Are You Ready for a Paisley Print Comeback?

The floral printed legacy for which Laura Ashley is known spans almost 70 years—and paisley’s earliest appearance within the heritage brand’s massive catalogue can be traced back to dress prints in the 1950s. The company didn’t fully expand into the home furnishings category until the ’70s; there’s a publicity photo from 1972 that features a paisley printed tablecloth amongst a tented backdrop of patterned drapes, wallpaper, and beddings. 

“Paisley patterns have a strong bearing on our brand’s DNA,” explains Helen Ashmore, Laura Ashley’s head of design. “The curving shapes and pod-style motifs that signify a paisley print bring a wonderful feeling of the exotic into any collection and in two-tone color combinations have timeless appeal in modern-day interiors. The design can be used in both minimalist and maximalist ways, which makes its appeal so vast.” According to Helen, “the brand started by using them as small-scale, single-color prints that worked alongside our floral ditsy prints that were so of that moment.”

When Vera Bradley was established in 1982, cofounders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller were on a mission to bring into the world colorful handbags and luggage that made a bold statement. It wasn’t until the ’90s that the company started adding paisley onto its quilted cotton bags and eventually found its groove as budding millennials developed a newfound sense of preppy style that stood out from their Lilly Pulitzer–loving mothers. Soon enough, the signature print became the brand’s entire identity and was fully embraced by the middle and upper class. Even so, Vera Bradley was more attainable than most, with an $18 to $540 price range across categories.

If you go to my parents’ house in the suburbs of New Jersey, you’ll find a shelf of Bermuda pink bags—a retired pattern from Vera Bradley’s spring 2005 collection—at the top of the closet, in my childhood bedroom. I vividly remember the feeling of excitement that filled me up when my mom would take me to the local boutique that carried the brand so I could pick out a new accessory for my growing collection of (emotional) baggage. Before you call me out for unlocking these suppressed memories, know that I was a middle schooler coming of age at a time where everyone was sliding down this slippery slope.

For Abigail Quist, founder of the the independent clothing brand Arq, some of her fondest early memories feature a cameo of the print. They appeared in her grandpa’s smoking jacket with paisley silk lining and leather slippers, and a hand-stitched quilt that her grandma, Lena, made out of silk velvet and silk ties. This past May, it all came full circle when Arq introduced paisley to its collection of responsibly sewn, organic base layers. “You can always count on fashion being somewhat cyclical, but it’s fun to see what really takes hold within a broader resurgence,” Abigail explains in an email. “Paisley feels really good and luxe and fun right now in the context of intimates.”