Picture from the book on Laura Ashley by Martin Wood
Not the new stuff - I don't really like the layout of their stores... - but the old stuff, and the ideas that are conjured up by my experiences of the brand. I have vivid memories of a wall in one of the sixth form classrooms at my school covered with a display on the History of Fashion. A page from a magazine had been cut out and stuck to the top right hand corner, showing a girl in a Laura Ashley sun dress, wandering through long grass. I wish I could find that image now... It has stayed with me for more than 5 years, and will continue to feature in my thoughts on summer dressing and florals for a long time to come!
These photos by Jane Ashley for example... There was an exhibition a year-ish back at the Arden and Anstruther Gallery in West Sussex. I really wish I'd been able to go, as even the images I can find on the internet show a wide variety of styles, but a beautiful, consistent aesthetic.
Image from The Guardian by Jane Ashley
Image from the BBC website by Jane Ashley
Image from Arden and Anstruther Gallery by Jane Ashley
I also adore the fabric patterns that have surfaced... A couple of my favourites are these:
What do you guys think? I'm really really really tempted to buy the Martin Wood book...
Xxxc
