Glen plaid
Glen plaid (short for Glen Urquhart plaid) or Glenurquhart check is a woollen fabric with a woven twill design of small and large checks.[1] It is usually made of black/grey and white, or with more muted colours, particularly with two dark and two light stripes alternate with four dark and four light stripes which creates a crossing pattern of irregular checks.[2] Glen plaid as a woven pattern may be extended to cotton shirting and other non-woollen fabrics.
Name
The name is taken from the valley of Glenurquhart in Inverness-shire, Scotland, where the checked wool was first used in the 19th century by the New Zealand-born Countess of Seafield[3] to outfit her gamekeepers,[1] though the name glen plaid does not appear before 1926.[4] Glen plaid is sometimes nicknamed the Prince of Wales check, as it was popularized by the Duke of Windsor when Prince of Wales.[1]
Notable wearers
Pee-wee Herman is famous for his light grey Glen plaid suit, and US President Ronald Reagan was considered "un-Presidential" in a gray-and-blue glen plaid suit on a European trip in 1982.[5] Cary Grant wore a grey Glen plaid suit in the film North By Northwest that is considered iconic.
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Ralph Lauren Style Guide; polo.com Glossary, Glen plaid, retrieved 2008-11-23
- ↑ Dictionary.com
- ↑ Fabric glossary
- ↑ Merriam-Webster Online dictionary.
- ↑ Hugh Sidey, "Live Men Do Wear Plaid"