Floral Trimmed Catalan Pattern Dress, ca. 1900-09
via CDMT
Happy Friday! What better way to celebrate than with FRIDAY FASHION FACT? Fabric patterns are, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating sides of fashion history. The designs range from stark and simplistic to incredibly elaborate, and everything in between. Most people look at a fabric pattern and assume it was created purely for the aesthetics- basically, someone just thought it was pretty. To be fair, that is often the case, particularly with modern fashion. Sometimes, though, the pattern holds deep significance. There is arguably no pattern that has more history and significance than paisley.
The origins of paisley can be traced to Persia in the 1st Century AD. At this time, the pattern was barely recognizable to the teardrop shape we are familiar today. Instead, it was shaped as a stylized tree full of flowers, inspired by the cypress tree, which believed to be the Tree of Life. The Persians dubbed the pattern "boteh" meaning tree or shrub, a name by which the pattern is still known in many areas today. In its early days, the design was mainly created in precious metals, whether through embroidery or sculpted on decorative metal objects, and it was geared towards royalty.
Throughout the centuries, the pattern spread across the Middle East, India, and Asia. Each culture developed the pattern in its own way. There is some debate as to why the curved tip was created, but most believe that it was inspired by the bent cedar tree, which in Persian tradition was symbol of resistance or stregnth. The pattern gained significant popularity in the late 16th and 17th Centuries, during the Mughal Empire, when shawls became a popular formal fashion for men. These shawls would be woven with boteh patterns at the edges, the symbolism appropriate for ceremonies at which the shawls were commonly worn.
These shawls became highly popular in Western society thanks to the East India Trading Company. The accessory was imported across Europe, where it was far more popular for women than men, yet Indian weavers could not keep up with demand. Therefore, European textile artists worked to recreate the look en masse. However, most looms could not accommodate enough colors to create the elaborate designs which European women craved. Some shawls were printed, but the effect was not nearly as luxurious. However, around the turn of the 19th Century, workers in the small Scottish town of Paisley, which at the time was known for silk production, proved themselves to be particularly skilled at creating the ornate design. Soon, Paisley became the epicenter of European shawl production, causing the pattern to be renamed as we know it today.
Paisley shawls remained popular through the Victorian Age. However, by the 1870s, technological advancements meant that detailed patterns became much more affordable, taking away much of the novelty of the elaborate paisley shawls. The paisley pattern itself did not fully fade from fashion, though. The pattern was still used from time to time in various aspects of dress. Many of the shawls, in fact, were turned into dresses and other pieces, since the shawls were so large and contained several yards of fine fabric. The pattern has had a few revivals since this time, most notably in the 1960s. It has been solidified as a classic design, and can still be found commonly today.
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