Monday, February 11, 2013

A Case for Printed Sheets



I realize that to some people, plain white sheets are the only aesthetically acceptable sheets to place on one's bed. Not so for me. While I do, of course, have some white sheets, I prefer bedding with a discreet floral or feminine print. It just seems so boring to turn down the covers, only to have plain white cotton greet me. Pink Porthault hearts, on the other hand, make my heart go pitter-patter.

While I have a weakness for Porthault printed sheets, I also like some of the prints available through Schweitzer Linen. Not only are their patterns feminine and sweet, but their bedding is quite affordable too. And although I don't own any bedding from the Lulu DK for Matouk collection, I do really like the upbeat designs that Lulu has created. If you have never before considered patterned sheets, perhaps now is the time for you to take a look at some bedding with personality.

It wasn't too long ago when patterned sheets were all the rage. During the 1960s and 1970s, many fashion and interior designers boasted bedding collections, a popular form of branding (did they call it branding back then?) during the early days of product licensing. As you might expect, the prints were often evocative of their era: colorful, exuberant, busy, and wild. David Hicks, you might remember, had a bedding collection as did Bill Blass. Some of these designer bedding collections look pretty atrocious, at least to twenty-first-century eyes. And what makes this bedding seem even more dated is that it was usually photographed alongside other interior fashions of the day that, like the bedding, hasn't held up very well.

It wasn't hard for me to find photos of designer sheets as my vintage magazines were chock full of editorial features and ads touting these collections. I think that if you take a look below, you might be surprised at some of the prints that these designers churned out, although I do wonder just how involved some of them were in their bedding collections.  All I can say is thank goodness that we now have more demure and classic looking printed sheets than what you see below.

And although I don't care for Mr. Blass's sheets, I do think that he redeemed himself with his 1979 edition of the Lincoln Continental Mark V.  That was such a fabulous car that I wouldn't mind driving one today!





David Hicks's collection for Stevens-Utica might be one of the better designer bedding collections. In fact, it doesn't look terribly different from his fabrics. The bathroom of the David Hicks Suite at the St. Regis Hotel in New York featured his H-logo sheets used as shower curtains, a basin skirt, and a lamp shade.





Bill Blass designed sheets for Springmaid. Those exotic printed sheets, photographed in Blass's bedroom, were named "Nemuri". Perhaps more representative of Blass's masculine style is the brown and gray plaid sheeting that "creates a penthouse environment in your home."





Just as Blass had his bedding collection, so too did Oscar de la Renta, though Cannon Mills produced his line. For one of the Oscar de la Renta-Cannon ads, the designer wrote, "My designs are for the woman who believes her bed and bath should be as well-dressed as she is." His sheets might look rather dated today, but I think that they might have been kind of chic back in the mid-1970s.





Missoni's sheeting collection doesn't look far removed from their classic clothing prints.





The problem with this bedding collection by Halston (yes, Halston) is that there are too many frills on this bed. Halston's rose pattern was, according to the modest designer, "the prettiest rose pattern that anyone's ever done." I'm not sure about that, but I do find that the pattern was inspired by some Joe Eula paintings to be interesting.  I believe that this print also appeared on some of Halston's dresses.





Would you be surprised to learn that these "Rose Elegance" sheets were designed by Yves Saint Laurent? I was, but I really wonder how much of a hand he had in this collection.






Both of these bedding sets were designed by Angelo Donghia and were photographed in Rita Moreno's bedroom.  The plaid version is really not bad.  In fact, I might say that Donghia did one of the better designer bedding collections. 


Slim Aarons photo at top from A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life; David Hicks/ St. Regis photo from David Hicks: Designer by Ashley Hicks.

21 comments:

  1. LOVE THE SHEETS LOVE THE FIRST PHOTO THANKS

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  2. Rachel9:24 AM

    Forget the sheets: can we talk about those Hicks valances for a moment?!

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    1. That's a great looking valance, I agree!

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  3. i've always wanted to design a bedding collection. i love sheets with prints. i have several sets of white, but always find myself wanting the bed made with prints and patterns. i currently like diane von furstenberg's current bedding collection for bloomingdales.

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    1. I forgot about DVF's bedding collection, but I don't know why I did because I also think it's nice looking.

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  4. I adore anything that is monogrammed! At present I am using a printed top sheet, white bottom(fitted)white sheet with monogrammed pillow shams(like to mix things up a bit) xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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    1. Oh yes, I love monogramming too! If I could monogram all of my linen, I would.

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  5. I like a combination of small, tone-on-tone printed sheets and classic white. I use the printed sheet as my fitted bottom sheet - as I sleep with my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, this is a wise choice as it hides subtle paw prints! I use matching shams as the back pillow of the two pair I use on either side of the bed. My top sheet is classic white. Anyone who hasn't discovered the UK's Cologne & Cotton's FABULOUS white sheets should give them a try! They are a different size than US sheets - they feature a 24" fold back (divine!) and a longer drop on the side - long enough for two larger people who are side sleepers not to end up with one having a bare bottom during the night. The drawn thread embroidery is first class and the prices are comparable or less than Schweitzer's, even including shipping from the UK. I use a bare of their gorgeous white shams in front of the print. Then I top off the pillows with a pair of vintage white European shams with Battenburg lace trim.

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    1. SRB, I am not familiar with Cologne & Cotton, but shall check it out on the web this evening. I think you're right that for those of us with Cavs who sleep in the bed, printed sheets are a MUST! :)

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  6. Anonymous1:46 PM

    Still have my Hicks sheets from when I was quite a bit younger, but now I use them for dusting (very chic).

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    1. That's great! I can only imagine it might make dusting a tad more fun!

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  7. Thanks for the reminder that no one is perfect, Jennifer.

    I think Diane von Furstenburg is the classic example of a designer of taste and vision who lost control and watched in horror as the marketing boys drove her brand off a cliff. In the last few years, DVF has managed to regain her stature in the public eye, but, then, she's one hell of a woman: not every designer can do that. And judging by those sheets, I'd say a lot of big-name designers were getting mighty close to the edge, themselves. Bill Blass' Kabuki St. Patrick sheets are atrocious, and if there is a hell, those sheets will be on the beds.

    That's why I tell people NOT to look to new magazines or trendy blogs or popular TV shows for inspiration, but to hunt down old books and magazines, instead. Not because everything in old books is somehow "better"--in fact, the ratio between good and bad design is probably no different today than it's ever been--but because an extra fifty year's worth of aesthetic distance makes obvious the difference between what was (and still is) good design from what was merely popular--at the time.

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    1. Speaking of marketing and licensing gone awry, remember when Pierre Cardin's name was on everything? Of course, it's entirely possible that he was responsible for this and had no problem with it. And, he certainly seems well off today. Still, it caused his brand to lose some of its cachet.

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  8. We mustn't forget Laura Ashley...she of the English Cottage look. I once used a dozen of her rose strewn sheets to cover all the walls, twin beds and windows of my youngest daughter's bedroom. It was, indeed, a bower to behold.

    Too bad she outgrew it three years later, and I had to redo it so she could thumb tack posters of her latest boy band crush onto purple walls. Yikes!

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    1. That Laura Ashley bedding was so sweet and pretty!

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  9. Anonymous4:49 PM

    Dear Jennifer,

    Thanks so much for the post on printed sheets. White is fresh and pretty, but has become too ubiquitous, and I am so tired of ivory, boring beige, greige and all these other lifeless colors. We are so overdue for some color.

    P.S. (Love your blog.)



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    1. Thank you Anon! I don't know if it's an age thing or not, but over the past year or so, I have come to realize that it's important to live with things that make us happy or brighten our moods. I think that printed sheets do that for me. That said, who can't use a little color in their lives?!

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    2. Anonymous11:08 PM

      I totally agree, trying to find some great prints, but they are all in flannel. I have some old sheets that were beautiful, dark green with flowers, and burgundy with small floral clusters, ,, prints make me feel good, plain makes me bored and not happy.

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    3. Anonymous11:17 PM

      I am still using printed sheets from the 80's, they stayed bright and cool on hot nights. not the boring sheets they have today.

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  10. Great post and good sheets..

    I really like this post!

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