felt hat | fringed bag | sunnies | smock dress | platform heels | fur gilet | suede jacket
god knows what's happened to me, but suddenly i feel really drawn to paisley. you might remember i wrote about my long-standing hate with the print a while ago, and since styled a similar dress to the one above to resounding applause from people that even included me, because that dress is phenomenal and i absolutely adore it. but the print? something about it makes me feel nostalgic - for a time that wasn't mine, but for a time that had a massive influence on trends we now consider 'vintage' and 'retro'... my two favourite words.
the summer of love saw the first commercial paisley print outside of india's traditional royal garments, thanks in part to my boys 'the beatles' and their psychedelic pilgrimage east in the late sixties. then, the hippies picked it up as their print of choice and it became a staple print through the seventies until disco came along and made everything a bit too shiny and hypercoloured...
point is, paisley is often associated with the free-loving, peace-keeping hippies of the sixties and seventies, and that's something that resonates with me. i grew up listening to music from that era, some of my favourite films are set during those times, and it's a period in time i wish i could have been around to experience first hand. so i suppose the print is something that takes me to a place i love-by-association. which is kinda weird, right?
whatever the case, whenever i see paisley back in stores in amongst tan accessories and faux-suede jackets and fringed accessories, my usual uniform of skater dresses and polka dots goes out the window, and is replaced with a more care-free and more casual vibe. i go bohemian in the summer; sandals and maxi dresses and skirts and allthetanaccessories, i really do. something about the 70s vibe makes getting dressed in the morning seem less complicated, and who doesn't want less complication in the warmer months, eh?
is there a print or era that resonates the same way with you?
i'd love to know it's not just me.
