On Patterned Cloth: A Field Guide

Pattern in suiting is almost always a function of weave rather than print. The yarn is dyed first, then woven so that the geometry of the cloth produces the design. The vocabulary below describes how each pattern is built, what it traditionally looks like, and where it belongs in a wardrobe. 

Glen check 

Properly the Glenurquhart check, after the Scottish valley where it was developed in the nineteenth century. A small woven check overlaid with a larger windowpane in the same colourway. The pattern reads at two scales — fine texture from across a room, a broader overlay at closer range. A Prince of Wales check is a glen check with the overlay woven in a contrasting colour. 

Most often in greys, blacks, and browns, sometimes with a coloured overlay in blue or rust. The pattern reads as understated rather than decorative and crosses easily into daily business wear. A mid-grey glen check with a blue overlay, cut in a twelve-ounce worsted, is among the most useful patterned suits a man can own. 

Stripes — chalk and pin 

Two distinct cloths share the stripe category. The chalk stripe is a soft, slightly diffuse line woven into a flannel fabric, traditionally navy or mid charcoal. The line appears drawn rather than printed, which is the source of the name. It is the formal patterned suit of the British business tradition — navy, twelve-ounce flannel, single-breasted with a peak lapel — and one of the most authoritative cloths in tailoring. 

The pinstripe is a thin, hard-edged line on a worsted fabric rather than flannel. The lines sit closer together, the cloth reads sharper, and the register sits in city business dressing. Pinstripes in white on navy or chalk on charcoal are the canonical pairings. The pin is the more contemporary stripe; the chalk is the more traditional. A stripe wider than a quarter inch begins to read as costume; closer than an eighth of an inch, as texture rather than pattern. 

Windowpane 

A large, open check formed by widely spaced single or double lines crossing one another — the cloth reads as a series of windows held in a ground. Scale matters: a small windowpane in muted colours reads as quietly traditional, a larger one in stronger colours reads as deliberate. 

Most often used in sport coats, where the pattern can carry without overwhelming. A grey windowpane in hopsack or soft flannel is the canonical example. In a suit, the pattern is more demanding and asks for either a confident wearer or a small enough scale that the eye reads it as texture. 

Herringbone 

A broken twill weave in which the diagonal reverses direction at regular intervals, producing the V-shaped pattern that gives the cloth its name — the spine of a herring fish. The pattern reads as texture from any distance further than a few feet, which is most of its appeal. The cloth carries the visual interest of a pattern without the commitment of an obvious one. 

Found often in tweeds for country wear, in flannels and worsteds for business, and in cashmeres for sport coats. A grey herringbone worsted is one of the most useful business cloths a man can own. Scale matters: a fine herringbone reads as a solid, a broader herringbone reads as a deliberate choice. 

Birdseye 

A small repeating pattern of tiny dots, each surrounded by a darker ring, woven so densely that the cloth reads from any distance as a textured solid. The pattern is built through the alternation of two coloured yarns at fine spacing. Most often in navy or charcoal worsted for business suits. 

The cloth reads as a solid at conversational distance and reveals the pattern only at close range, which makes it among the more sophisticated patterned business cloths. A navy birdseye in twelve-ounce worsted is a useful second business suit — it does the work of a solid navy with more visual depth than a flat worsted carries on its own. 

How they fit together 

The five patterns are not interchangeable. Herringbone and birdseye read closest to a solid and cross easily into daily business wear. The glen check sits one step more deliberate — a clear pattern, but a quiet one. The chalk stripe is the formal patterned suit, the pinstripe its more contemporary city counterpart. The windowpane is the most decorative of the five and is generally a sport-coat cloth. A man who owns a herringbone worsted, a glen check, a chalk stripe, and a windowpane has most of the patterned wardrobe he will ever need.