Strange Laura Ashley dress - help, anyone?

The Laura Ashley company 'experimented' with a lot of design influences - Elizabethan, Victorian and Edwardian, English Romantic - particularly in the early 1970's. There is a very good reference book Laura Ashley by Martin Wood. Here's a useful link which shows some really good examples of this style of dress and information about the company's design direction in the 1970's;

http://tinyurl.com/yjc7eqj

 

Thanks ikonicvintage. Those are all the elements that make this dress a keeper!

Anne - that's really helpful to have your date confirmation, thank you!

vertugarde - fantastic! There's a dress on page 52 that has a similar heraldic/medieval looking print, although the limited preview doesn't show the page with its caption! I'll have to seek that book out.

And on the previous page it mentions the designer Jacqui Smale, who was credited on the labels of her designs for Laura Ashley. Perhaps that was the extra name on your dress, Amanda?

Sarah

 

You make a great point about that vertugarde; and thank you for the link to the book, which looks to be excellent in its scope.
I guess I was thinking more about the later days of Laura Ashley, when the boutiques had sprung up all over the place, and there was a more predictable pattern to the styles.

Sarah, on page 55, I could see this style, falling right in there, with those drawings.

 

Joules - Google won't let me see past page 52! I'll have to sneak a look at the book in Waterstones next time I'm in town.

And I've sent an email via Ebay to Daniel/mabverick and we'll see if he's kind enough to respond. I'd hate him to think I was spamming him so I've made it clear that the dress is in my personal collection. Thanks again for that tip, Amanda!

Sarah :xmas3:

 

Hope it's okay that I post this:

 

jonathan is right on here again...a beautiful fabric...and classic ashley styling of the period. DOuble sleeves were the rage here in uk..l recall them welll!!!

 

Joules - that's a fascinating illustration, thanks. I'm amazed at how many different sleeve treatments Laura Ashley used! Is there a date for that page? (Btw, I'm sure this counts as 'fair use' since this is research and not for commercial purposes).

Sara - thank you. I will start my British Vogue research from 1972 and work backwards I think, especially given your testimony. And I'll make sure I get the year right rather than just look at the volume number :lol:

Sarah :elf:

 

Good, I'm safe. Looks to be Winter '74.

 

Thanks Joules!

I've got great news as well. Daniel/mabverick has responded to my message, bless his heart!

I hope he won't mind me quoting him:

"your dress is absolutely right. It's one of LA's earlier medieval style
prints, and I have seen this style a few times. She did quite a few Regency
style dresses early on, before settling into the chintzy
Victorian/Edwardian style. The buttons are right. Lovely example - it's
either 1969-1972 or 1972-1975 depending on whether the label is "laura
ashley made in wales" or the second version which has "Dyers and printers"
on the label. Both are nice early ones. Hope that helps."

My label says "made in Wales" which puts it in the 1969-1972 period - which is precisely what you fabulous people have been telling me all along! :bouncy:

A big thanks to everyone! And to Daniel (I wish I had his address, I'd send him a Christmas card!) who was kind enough to answer a stranger's question. Most of my queries - even to some museums/academics - never get answered at all so that was a lovely surprise. Cheers Amanda for the great lead!

Btw - I've been finding the VFG site is loading verrrry slowly today, and I couldn't even get the home page to open. Is it just me?

Happy Sarah :12:

 

I love it! The definitive answer and date, for the lovely garment. This is really the fun, isn't it? Glad you tracked it down, so quickly and efficiently!

 

Yay, Joules! I agree! It doesn't always work out so well, so I'm a happy girl.

But I will still be looking through those old Vogues just in case I can spot it, or something near as dammit!

I'm afraid I'll have to sign out now, because its taking looong minutes to load each page on VFG (and I'm not getting the same delay on any other web pages).

I'll check back tomorrow, but right now I need my dinner and can't wait!

Sarah