Last week's New Yorker Magazine cartoon reminded us that the paisley motif is always very alive, always up to some kind of trick to get our attention. Whether it is a one-celled creature, a paramecium as the much-loved New York designer Charles Nolan called it, when I asked for his definition. Or a magical repeat motif in scarf or blouse that wants to make every woman look much more feminine and attractive. Or a preppy tie design to please the American male, an empire reference for his Brit counterpart. Most of us love the paisley, even when he is being bad. When you come to think of it, he has had more seasons than Tony Soprano. JP
