# What is a Paisley? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759 "2000-07-06T15:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yosemite\_Joy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/13edae/32.png) [@Yosemite\_Joy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yosemite_Joy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759/1 "2000-07-06T15:12:03Z")
What is a paisley and where did the design and name come from? My step daughter’s name is Paisley and I was just curious. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759/2 "2000-07-06T15:16:39Z")
The design, IIRC, was named after the town in Scotland where it originated. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759/3 "2000-07-06T15:38:56Z")
John is correct. Paisley, Scotland started weaving shawls patterned after the extremely popular items imported from India, and became associated with the common motif of their textiles. Here’s a short article on it. [Brittanica.com:Paisley](http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/0/0,5716,59480+1+58027,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759/4 "2000-07-06T15:41:55Z")
[What’s the origin of the paisley design?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_021a.html) ---
**Author:** ![Myself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Myself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myself)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759/5 "2000-07-06T15:44:40Z")
You’re correct John. “Shawls of Paisley design were in fashion for nearly 100 years, from 1790-1870, during which time millions were woven and embroidered in Kashmir, Persia, India, Russia, USA and Europe - in France (Paris and Lyon), Austria Vienna), in England at Norwich and in Scotland at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Paisley. It was the woven Kashmir shawls which first caught women’s imagination, and European manufacturers were quick to copy them by weaving or rinting. Paisley’s output of shawls was the most prolific, and continued for the longest period, so the name ‘Paisley’ has become a generic term.” From: [http://www.victoriana.com/library/paisley/shawl.html](http://www.victoriana.com/library/paisley/shawl.html) Myself PS: Now finer place on earth than Yosemite. Lived there '82-'85. Joy indeed!! ---
**Author:** ![Fyodor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/958977/32.png) [@Fyodor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fyodor)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2000, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-paisley/24759/6 "2000-07-06T16:18:28Z")
The paisley design itself is Islamic in origin. Fundamentalist moslems do not wish to offend God by attempting to duplicate his works. That’s why, in serious moslem countries, you get things like the “pedestrian crossing” signs showing a human figure with no head (Saudi Arabia) and the fooseball tables have the heads cut off the little plastic men (Iran). It is an offense to try and duplicate the creations of God. The paisley is a beautiful plant pattern that that is deliberately designed to not look like any known plant.