Simplicity takes us back in time as it divulges rich history of “How Cottage core found its niche in Vintage Fashion”
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Step Back into Romantic Styles!
Laura Ashley, Jessica McClintock & Gunne Sax
How Cottage core found its niche in Vintage Fashion
In the 1970’s, there was nothing bashful about wearing your heart on your sleeve, as romance and nostalgia emanated from the dresses popularized by Laura Ashley and Gunne Sax, later renamed to Jessica McClintock. As the new decade dawned, Laura Ashley had been running her namesake business with her husband, Bernard, for 17 years. A £10 investment in fabric, dyes, and materials to make tea towels would spark an entire industry.
Once back in her birthplace of Wales, Laura deepened her love for the countryside and sharing her unique floral prints with the world. “Our inspiration is totally with rural life as it can be lived,” she said. Her decades of McCall’s sewing patterns continue to channel her fondness of the 18th century with long silhouettes and feminine styles.
Meanwhile in San Francisco, Gunne Sax was started in 1967 by home sewers Carol Miller and Eleanor Bailey. The name was adapted from the phrase “sexy gunny sack” or “sexy burlap.” In 1969 Jessica McClintock invested $5,000 in Gunne Sax, she reminisced: “…my grandmother was a fabulous pattern maker and designer, and from 5 years old on I was sitting at her sewing machine, and I would make anything I could get my hands on.”
In 1974, thanks to the popular TV show “Little House on the Prairie,” based on the 1930’s book series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, the quaint prairie dress went mainstream. Not just for girls running around playgrounds but also by women attending social and formal events, weddings, and especially bridal dresses. “Gunne Sax by Jessica” is released by Simplicity Patterns to compete with Laura Ashley and McCall’s success. Laura Ashley’s British floral and garden inspiration connected quickly with the prairie style at the forefront of 70’s American fashion.
Read more on: https://simplicity.com/blog/the-legacy-of-laura-ashley-and-gunne-saxe
Learn more at: https://simplicity.com/stitch-in-time
