CE Laura Ashley Memorabilia Day

Well, today was the day that we planned to bring together all our LA memorabilia so that we could reminisce on the good old days – and what a wonderfully enjoyable day it was. We were astounded by the amount of things that appeared – clothes, crockery, books, quilts, stencils – what a hoard to drool over!

And, if that wasn’t enough Carol devised a great quiz to dig deep for all those interesting tit bits about Laura Ashley that were lurking in the depths of our brain!

The clothes ranged from those created by LA in the early days. The prairie dress dates back to the 1970’s and how wonderful it was to see Hilary modelling her vintage dress for us. The blue dress on the left was worn by Liz’ friend when she was at University in 1978 and it has a Made in Wales label. Click here for more information about LA labels.

Prairie dresses are currently being sold on eBay for as much as £400!

There were some fine examples of LA dresses from this period in Carol’s catalogue from an exhibition that was held in in Bath in 2013.

There were other early styles to enjoy too. The blue dress below sports a Made in Great Britain label indicating a later period when LA was expanding across the country and overseas.

Over the years fashions changed. This coat, which is around 30 years old, was loaned by Liz’ friend. Interestingly, the label stated that it had been made in Belarus and other labels showed that later fashions were often made overseas – some labels reporting China and Hong Kong . The fab velvet suit below belonging to Jilly and the drop waist dress are late 80’s/early 90’s fashion.

Mary brought in her wedding dress and a blouse. Her dress had cost £19.95 and she still had the receipt. She also brought in a photo of her wedding day and a photo of a relatives wedding where the wedding gown was a Laura Ashley nightdress.

Talking of night dresses Monica displayed a cushion that she had made with Caroline N’s nightdress! Also in the picture below are Fiona T’s Laura Ashley stencils.

Jan wore a pinafore she had made out of various fabrics, some of which were Laura Ashely and the pink blouse that she was wearing was a LA label. Jan had also bought a few pieces of LA clothing online. The label on the blue shirt pictured below said LA archive

She also sent a photo of her sister’s wedding in December 1987 where she is wearing a Laura Ashley dress which she loved and wore a lot. . Jan made a white fluffy hat and muff to go with it. A shame that it doesn’t feature in the photo.

As you are already aware Carol made a beautiful pinafore dress from hexagonals donated with a half made quilt which was started in the 1970’s. You can read all about Carol’s dress here

Carol also brought other memorabilia with her: a beautiful blue and yellow quilt – the first she ever made. She used the quilt to display her tea set and bowl alongside books and a pattern

A few quilts appeared which was lovely. The blue quilt below was made with fabric bought in 1979 at Wyndham Gallery, Bridgend where there was a LA concession at the time.

The quilt in the middle was made by Rachel with beautiful terracotta fabrics. And the one on the right belongs to Sally. A hexagonal quilt with a mixture of LA and other fabrics.

There were a number of books to browse through

And Jaci brought in a catalogue with a piece of fabric inside it from back in the day

These images (not on show today) are from one of Isobelle’s catalogues from the early 1980’s and were a reminder of Monica’s teddy that she made with a remnant of the fabric shown on the right.

Isobelle owns 5 Laura Ashley catalogues from the 1980’s

As well as a neighbours LA clothing Maggie brought in her blue plate and a 40th anniversary LA plate. She also displayed two cushions and a small quilt that she had made for her daughter when she was a child. In the photo below you can also see a sewing bag that Hilary made.

Jess showed these fabric samples that she had saved. She gathered them when looking for curtain fabrics many years ago.

Lesley brought a craft kit along which was opened but yet to be completed.

And Caroline L brought along a bag that she had made in LA fabric. One side had cathedral windows on it and the other a pleated fabric design. It also had lots of pockets inside for her quilting tools. Apologies that the photo doesn’t so your bag justice Caroline!

The day would not have been complete without a glass of fizz and cake to celebrate Laura Ashley’s 70th anniversary whilst enjoying a truly amazing trip down memory lane – which was only made possible by those who brought in their treasured LA memorabilia to share with us all. Thank You!