort of mourning. I have seen very few of these mourning veils. They seem to be quite rare, which could be due in part to the fragility of the fabric, which was easily snagged and torn, and also the belief that it was unlucky to keep mourning clothing (and in particular, crape)