Houndstooth, houndstooth check or hound's tooth (and similar spellings) is a duotone textile pattern, characterized by broken checks or abstract four-pointed shapes. The traditional colours are black and white, although now other colours are occasionally substituted for the black or the white.
Design and history
Houndstooth checks originated in woven wool cloth of the Scottish Lowlands,[1] but are now used in many other materials. The traditional houndstooth check is made with alternating bands of four dark and four light threads in both warp and filling or weft woven in a simple 2:2 twill, two over - two under the warp, advancing one thread each pass.[2]
Glen plaid (short for Glen Urquhart plaid) is a textile pattern that is similar to houndstooth, with alternating blocks of 2-on-2 and 4-on-4 colouring. Glen plaid is also known as the Prince of Wales check, which has an over-check in a bright or contrasting color.[2] The pattern was popularized by Edward VIII when he was the Prince of Wales.[3] The pattern made a frequent appearance on fabrics designed in the 1930s through to the 1970s.
Legendary college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was know to wear a Houndstooth hat quite frequently. In recent years it has began to be recognized as his "trade mark". It is quite common for fans of The University of Alabama football team to adorn themselves with various clothing items made of houndstooth patterns to honor the former coach.[citation needed]
The Australian department store David Jones uses a houndstooth pattern as part of its corporate logo. The branding - a black-on-white houndstooth pattern - is one of the most recognised corporate identities in Australia. A government sponsored panel judged it in 2006 as one of Australia's top ten favourite trade marks. The origin of this motif owes itself to the insistence of its founder on not using the store's name on its packaging. His aim was that the store would be so well known that everyone should recognise it simply by this now-famous motif.
Notes
- ^ Dunbar, John Telfer: The Costume of Scotland, London: Batsford, 1984, ISBN 0-7134-2534-2 1984 (paperback 1989, ISBN 0-7134-2535-0)
- ^ a b Online Textiles Dictionary, entry "check", retrieved 16 June 2007
- ^ Ralph Lauren Style Guide; polo.com Glossary, Glen plaid, http://style.polo.com/glossary/default.asp?letter=G, retrieved 2008-11-23
See also
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