If you've shopped with us for a while, you'll have noticed a pattern (pun very much intended): whenever we bring in a new liberty print piece, Wiltshire and Betsy are the two that sell out first — and the two you ask us to bring back. We've reprinted them across blouses, dresses, headbands, even knickers, since 2021, and every single time, they go. So we thought it was time to actually explain why.
What Makes a "Liberty Print" Different
Not all florals are created equal. Liberty prints come from Liberty Fabrics in London, printed onto their signature Tana Lawn cotton — an impossibly soft, fine-weave fabric that's produced in Liberty's own mill in northern Italy. It's the kind of cotton that makes you double back and touch the blouse on the rack. No stiffness, no ironing required, and it somehow gets softer with every wash. When we say "liberty print," we're not using it loosely — it's a specific fabric with a specific pedigree, and that's part of why it holds its value (and its fans) the way it does.
Betsy: The Print Everyone Falls for First
Betsy is a small, stylised floral, designed for Liberty Fabrics in 1933 by a designer known only by the initials "DS" — the same mysterious hand behind several of Liberty's most-loved house prints. It's been part of Liberty's permanent Classics collection since 1982, which in fashion terms is basically immortality. Betsy has also had her fair share of famous fans — she's been spotted on Princess Charlotte, which tells you everything about her enduring, slightly nostalgic charm. It's a print that photographs beautifully but wears even better in person, which is exactly why we keep returning to her season after season.
Wiltshire: The Quiet Achiever
Wiltshire doesn't shout the way some prints do — it's a classic leaf-and-berry design, also designed in 1933 by the same "DS," and added to Liberty's Classics range in 1979. It's the print our team describes as "sells every time," because unlike a lot of florals, it doesn't read as seasonal. The warm, muted tones work from the first cool morning of autumn right through to the last week of summer, which means a Wiltshire blouse earns its keep in a way a lot of "statement" prints simply can't.
And a little housekeeping: our Wiltshire 19B is currently out of stock but coming back soon — if it's the one you've been after, keep an eye on your inbox (or get in touch and we'll let you know the moment it's back).
Why These Two, Every Time
We've made Wiltshire and Betsy in almost every silhouette we do — collared blouses, puff-sleeve tops, headbands, even loungewear — because customers keep coming back for them in new shapes once they already own one in another. That's the real tell of a bestseller: it's not a single hero product, it's a print people build a small collection around. Five years of reprints later, we don't think that's a coincidence. Liberty prints like these were designed to be lived in, not just looked at — and Wiltshire and Betsy happen to be two of the very best examples of that.
Shop our current liberty print edit and get on the list for the Wiltshire 19B restock — we'll let you know the moment she's back.
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