Before the design arrived in contemporary menswear it had to take quite the long journey: originally from Persia, the motif became popular in India from where it was imported by British colonialists in the 17th century. Queen Victoria liked it so much she started a whole paisley trend.
The problem with the imported paisley cloth (used mainly for scarfs) was that it was very expensive nsive. So printers in Europe started copying the design locally, in Britain especially in and around the Scottish town Paisley; that’s where its modern name comes from.
At first, these prints were of low quality, not comparable to the richness of the originals, but the process was refined over time; today, the most traditional technique is to screen print on silk, wool and various mixtures.
This is also the technique we use for our pocket squares and ties. In our upcoming fall/winter collection, we will have a nice assortment of pocket squares, ties and scarfs in various paisley patterns: rich browns and blues on cream wool; real ancient madder ties in glorious blues and reds; warm brown on gold for scarfs.
