Comments on: What’s Up With Liberty of London?

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:11:53 +0000

Oh gag me! The “Liberty” clothing at Target is a real step down. So disappointing to see a quality name on such poor quality merchandise.

By: antalya homes

antalya homes — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 20:22:44 +0000

You can buy a little piece to make a camisole, or to make a flower pin. And even if you can’t afford to buy anything, have a tea and a scone in the tea shop. They serve wonderful rose petal jam…

By: underground hypnosis

underground hypnosis — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:55:54 +0000

It drives business into said retailer because the masses are getting the ability to buy a designer piece that they couldn’t have afforded otherwise. A win-win situation because it is limited pieces for a limited time.

By: ClaireOKC

ClaireOKC — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:41:05 +0000

I always thought of Liberty of London as being smallish, closely placed designs in lighter colors, not pastels with some William Morris-ish type feeling to it. And I wish they were selling the fabric too!!!

By: Kathi

Kathi — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:26:16 +0000

I was under the same rock with you!! I had never heard of it until I began sewing a lot last summer. I think some of the fabrics are really cute, but some look like patterns I visualize grandmothers wearing!!
I hadn’t seen the Target line. I must still be under the rock!!

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:28:32 +0000

To answer your question: Yes, you were living under a rock! Sorry to be so harsh…lol…

Liberty fabrics have the same effect on me like those Laura Ashley fabrics have…not excited. Whilst the quality is exceptional, the prints are a personal preference.

A German brand….Westfalen Stoffe comes to mind, it is also a great cotton. Completely free of pesticides and made from organically grown cotton, is also excellent quality. Mainly used for children’s clothing thus the prints are mainly whimsical.

By: JustGail

JustGail — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:57:03 +0000

I too only heard of Liberty of London after reading sewing blogs. I’ve been to their web site and looked at their fabrics, some are nice, but most I can live without. I’ve seen some vintage fabrics, and seem to like those better. I do have 2 vintage silk scarves that are lovely though. I love the paint job on the bike, but 1 speed? No thanks!

Target has a good thing going with these limited run licensing agreements. It allows them to freshen up their image on a very regular basis, and the designers get a good bit of exposure to a possibly new audience.

By: Ann Marie

Ann Marie — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:05:42 +0000

Liberty has been around for a long time, and they are famously associated with the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements. Today Liberty is a high-end department store with the focus on the creative – cutting edge fashions and work by new British designers. They recently changed the ground floor around with one room devoted to scarfs and how to wear them, another to high-end handbags. Upstairs on the 3rd or 4th floor there are still fabrics available by the meter (for a price…I think the silk prints I saw about 2 weeks ago were 40 pounds a meter or close to that). Liberty Tana lawn fabric is very fine, exquisitely printed, and cool to wear in summer. It makes lovely blouses or children’s clothes. Be careful with these fabrics – handwash and dry out of the sun as they can fade. There is a small knitting shop where you can get expert, patient advice from the woman who runs that shop. There is also an astonishing home section with bed linens, decorative fabrics, accessories, all extremely refined and hip at the same time. It’s all heart-breakingly fabulous. If you make it to London, try to make it in mid-summer when **many fabrics are on sale**. You can buy a little piece to make a camisole, or to make a flower pin. And even if you can’t afford to buy anything, have a tea and a scone in the tea shop. They serve wonderful rose petal jam…

By: Kelli

Kelli — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:40:13 +0000

I went to visit their bricks and mortar store in London last year. They had yummy fabric although given the exchange rate, quite costly. The yearn was mostly Debbie Bliss and easily accessible in the States. They also were the only store I could find that sold Worn and Washed http://www.wornandwashedfabrics.com/ quilting fabrics. Great department store! ~ksp

By: touran

touran — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:31:25 +0000

Liberty was a family-owned store until 10 or so years ago. The family sold to a Japanese(?) firm, which started pruning the stale wood and ramping up the merchandising.

Fabric (&yarn) wise, it doesn’t look anything like it did twenty years ago, when I started sewing. They had very high end and unusual fabrics, Japanese, Lintons, handwovens, incredible silks etc which made their own prints looks pretty dowdy. Unfortunately there’s not much money to be made out of that.

Last year, they introduced their own collectible nicknacks dept. decorated with their own fabric designs, but the pieces are ridiculously expensive. I know the target merchandise isn’t high end, but it’s at least affordable for collectors like me.

Btw, they do an incredible, lesser-known high tea on the third floor.

By: Marie-Christine

Marie-Christine — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:54:47 +0000

This is what’s up with Liberty:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/marketforceslive/2010/mar/12/libertyinternational-agafoodservicegroup
takeover, in a word..

By: Marjie

Marjie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:58:37 +0000

I never heard of Liberty fabrics until I found online sewing blogs, either. I’m not that big a print person, though, so it might not be a huge surprise. And since I’ve never been to London, it’s probably even less of a surprise.

By: melissa

melissa — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:50:51 +0000

Liberty is one of those stores that foreign visitors feel they NEED to go to but locals just plain ignore. Seriously, I really don’t understand the appeal – it’s just a department store, with a tiny and eye-wateringly expensive fabric section. I could say the exact same words about John Lewis, just down Oxford Street. The Liberty prints are okay I guess, but I wouldn’t want to wear them myself.

So if you’re visiting London and want Liberty fabrics, go to the aforementioned Shaukut’s or Goldhawk Road where you can get Liberty prints for sane amounts of money. Amongst other (IMHO) better fabrics.

And if you’re going to Liberty just to see the store (You know it’s not real Tudor, right?), then I’m even more confused as to why…

By: Lynley

Lynley — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:33:02 +0000

The Liberty of London store is an old-fashioned department store that carries gorgeous fabrics and trimmings along with housewares, clothing, shoes and bags, etc. Think a high-end Macy’s that carries fabric & notions too. When I lived in London it was my favorite place to window-shop because just about everything they carry is exquisite. Hands down they had the best purse/hand-bag department EVER.

I haven’t been to London in a couple of years, but if Liberty’s hasn’t moved they are a few blocks from John Lewis, which also has a fantastic selection of fabrics. Also there are couple of tiny fabric stores nearby which are chock-a-block with a seemingly endless array of silks, linens and suiting fabrics. I seem to remember ordering a length of a jade green heavy-weight silk from a swatch book. (There is a fantastic toy store just around the corner also).

I think they’ve been doing licensing deals on and off for decades — but not everything makes it across the ‘pond’ to the US. It really depends on what’s in style over here.

Thinking about this is making me long for a trip to London!

By: Rosanne

Rosanne — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:22:52 +0000

I was wondering the same thing when I saw the banner last weekend! A little web research has revealed that it’s Liberty prints on non-liberty fabric, which is how the fabric I saw for 35 pounds/meter at the Liberty of London shop in 2007 is now in Target. I first heard about Liberty in a London bookstore while perusing the craft mag section. I chatted up a girl reading a knitting magazine and she said I should go to Liberty, “but it’s very dear.” So I went and realized that “dear” is British for couture prices…