Maybe it’s the bohemian in me coming out now that I live in the countryside, but I have never been more into paisley. It started with an antique Indian paisley tapestry that my mother handed down to me this past summer. I found the perfect spot for it covering an upholstered ottoman in my living room, and it now pulls together all the other colors in the room and adds the perfect touch of ethnic romance to the otherwise traditional English countryside look.
But I am also loving paisley in clothes – Derek Lam’s graphic 60’s mod paisleys caught my eye on the runway for fall, and then the Marlon Falaise / Lucie de la Falaise family portrait in Vogue stood out in a more authentic, hippie kinda way.
For a while I’ve been dismissing prints as too specific or of a season, but when looking through all these photos its hard not to see paisley as a classic.
Lucie de la Falaise and Marlon Richards with their family, 2012
Marlene Dietrich on her USO tour, 1940’s
An Instagram photo of a woman wearing Jil Sander’s paisley suit to her child’s christening. That’s chic.
Veronica Lake, 1955
Candice Bergen, 1970’s
Mexican actress Lupe Velez, 1939
Etta James in the recording studio, 1967
Veruschka, 1965
Mick Jagger, 1967
My favorite Stella McCartney campaign, 2012
Marisa Berenson wearing Chanel, 1969
Emma Stone wearing Derek Lam in British Vogue, 2012
Henrietta Tiarks, Marchioness of Tavistock, at Royal Ascot, 1968
love helen brown!
This is a wonderful blog,great photos, commentary and the ability to understand what is important in life!
Paisley came to England by way of the colonies, as did chintz and other pretty ideas – the principle behind the design is what makes it chic – the heritage.
Great examples! I just worry that paisley can veer too much into cheesey territory if not done properly.
Amanda, the girl in the Jil Sander is Tamu McPherson and she is the fashion editor at Grazia.it. Her very famous blog http://www.all-theprettybirds.com/ is called All The Pretty Birds" She does photographs of all the shows.
That woman is Tamu!
Loving that Harvey Nic look! Have you read the book The Women We Wanted to Look Like, by Brigid Keenan? Henrietta Tiarks is in it as well as great photos of other cool women through the years – well worth getting.
So chic!