Greetings Dldia:
This is a very interesting question! I have located confirmation of
corduroy accepted as business casual and that it may be worn year
round. I'd guess that depending on the size of the wales (the ribs or
cords), there might be more comfort wearing a thin wale in the warmer
months and a thicker wale in the cooler months. (I have a thin wale
corduroy shirt in buff that is one of my favorite articles of clothing
- it truly does feel "like butter.")
I found the following at
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/editorial/mens_fashion_part_3_pants.shtml
in an article titled "Men’s Fashion: Part 3, Pants:"
"For today’s lesson, we’ll concentrate on what men are most likely to
wear to the office: jeans, chinos, corduroys, and ‘slacks,’ meaning
anything of the wool or nylon-blend family."
"Corduroys
"Cords are actually easy to cover because the same rules for chinos
and jeans apply to cords as well (choose according to personal style,
emphasis on good fit), except the wonderful thing is, the fabric’s
actually closer to formal and can go over well in restaurants when
your date eyes your pants.
"We advise a thinner wale to a thicker one. The wale describes the
thickness of the ridge that runs vertically down the pants. And while
a thicker wale might seem richer – ooh, all that fabric, and in one
solid bunch! – it actually looks cheaper when you’re a few feet away,
and will appear that you’ve hugged your trunks in pipe cleaners.
Strictly for DJs.
"A rule: no horizontal corduroys. These are a rare breed, most often
found in head shops or avant-fashion boutiques, and are a silly waste
of fabric."
*************
From http://www.cottoninc.com/DNR/homepage.cfm?PAGE=3400 I found this:
"The beauty of corduroy is its ability to be easily parlayed into a
business casual environment. According to Cotton Incorporated’s
Lifestyle MonitorTM, a whopping 94.9% of those surveyed have
year-round business casual dress codes. And 81.4% of Monitor
respondents believe business casual is appropriate.
"Corduroy is a legitimate dress casual fabric," says Matt McCabe,
bottoms buyer for Mark Shale, an upscale specialty store based in
Chicago. "Matched with a great cashmere turtleneck sweater, you’ll be
as hip as anybody in the room."
Also, this was stated:
"While both velvet and corduroy are great to touch, velvet is
perceived as a special occasion fabric for the more fashion-driven
customer, while corduroy has a more widespread appeal—young or old,
rugged or urban. Mark’s enjoyment of corduroy comes as no surprise to
The Doneger Group’s Mark Minsky, GMM of men’s wear, who says the
popularity of corduroy has no relation to the climate."
*************
From http://www.cottoninc.com/wwd/homepage.cfm?PAGE=2919 comes:
"Today’s corduroy is soft and comfortable, with shapely styling that
makes it equally suitable for office wear or relaxed weekend wear."
"So, with all the new corduroy looks out there, can you really wear
the fabric in an office setting? Absolutely, say apparel executives,
as long as they’re not overly casual.
"Some of the cords out there aren’t too distressed or casual, and
they’re perfectly appropriate for the office," notes Lee of J. Jill.
"They look great when paired with a dressier, refined sweater. And I
certainly think you could wear corduroy to the office in a more formal
environment when it’s paired with a dressier jacket. We’ve done a
corduroy wrap shirt that is a beautiful, feminine interpretation of
corduroy. You could certainly wear that to the office on a Friday,
with a nice pair of stretch wool pants."
*************
Much Ado About Corduroy
"Corduroy is an eccentric, curious fabric, full of no more or less
zest than those who sport it."
http://www.easternecho.com/archives/archives/2003_winter/2003_02/20030205/dimensions/20030205/20030205_cords.html
***********
Corduroy wales (explained)
"HBC has noted corduroy wales ranging from 1.5 to 21. The low number
are referred to as wide wales and the higher numbers as as fine or
pinwales. Some companies have advetized ribless corduroys, but the
vast majority of cord fabrics have destinct wales which in fact is
what corduroy is best known. The mid-ranges of wales has been the most
commonly worn. There have vaiations over time. The garment also
affects the choice of wales."
http://histclo.hispeed.com/style/casual/cord/cord-wale.html
************
"WALE. 1. Chain loops that run lengthwise in knit fabric; course in
knit cloth runs in horizontal direction. 2. Ribs in knit fabric. 3.
Ribs or “cords” observed in corduroy fabric; these may be wide or when
fine in the fabric they are called pinwales. These may run from 16 to
22 in number per inch in the goods."
From http://www.rtwear.com/glossary/w_z.htm
************
"Pinwale Corduroy: Corduroy has distinctive vertical rows or wales of
soft pile. Pinwales are the thinnest and softest making it a perfect
transistional fabric."
From http://www.touchofcotton.com/stylefile/homepage.cfm?PageID=119&SectionID=5
************
Should you require clarification of any of the links or information I
have provided, please request it and I will be happy to respond.
SEARCH STRATEGY:
"wearing corduroy" fashion sense
"wearing corduroy" fashion rule
"wearing corduroy" fashion rules
"corduroy wales"
pinwales
"pinwale corduroy" |
