Soft Countriana is a consumer aesthetic that flourished from the 1970s to early 1990s that is composed of pastels, country geese, storybook creatures, and homages to the Victorian era. It describes the aesthetic that was most popular amongst “conservative grandmas in the 1980s,” though it broadly appealed to suburban women of all ages. The aesthetic was popularized by brands such as Laura Ashley, Hallmark, Paula Vaughan, and Gunne Sax.

On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan is joined by Evan Collins, the founder of the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, who first identified Soft Countriana in June 2022. The two begin by theorizing what type of consumer the aesthetic most appealed to and why it first emerged. They then survey the aesthetic’s common motifs before taking a deeper look at the British lifestyle brand Laura Ashley. The episode concludes with a discussion about whether the contemporary aesthetic cottagecore drew inspiration from Soft Countriana.

Links:

Soft Countriana Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/soft-countriana/

Evan’s Soft Countriana Are.na: https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/soft-countriana

Evan’s Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute Patreon page

Evan’s Instagram

Evan’s Bluesky

Soft Countriana Aesthetic’s Wiki Page

Gay Nineties Revival CARI Page

The Gay Nineties: An Album of Reminiscent Drawings by R. V. Culter 

Gaggleville Goose Outfits

The Talking Mother Goose ad

Inside Laura Ashley: How Britain's Fashion Empire Was Built and Lost

The Enduring Appeal of Laura Ashley by Amanda Fortini

Small Firm Design by Paula Rice Jackson (SF county store article)

Is Little house on the prairie cottagecore?

Artwork:

The Romance of Paula Vaughan by Anne Childs (1993)

Recorded on 3/8/2026