The paisley motif is of Persian and Indian origin and dates back to the 1500’s. In the 17th century Emperor Napoleon of France, gifted his wife Josephine with a beautiful Kashmir paisley shawl. Josephine grew a passion for these intricate, beautifully woven shawls and amassed several hundreds of them, many given to her from French Officers.
She was a major fashion icon during Napoleon’s reign and had a great influence on creating the trend for paisley shawls, which continued to flourish in popularity for years. Hundreds of years later the paisley motif was brought to the forefront. In the late 1960’s “The Beatles” traveled to India and when they returned, they brought back Indian fashions which influenced various styles, bringing the paisley, once again, back into popularity with mainstream America.
Even the Legendary John Lennon had a Rolls Royce custom painted with a paisley design. This universal design was popping up everywhere from artwork, fashion, home décor and even guitars.
Featured in the New York Times magazine for fall fashions, paisley’s are back in trend for 2009 and are flourishing not only in dresses but in home interiors .
So let loose some passion for paisley’s, whether your dressing yourself or your home!!!!!
