Friday, November 13

blue gingham shirt -grommit edition

Blue gingham shirt. Wardrobe staple for the young. A few options as below.

Boden. $34. Heaviest. 10e approved.

Gap. $24. No navy.

Brooks Bros. $45.

JCrew (crew cuts). $39.50.

What is gingham? [from various sources on the interwebs]; Gingham is made of carded or combed, medium or fine yarns, where the coloring is on the warp yarns and always along the grain. Gingham has no right or wrong side regarding color.

The name is Indonesian in origin, assimilated into Dutch (modification of the Malay genggang meaning striped cloth). From the mid 18th century, when it was being produced in the mills of Manchester, England, it had become woven into checked or plaid patterns (often blue and white).

The production of gingham was a major economic boon to Manchester, England and the surrounding areas. In the New World, gingham made the textile industry a powerful force in what is now the Virginias, the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama. Well into the middle of the twentieth century, many textile companies prominently marketed gingham, especially checked gingham patterns, in their lines of fabric. One of the most popular of these checked fabrics during the middle twentieth century was made by an American company, Dan River Mills, which marketed a special blend of cotton and synthetics that was called DanChecks. [Before you check, I did already, Dan River Mills was wrapped up and sold to an Indian firm in 2006, mills demolished. -ed.]