'Remarkable' set of comics to go under the hammer in Lichfield
'Gentle, gracious living' Laura Ashley and how the 'prairie homemaker' lifestyle took hold.txt
'Gentle,poker literatura gracious living': Laura Ashley and how the 'prairie homemaker' lifestyle took holdSkip to contentBritish Broadcasting CorporationRegisterSign InHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of The Earth EarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherNewsletters'Gentle, gracious living': Laura Ashley and how the 'prairie homemaker' lifestyle took hold7 days agoShareSaveDeborah Nicholls-LeeShareSaveHBOIn the past five years the rural, 19th Century look has again taken off, and was recently showcased by Carrie Bradshaw in TV's And Just Like That (Credit: HBO)Decades before today's homestead look, Welsh fashion-and-homeware guru Laura Ashley was selling a rural, nostalgic idyll. Now, her romantic, rose-tinted vision of a "simpler life" – and the traditional values attached to it – is more popular than ever. But why?There's no clearer sign that the prairie look is still gaining popularity than when incongruously sported by an icon of metropolitan life: New Yorker Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City. In the final season of the show's divisive sequel, And Just Like That, which concluded in August, a trip to her boyfriend Aidan's farmhouse in rural Virginia has her running off to the local store to clothe herself in the lacy collars, puffed sleeves and long floral skirts more commonly seen on 19th Century settlers. Her transition from witty columnist to the writer of Victorian-era romantic fiction sees her throwing off her Manolo Blahniks and dressing like her characters.AlamyIn the early 1970s Laura Ashley revived a 19th-Century aesthetic in fashion (Credit: Alamy)And it's not just Carrie. Nostalgia for Victoriana, and the simple way of life it embodies, has seeped into social media via tradwife influencers such as Utah farmer Hannah Neeleman of Ballerina Farm; and on to catwalks and high streets.To her mind, the Victorian era symbolised gentle, gracious living, a time when standards were at their highest – Anne SebbaSeveral decades before this 19th Century homestead look spread across the internet, however, there was an earlier revival of nostalgic, romantic fashion, spearheaded by the British clothing and textile designer Laura Ashley, who was born 100 years ago on 7 September 1925. Widely considered an influential tastemaker, she was described as "creating an image of Englishness that women worldwide wanted to buy". Through the 1970s and early 80s her signature rose-tinted, bucolic style was a big mood in UK fashion and homeware.Romantic throwback"I don't think there's anything very special about our things," the Welsh designer told BBC Wales in 1977, batting back the suggestion that she was a "trendsetter". Instead, the designs simply gave women what they needed, and "evolved from necessity". The business had a quintessentially British beginning in 1952, with Ashley, a secretary for the Women's Institute, visiting the organisation's display of traditional handicrafts at the V&A. Inspired by the patchwork textiles, she resolved to make something similar. However, the Victorian fabrics she had admired at the museum, featuring small flowers and delicate stripes, no longer existed: she would have to print her own.AlamyThe brand's 1974 nightwear – complete with Victorian mop hat – was typical of the nostalgic style (Credit: Alamy)The result – made possible by a rudimentary printing screen fashioned by her husband Bernard – who also co-managed the business – pleased her, and, noting a gap in the market for items that were both pretty and practical, she began making scarves, tea towels, and later, aprons. Bernard had bigger ideas, envisaging reams of upholstery fabric sold wholesale, and so it was Laura's name that went on the label, and stayed there as the orders flooded in.In 1968, customers queued at the door of the first Laura Ashley shop in South Kensington. By Laura's death in 1985, the company had 220 shops in 12 countries, only fading out when looks such as 80s power dressing and 90s minimalism took over, reflecting women's changing role in society.I sensed that most people wanted to raise families, have gardens and live life as nicely as they can – Laura AshleyThe timing of Laura Ashley's Victorian-inspired venture was perfect, bolstered by a post-war boom in production, and offering a wholesome, high-necked alternative (always in natural fibres) to the bold hot pants and revealing miniskirts of the hedonistic Swinging Sixties scene. Feminism might have been in ascendence, but not everybody welcomed this shifting society. Ashley was offering a retrograde alternative, just as the tradwife trend does today. "I knew in my heart that was not what most people wanted," she said. "I sensed that most people wanted to raise families, have gardens and live life as nicely as they can."AlamyA rose-tinted view of homestead living was prevalent in the 1970s, not least in nostalgic TV series Little House on the Prairie (Credit: Alamy)Laura Ashley's aesthetic, and the values it espoused, were romantic throwbacks to what she felt was a simpler time. As Anne Sebba notes in her 1990 biography Laura Ashley: A Life by Design: "To her mind, the Victorian era symbolised gentle, gracious living, a time when standards, domestic and industrial, were at their highest and England at its best." Her clothing was intended for women in a traditional domestic setting, that was both comfortable and charming. It was "brilliant marketing," Sebba tells the BBC.More like this:? The Scandi homeware design that Swedish people loved? Cottagecore and the rise of the modern rural fantasy? How Gwyneth Paltrow became a divisive iconLaura struggled to reconcile the demands of the business with her belief that a mother shouldn't work when the children were around, sometimes packing the children off to bed at 4:30pm to make this possible. She would also decline her OBE – deeming it a slight on Bernard, particularly as the letter addressed her as "Ms", which, for someone who valued the sanctity of marriage above all, felt beyond the pale.AlamyThe Laura Ashley homeware – including wallpaper and curtains – offered a bucolic vision of a simple life (Credit: Alamy)For a while, in the 70s and early 80s, Victoriana seemed unstoppable. The more fashion-conscious hippies seeking a more billowing, bohemian silhouette jumped on the trend, and children's characters such as Holly Hobbie and Strawberry Shortcake, dressed in patchwork pinafores and bloomers, flooded the US and European markets with merchandise, from dolls and stationery to bed linen and curtains.Meanwhile, the US series Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983) became one of television's most popular shows. Melissa Gilbert was just a child when she played Laura Ingalls with her strawberry-blonde plaits, but 50 years on, her lifestyle brand Modern Prairie, founded in 2022, answers a demand for cottagecore dresses, smock aprons and textiles reminiscent of the era. And there is a Netflix reboot of Little House on the Prairie currently in the making.It wasn't simply that you were buying a dress or decorating your walls – you were buying into this whole notion that the rural life was preferable to urban life – Anne SebbaThe simple Victorian prints that Laura Ashley had seen in the V&A worked brilliantly in monochrome, which, coupled with imported cotton, kept costs low, enabling customers to style themselves and their homes on a budget. "They somehow clocked the aspirational desires of a whole generation," says Sebba. "And by producing these clothes that seemed to come from the countryside and were very cheap, and the household fabrics to go with it, they enabled a whole generation to ignore social class, and that was powerful."Getty ImagesThe ultra-feminine appeal of the brand reached far and wide – pictured, the Laura Ashley boutique in Madison Avenue, NYC, 1983 (Credit: Getty Images)That their fabrics should be described as "an image of Englishness", however, overlooks the company's connection with Wales, where Laura was born. In 1960, now parents of three ? and later, four ? children, the couple relocated to a 500-acre farm in the Welsh Valleys, bringing the company with them, and providing welcome employment. A champion sheep shearer became their master garment cutter, and even when their products were stocked by Harrods and Liberty's, "made in Wales" was printed on the labels, and the fabric dyed in the earthy browns, greens and grey-blues that recalled the landscape she loved.This connection with the British countryside was part of the packaging of the look. "It was the first company to offer this whole lifestyle," explains Sebba. "It wasn't simply that you were buying a dress or decorating your walls, or making curtains, you were buying into this whole notion that the rural life was preferable to urban life."'A simpler way of life'Fifty years on, Carrie Bradshaw's milkmaid look enacts this fantasy of a country life, as well as her desire for domestic stability, described by Laura Ashley as "security at home", and central, she said, to her clothing's appeal. "A rose-tinted idea of the past… is especially prevalent in times of systemic upheaval and uncertainty," Dr Gaby Harris, a sociologist and lecturer in fashion cultures at Manchester Metropolitan University, tells the BBC.HBOIn the past five years the rural, 19th Century look has again taken off, and was recently showcased by Carrie Bradshaw in TV's And Just Like That (Credit: HBO)"In the 1970s, we saw the major political shift, combined with drastic changes in industrial systems and global governance, and the beginning of the mounting return to wealth inequality, which we are bearing witness to today," she says. "It is no surprise that this is met with a dream of returning to a 'simpler time' or even a simpler way of life" ? even if such ideas, she cautions, "counter progress towards equal rights and opportunities".For others, it's just a bit of harmless dressing up. "It was such fun to wear Laura Ashley clothes," reminisces Sebba. "I'm old enough to remember buying these extraordinary frilly shirts with lace insets. You felt you had entered another era, that somehow the trials and tribulations of the office could be forgotten if you wore petticoats and frills and aprons and cameo brooches."--If you liked this story sign up for The Essential List newsletter, a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.For more Culture stories from the BBC, follow us on Facebook and Instagram. LifestyleFashionBritish fashionFeaturesWatchWhat your clothes reveal about youProfessor Richard Thompson Ford explores what our clothes reveal about us and our society.10 Nov 2023StyleThe modern obsession of sneaker collectingHow a practical sports shoe made the leap to become a highly desirable fashion item.12 Apr 2023FashionHow an 'erotic' body part inspires a legendary designerWhat exactly inspires the haute couture designer and self-confessed cobbler, Manolo Blahnik?4 Mar 2022FashionHow carbon has gone out of fashionIt’s 2045 and we’re now living in a net zero society. This is the story of how we did it.24 Feb 2022FashionThe beauty guru with no arms or legsHannah had all four limbs amputated at two years old to save her life after contracting meningitis.24 Feb 2022FashionThe ancient skill that could make you moneyIn a world of ‘fast fashion’ and a throwaway culture, what lessons can history teach us?24 Feb 2022FashionWhy ‘Made in Italy’ has such appealThe Italian leather handbag has been a style icon for decades, and shows no signs of going away.24 Feb 2022FashionThe dark side to the 'perfect dress'Does a dress really have the power to transform the way people see us?24 Feb 2022FashionThe success of Slavic locksUkraine’s luxurious fake hair industry shows that no price is too high for the ultimate beauty accessory.24 Feb 2022FashionThe country that changes your faceKorea invented the K-beauty regimen, now it’s perfecting the art of semi-permanent skin make-up.24 Feb 2022FashionThe fashion trends that just won't dieWhy fashion styles repeat themselves.24 Feb 2022FashionCould mixed reality transform the catwalk?A mixed reality fashion show including computer animated skulls, tigers and lightning has taken place.24 Feb 2022FashionThe Danish denim brand challenging mindsetsHow a Copenhagen womenswear label is tackling sustainability and diversity.23 Feb 2022FashionAre these the most iconic fashion items ever?A look at the influence of some of the most iconic items in fashion.23 Feb 2022FashionLiving art: Meet Japan's ethereal fashion iconMinori reinvented a Japanese street fashion style that has a global following.23 Feb 2022FashionWall Street awaits key labor market data - 4 Sep 2025Jim Thorne from Wellington-Altus Private Wealth says markets will look at the quality of this months data.11 hrs agoOpening BellInvestors reassured about inflation impact - 10 Sep 2025Greg Halter says inflation, combined with employment data, may lead the Fed to cut interest rates next week.14 hrs agoOpening BellWhy we need to wake up to what's making us sickTim reveals the shocking impact ultra-processed foods have on our healthcare system and overall health.15 hrs agoBBC Maestro - Tim SpectorMeet the micro-organisms living inside youGet a comprehensive understanding of the gut microbiome, the many species, and the vital roles they play.15 hrs agoBBC Maestro - Tim SpectorWhy we need to learn to love our bugsTim explains how modern habits have cut the diversity of bugs in our diet and offers five tips to fix it.15 hrs agoBBC Maestro - Tim SpectorMore from the BBC17 hrs agoSamantha Cameron's fashion label Cefinn to shutThe womenswear brand says higher costs and tough trading conditions have taken their toll.17 hrs ago19 hrs agoThe controversial sweet that fuels NorwegiansKnown as 'the trip chocolate', Kvikk Lunsj has fuelled outdoor adventures for generations. So, what makes this chocolate so controversial?19 hrs ago20 hrs agoHow women's pockets became so controversialWhy do men's clothes have so many pockets, and women's so few? For centuries, the humble pocket has been a flashpoint in the gender divide of fashion. Is that finally set to change?20 hrs ago21 hrs agoEarth has now passed peak farmland. What's next?The world's use of farmland has peaked, bringing the chance to turn over more space to nature. How far could the trend go?21 hrs ago2 days ago'Buy less and choose well,' says fashion chiefThe leader of Manchester Fashion Week urges people to buy less clothes and make them last.2 days agoBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveWeatherBBC ShopBritBoxBBC in other languagesFollow BBC on:Terms of UseAbout the BBCPrivacy PolicyCookiesAccessibility HelpContact the BBCAdvertise with usDo not share or sell my infoBBC.com Help & FAQsContent IndexCopyright 2025 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
