1 / 13
Photo: Thibaut ©
Toile de Jouy
This seemingly ubiquitous fabric pattern has a much more storied past than you may imagine. Literally French for "fabric from Jouy" — short for Jouy-en-Josas, the riverside city where it was first manufactured — bleached cotton printed with pastoral or figural scenes has been popular as a wall covering, bedding and upholstery fabric since its introduction in 1770. The pattern was a technological revolution of its time, the fine lines and intricate design made possible by the recent introduction of copper-plate printing technology. Image courtesy of Thibaut