Antimacassars were used to keep macassar hair oil popular with men off furniture fabric. And yes, I actually owned one at one time. The first time I heard the word was in college -- a girl with enormous breasts under a tight clockwork sweater was reading the Randal Jarrell (sp?) poem Zela en Ram (sp?) and I fell in love with the girl and the word.
What on earth is a "clockwork sweater" ?
- so what happened with your Jane Russell friend?