Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Lady Colefax began decorating in 1930. She was well-connected and also ahead of her time: her circle of friends and acquaintances provided her with clients and she became a very successful businesswoman. British diplomat Harold Nicolson wrote in his diary: ‘Lunch with Sibyl Colefax at Boulestin. She tells me that she has made £2,000 last year by her own efforts. She gets up by candle-light and fusses till midnight. A brave woman’. Sibyl’s talent for creating comfortable interiors that were stylish but never pretentious was the secret of her appeal to her influential clients. She was friendly with royalty, including the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, with entertainers such as Charlie Chaplin and Cole Porter, and with much of the British aristocracy. When, in 1938, her services were so in demand that she needed to expand, she asked a rising young star of interior decorating, John Fowler, to join her in her business at Bruton Street in Mayfair. In 1939, the company name was changed to Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Just a short history of this world renowned couple in Interior Decorating. This is a linen fabric from Colefax & Fowler, designed ca. 1980 for either curtains or upholstery. The design is called Dovedale, but I would rather call it " Hybrid Irises ". There are 2 sprays with the design one with 2 stems and the second with 3 stems. They are repeated throughout on the fabric.. It is a superbly drawn design. In my previous life in the U.K with a Interior Design and Decorating business I have often used this fabric and just used one flower for the back of an antique small low club chair and it looked spectacular. Also used it in the right setting with lined and interlined curtains. This and the following 4 fabrics were only used as display items in the windows of my boutique. I have done some comparison of todays price figures ,but this fabric and the chintzes sell between £ 150 and £ 195 p.m.