Dress Like a Man (14 page)

Dimensions:
Stripes of less than 1/16", separated by gaps of at least 1/4".

Chalk Stripe/Pencil Stripe

Wider than pinstripes, chalk stripes are still designed so that the stripe is narrower than the gaps between stripes. This is another popular suit and jacket pattern, slightly less formal than pinstripes, but it is also used (usually in brighter colors) for casual dress shirts.

The term "pencil stripe" is sometimes used to describe the same basic pattern. The two are functionally interchangeable; the only major difference is that people are more likely to call a light-colored stripe on a dark background a "chalk stripe" (due to its similarity to lines on a chalkboard), while brighter colors and lighter backgrounds are usually called "pencil stripes."

Dimensions:
Stripes typically run between 1/16" and 1/8" in width, separated by spaces of at least 1/4".

Candy Stripe

A symmetrical pattern made of two alternating colors, each one in stripes of the same width. This is very widely used in shirts, and occasionally in casual suits and jackets (especially seersucker).

Most candystripe patterns use a single color, alternated with white stripes. Blue and oxblood red are the most common for dress shirts, but any color will work. The white stripes make the other color read from a distance as slightly lighter than it actually is.

Dimensions:
Each stripe is about 1/8" - 1/4" wide.

Bengal Stripe

A wider version of the candystripe, Bengal stripes are bolder and less common. The name always implies a colored stripe alternating with a white one. Dark blues and purples are the most traditional color choices.

Like candy striping, Bengal stripes are typically seen on dress shirts, but they are also sometimes used to make casual jackets, trousers, and even suits. It is most common in South Asia, where the pattern is used in non-Western clothing styles as well.

Dimensions:
Each stripe is about 1/4" - 3/4" wide.

Awning Stripe

The widest type of alternating, same-size striping, awning stripes are mostly only seen in novelty clothing. Carnival barkers sometimes wear awning stripe jackets in red and white, and they tend to show up on the sidelines of college football games as well, in the local team's colors.

You can get away with awning stripes if you have a big personality, a big body, or both. It's also a viable pattern for casual and pajama pants, especially the drawstring variety. Otherwise, leave it to the carnies -- and to actual awnings, from which the pattern takes its name.

Dimensions:
Very broad stripes -- at least 3/4" wide, and often 2" - 3" wide.

Rail Stripe

A repeating pattern of two narrow stripes separated by a small gap, with a wider gap in between each set of stripes, is called "rail striping" (for obvious reasons).

Occasionally, a rail stripe will add a third, dashed line down the middle.  In most cases the stripes are all one color, against a solid background of another color. The pattern is used for both suits and shirts. It is less common on unmatched jackets or trousers.

Dimensions:
Variable, but the stripes are usually quite thin (1/4" or less), spaced about a half-inch apart with a gap of an inch or more between each set of stripes.

Variegated Striping

Multiple vertical stripes of varying widths and color, whether against a background color or dominating the whole garment, are referred to as "variegated stripes." The effect is bold and often a little overwhelming, making it largely a pattern for casual shirts and very fashion-forward trousers.

Dimensions:
Variable, but each individual stripe is usually no more than 1/2" wide or so.

Herringbone

A textured weave rather than a dyed pattern: vertical columns of small, repeating V-shapes. If the warp and the weft threads are different colors, the pattern becomes more pronounced.

Herringbone is a popular choice for suits, jackets, trousers, and shirts alike. It is often used to add a little more visual interest to a solid-colored item.

Dimensions:
Columns are usually between 1/4" and 1/2" wide. The thickness of the "V" shape is determined by the threads or yarns used in the weave.

Houndstooth

A "broken check" grid of jagged repeating shapes, usually rendered in black and white or dark gray and light gray. Like herringbone, houndstooth is created by a specific weave, in this case one that uses two threads of each color.

Dimensions:
Varies based on the threads used. A typical houndstooth pattern has checks about 1/4" square. If the pattern is printed rather than woven, it can be blown up or shrunken down to any scale, including very exaggerated ones.

Plaid/Tartan

A style of check created by crossing bands of two or more colors, typically using more than one size of band.  A specific weave creates alternating diagonal slashes wherever the colored bands intersect.

In most of the world, these patterns are called "tartan." In the United States and Canada they are more commonly called "plaid," after a specific Scottish garment traditionally woven in tartan.

Dimensions:
Vary widely. Most tartans have at least one broad band of color (at least 1/2" wide) and one narrow (less than 1/4") wide.

Glen Check/Prince of Wales

A specific type of tartan that has seen enough use in menswear to warrant its own category, a "Glen check" pattern uses different numbers and sizes of bands for its vertical and horizontal elements. That makes the resulting pattern irregular, with larger and smaller rectangles formed by the intersecting bands.

There is no specific color formula for Glen check, but the most common styles use predominantly muted colors like grays and dark blues, sometimes with a single thin line of a bright color in the vertical and horizontal patterns to create a grid that "pops" out from the rest of the weave.

Dimensions:
No fixed dimensions, but most Glen checks work on a fairly small scale relative to other tartans. The bands are usually not more than 1/2" wide.

Gingham

Another tartan varient, gingham is specifically a two-tone plaid with identical horizontal and vertical arrangements. It produces a more regular grid than plaids where the vertical and horizontal layouts are different.

Frequently, all the bands are the same size, making gingham a regular grid pattern of squares in three colors: each base color, plus the diagonal blending of the two. White paired with one other color is the most common color scheme for gingham.

Gingham usually shows up on casual work shirts, but it can also be used for pocket squares and neckties, and very large-scale gingham is sometimes used to make casual sports jackets. 

Dimensions:
Varies. Anywhere from 1/4" to 3/4" is a typical width for each band of color on a gingham shirt, but it can go smaller or wider. Gingham sports jackets usually enlarge the pattern significantly, with each band of color at leas an inch wide, and sometimes more.

Windowpane

A broad check, windowpane basically takes a pinstripe or a chalk stripe and lays the same pattern down horizontally as well as vertically to create a grid.

It is distinguished by having gaps substantially larger than the lines of the grid. Windowpane is most commonly seen on sports jackets, and on some dress shirts; n both cases it is a fairly casual pattern.

Dimensions:
Gridlines of 1/4" or less. Spacing can vary, but is generally quite wide -- at least 1" between lines, and sometimes as much as 2" or 3".

Graph Check

Essentially windowpane with smaller gaps, "graph check" is a broad definition applied to any medium-scale grid of single, solid lines. It is usually used for dress shirts, with a light color against a white background the most common variant.

Dimensions:
The thickness of the lines can vary, but they are usually 1/8" thick or narrower. The empty squares of the grid are usually thicker, with at least 1/4" between lines.

Microcheck

There's no formal standard for when a graph check has become a "microcheck" shirt, but as a general rule of thumb the term is usually used for checked shirts where the pattern is fine enough to read as solid from a distance.

That means that the empty spaces between gridlines usually aren't much bigger than the gridlines themselves, allowing the two colors to blend at a distance. As with graph check, a white background with colored gridlines is the most common combination. This is almost exclusively a shirt pattern, though it occasionally crops up on neckties or pocket squares as well.

Dimensions:
Very fine lines, usually 1/16" or less. Spaces between lines are usually 1/8" or less. The gaps are still wider than the lines, but not dramatically.

Tattersall

Grid patterns like windowpane and microcheck are usually made with a single line color against a blank (usually white) background color.

Tattersall uses two or more colors for its gridlines, alternating the colors both horizontally and vertically. In some cases the lines of one color will be thicker than the other, or one color's lines will be dashed rather than solid.

This is a common dress shirt pattern, and occasionally gets used for pocket squares as well.

Dimensions
: The size of the grid can vary, but the lines are usually fairly close-spaced, with no more than a 1/2" gap between them. The lines themselves are usually quite thin -- 1/8" or narrower.

Birdseye

One of the more common woven figure patterns: a series of small, regular dots against a plain background. Lighter dots against a dark background are the most common approach, but birdseye can come in any combination of colors.

A popular pattern for casual suits and jackets, this is a good alternative for men who don't want a solid color but prefer to avoid vertical stripes. At a distance, it reads like a solid or slightly mottled color, rather than a distinct pattern.

Dimensions:
The dots are generally between 1/16" and 1/8" across. The gaps between them are generally about the same size, or just a touch wider.

Nailshead

Similar to birdseye, nailhead or nailshead fabric is another woven pattern with slightly smaller and less regular dots. The dots are made by a thread emerging from the weave and then dipping back under it, creating a faintly dimpled texture.

Like birdseye, nailshead can look solid from a distance. It is similarly used to create casual suits and sports jackets.

Dimensions:
The dots in nailshead are only the width of one or two individual yarns -- usually less than 1/16" across. They tend to be slightly longer than they are wide, rather than perfectly circular.

Barleycorn

Yet another woven figure pattern, barleycorn is a repeating series of tri-lobed clusters against a solid background. Like birdseye and nailshead, the pattern is created by yarns of one color emerging from a weave of a different color.

Because the figures are more complex, barleycorn is a bolder and more casual pattern than birdseye or nailshead. It is used almost exclusively for sports jacket, particularly tweed jackets.

Dimensions:
The full, tri-lobed shape is generally between 1/8" - 1/4" square. The pattern has no relation to the archaic British unit of measurement called a "barleycorn," which is a linear measurement about 1/3" long.

Paisley

A broad family of repeated patterns against solid backgrounds, paisley always includes a characteristic teardrop shape with a curled end. Depending on the culture of origin (and who you ask), the shape is often said to represent a mango seed, a palm spray, or a cypress tree. It goes by many different names in the Middle East and South Asia.

In Western menswear, paisley is predominantly used for neckties and bandannas. Because of the latter association, it is
not
commonly used for pocket squares -- it's not unheard of, but most men don't want to give the impression that they're using their sweat-rag as a pocket square.

Paisley is an effective way to incorporate a pattern that isn't strictly gridded or linear into your outfit. That works best as a small accent like a necktie, however -- paisley shirts can be quite overwhelming, and have strong associations with hippie culture as well.

Dimensions:
Varies widely, but the paisley graphics tend to be fairly wide-spaced, leaving a decent amount of plain background color visible.

Polka Dot

A very casual pattern of large, solid circles against a contrasting background. The dots are usually arranged in a regular grid, with all dots the same size.

We think of polka dots as being almost a novelty pattern, but in restrained colors they can look downright dignified on small items like neckties and pocket squares. Use the pattern sparingly, but don't discount it entirely.

Dimensions:
No standard width or spacing here. Smaller dots with wider spacing look dressier; bigger dots or a more crowded layout look less refined.

Section 5: Menswear, Piece by Piece

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