As a child, one of my favourite pastimes was flicking through the Laura Ashley Book of Home Decorating, planning ways to redecorate my bedroom. I would make lists and lists and, every Saturday, my mother would indulge my floral fantasies by allowing me to go into the store in Worthing, Sussex, for wallpaper, border and fabric samples to add to my “Dream Venetian Blinds” scrapbook.
Princess Diana was also a fan of the Laura Ashley look and so my joy was unrivalled when, as an eight-year-old in 1986, I wore my very own “Forget Me Not” Laura Ashley bridesmaid confection at my cousin Alison’s wedding.
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