Beret

Beret (pronounced buh-rey)

A soft, visor-less cap, made usually of a soft wool material or felt, styled with a close-fitting headband and a wide, round top, often with a tab at the center.

1827: From the French béret (round, flat, woolen cap), from the dialectal form béarn, from the Occitan (Gascon) & Old Provençal berret (cap), from the Medieval Latin birrettum (a flat woollen cap that was worn by peasants), a diminutive of the Late Latin birrus (a large hooded cloak), a word perhaps of Gaulish origin but the ultimate root probably was the Proto-Celtic birros (short) and related to the Welsh byr and the Middle Irish berr.  The similar clerical variation is called a biretta and in Spanish, the spelling is boina.  Some military units are associated with the color of their berets (green berets; blue berets etc).  Beret is a noun; the noun plural is berets,

A rendering of the famous photograph of Che Guevara (1928–1967) at the La Coubre memorial service by Alberto Korda (1928-2001), 5 March 1960.

Long culturally associated with France, its popularity as a fashion-piece may bounce around but the beret has never gone away, examples found by archaeologists in bronze age tombs and the headwear has appeared in art since Antiquity, notable especially in European sculpture from the twelfth century.  The floppiness certainly varied, a quality seemingly close to a direct relationship with size, suggesting all were made, as they appeared, from felt or some material with  similar properties.  One of the oldest forms of processed cloth, felt was a serendipitous creation by shepherds who, for warmth and comfort, filled their shoes with tufts of wool; as they walked and worked, they sweated and felt was made by the pressure of the foot pressing the the wool against the leather.  Berets were adopted first by Basque peasants, then royalty, then the military and then artists but in the twentieth century, they gained an anti-establishment association, influenced by French existentialists and the famous photograph of Che Guevara.

Lindsay Lohan in beret, promotional image for Saturday Night Live, episode 37-16, March 2012.

The military, the counterculture and the fashionistas have shared the once humble cap since.  One aspect of it however proved as vulnerable as any object of mass-manufacture to the arithmetic of unit-labour costs and world trade.  In France, early in the post-war years, there had been fifteen beret factories in the district of Oloron-Sainte-Marie in the Pyrénées where most French berets were made yet by the late 1990s, there was but one and it catered for only for the upper reaches of the market, supplying those few who simply didn’t wear clothes made east of Suez and Laulhère is the last remaining historic beret-maker still operating in France.  Dating from 1840 when the Laulhère family opened its first factory, such was the struggle to survive the national textile industry crisis as well as the erosion of its market by low-priced products of dubious quality that in 2013 the decision was taken by Laulhère finally to end production.  However, just as Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970; President of France 1959-1969) had une certain idée de la France, upon hearing the news of the closure, the industry decided there was une certaine idée de la mode française and a rescue package was organized by the Gascon-based Cargo Group and its sister company, Blancq-Olibet.  In a press release issued almost immediately after the new broke, Cargo Group confirmed they had acted because the beret was “…such an important part of our history and patrimoine (cultural heritage).  Clearly, the beret is as important to the French as the baguette, and croissant, both items being traditional products which have survived to co-exist with cheaper, industrially manufactured "imitations".  Cargo’s business model was simultaneously to use Laulhère’s expertise and skilled workforce to introduce new, more modern lines but maintain the availability of the traditional styles and it appears to have been successful, the classic berets still on sale.  It’s one of those dependable industry staples which can just about every year be promoted by a label, publication or stylist as one of the trends to watch in the next season.  Unlike something like the polka-dot which tends to be cyclical with sometimes a decade between spikes, the classic, timeless beret is always there, running the gamut from revolutionary chic to French-girl accessory, something able to be worn in all four seasons and is the ultimate mix & match fall-back; it can work with spots or stripes and vivid or subdued solids.  It's rare that a catwalk doesn't include at least one beret.

Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (b 1943) in beret on the cover of Hejira (1976), the image a collage of photographs by Dr Norman Seeff (b 1939) and Joel Bernstein (b 1952).

Hejira is one of the less frequently used transliterations (the others being Hijrah, Hidjra & Hegira) of the Arabic هِجْرَة (hijra) (departure, exodus), a word used to refer to the Prophet Muhammad’s (circa 570-632) flight with his companions in 622 from Mecca to Medina.  It was from the verb هَجَرَ (hajara) (emigrate, to abandon).  When interviewed, Ms Mitchell said she was attracted to the word because of the “attractiveness” of the “dangling j”; presumably, musicians “hear” in words musical properties in the way a synesthete might “see” colors.

Brigitte Bardot (1934-2025) in beret.

The beret certainly has a long history, floppy head coverings appearing in archaeological record of the Early Bronze Age (circa 3300-2000 BC) and they have remained a feature in European clothing ever since.  At least partially, this was technological determinism in action: felt was the material constantly used and, being non-woven, it is one of the easiest materials to produce without complex machinery or skills.  Felt is made by matting and pressing wet natural fibres (classically wool) and its is famously versatile and durable, peasants favouring it for the linings of jackets, footwear and of course hats, as valued for its warmth as its capacity to resist moisture.  In the severe Russian winter of 1941-1942, one of the most prized possessions to be taken by the Germans from dead or captured Red Army soldiers were their felt-lined boots.  Because of the hubristic assumption the Russians would be defeated before the onset of winter, the Wehrmacht (the German armed forces) had made little attempt to build-up stocks of suitable clothing but, even had they been more cautious, there was nothing in their inventory to match the effectiveness of the Soviet felt-lined boot.  By the seventeenth century, black felt hats (less a fashion choice than it simply being the most simple colour to produce) were virtually an item or uniform among the French working class, farmers and artisans although it wasn’t until 1827 the industry coined béret, from the Medieval Latin birretum (a flat woollen cap worn by peasants).

The hauntingly lovely Brigitte Bardot (at 17) with Andre Bourvil (1917-1970) in Le Trou Normand (Crazy for Love, 1952).  She had a minor part portraying the protagonist's cousin but it was her first feature film and it convinced directors "the camera loves her".

This being pre-EEC (European Economic Community (1957), the Zollverein that would evolve into the EU (European Union (1993)) Europe, the beret of course became a political statement and as tensions grew in the mid-nineteenth century between France & Spain, the fashion lines were drawn: French berets were blue and Spanish red although in a gesture which might have pleased the Marxists, the working class everywhere continue to wear black although they were drawn by the price rather than international solidarity (although that too vindicates Marxist economic theory).  However, it’s from the early twentieth century that historians of fashion trace the ascent of the black beret as an essentially classless chic accessory which could be worn by men & women alike although such are the memories of Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve (b 1943) that about the only men remembered for their berets are revolutionaries, Che Guevara, the Black Panthers and such.  One political aspect of the beret definitely is a myth: it’s not true the Nazis banned the hat during the occupation of France (1940-1944).  The origin of that tale seems to lie in the publication in the 1970s of a number of propaganda leaflets created by the SOE (Special Operations Executive, the UK government's “department of dirty tricks” with a mandate to “set Europe ablaze”), one of which was to spread in France the story the Germans were going to “ban the beret”, something with some basis in fact because there was, briefly, a local campaign to deprive Alsatians of the hat, on the basis it was a (Basque) manifestation of Frenchness.  Strange as it sounds, such things had been done before, the UK parliament in 1746 responding to the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1745 by passing the Dress Act which in Scotland restricted the wearing of tartan.  Quickly, the adults in Berlin put a stop to the wacky scheme and there's no evidence the SOE's plan was ever used although the organization remained active in what would now be called the business of misinformation & disinformation.  One curiosity of the aborted crackdown on berets was it didn't extend to onion sellers although that wasn't enough to save Robert Wagner (1895–1946; civil administrator of Alsace during the Nazi occupation) who, an unrepentant Nazi to the end, was sentenced to death by a French court and executed.  

Zucchetto

Zucchetto (pronounced zoo-ket-oh or tsook-ket-taw (Italian)

A small, round skullcap worn by Roman Catholic ecclesiastics, a priest's being black, a bishop's violet, a cardinal's red, and the pope's white; a calotte; the style is worn also by Syriac (or Malankara Orthodox) and some Anglican clergy.

1850–1855: From the Italian zucchetto, a variant of zucchetta, diminutive of zucca (gourd, squash, pumpkin) from the Late Latin cucutia (gourd), probably from the Classical Latin cucurbita.  Depending on the country or order, a zucchetto may also be referred to as a pilus, pilos, pileus, pileolo, subbiretum, submitrale, soli deo, berrettino, calotte or calotta.  Although unattested, it may be related to the primitive Indo-European tjukka (gourd) and the alternative spelling was zuchetto which most dictionaries seem now to list as non-standard.  The Italian noun zucchetta was (1) a tromboncini (a kind of squash), (2) an ecclesiastic skullcap or (2) a military helmet worn in the 16th century.  The relationship between the small vegetable and the head-covering is the shape, the construct being zucca (gourd, squash, pumpkin) + -etto.  The etto- suffix was used to forms nouns from nouns, denoting a diminutive.  It was from the Late Latin -ittum, accusative singular of –ittus, and was the alterative suffix used to form melioratives, diminutives, and hypocoristics and existed variously in English & French as -et, in Italian as Italian -etto and in Portuguese & Spanish as -ito.  With an animate noun, -etto references as male, the coordinate female suffix being -etta, which is also used with inanimate nouns ending in -a.  It should not be confused with the homophonous suffix -eto.  Zucchetto is a noun; the noun plural is zucchettos.

The first head covering recognizably zucchettoesque was the Greek pilos which evolved also into the modern beret which was in its early forms a larger, irregularly-shaped zucchetto.  A classic medieval adaptation to the climate, it covered a monk’s tonsure (that part of the head from which the hair was shaved, a practice not formally abandoned in the Roman Catholic Church until 1972) thus providing, depending on the season, either insulation or protection from the sun.  It is similar in appearance to the Jewish kippah and this presumably was intentional although the theological basis of two differs.

Ecclesiastical fashion statement: Cardinal George Pell (1941-2023) wearing zucchetto with matching choir cape.

In the Roman church, the color of the zucchetto can be used to determine the office held but the distinctions are not absolute.  Obviously, a pope wears a white but that right extends also to those in orders where white vestments are worn.  Cardinals wear scarlet, archbishops, bishops and other notables amaranth and the more junior ranks black.  Apparently informally, some monks wear the brown of their traditional habits.  By historic convention, a prelate removes his zucchetti when in the presence of a more senior appointee and all doff the things when the pope is in the room.  Observers of such things have noted the modern way is that except during the most formal occasions, this etiquette seems either to be waived or ignored.

Paul VI (1897-1978; pope 1963-1978) places a cardinal's biretta over the zucchetto worn by Archbishop of Munich and Freising (1977–1982) Joseph Ratzinger (1927-2022; Pope Benedict XVI 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022), Vatican City, 1977.

This ceremony marked the archbishop's creation as a cardinal.  To the regret of some, the cardinal's galero (the old wide-brimmed hat) was by the 1970s rarely seen and even at most formal ecclesiastical ceremonies the biretta (a square cap with three or four ridges atop) was worn.  A consequence of Saint John Paul II's (1920–2005; pope 1978-2005) long pontificate of more than a quarter century was that by the 2005 conclave at which Cardinal Ratzinger was elevated from grand inquisitor to the papacy, he and one other (also appointed by Paul VI) were the only two of the 115 cardinals electors with any experience of a conclave, both having voted in the two conducted in 1978.

The zucchetto is worn throughout most of the Mass, removed at the commencement of the Preface and replaced at the conclusion of Communion when the Blessed Sacrament is put away,  Zucchettos are never worn at any occasion where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and are always removed at the end of the last secret prayer, replaced after the ablutions.  Thoughtfully, there’s usually provided also a funghellino (literally “little mushroom”), a kind of hat-stand fashioned usually from brass or wood on which a zucchetto is placed when not worn.

Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Pell in the Vatican.

The zucchetto has also entered the long list of the Catholic Church’s list of cargo cult items.  In a tradition which is said to have be started by Pius XII (1876-1958; pope 1939-1958), cardinals & bishops, if presented with a new zucchetto, may kiss theirs and give it to the generous faithful soul.  Some prefer to take the gift, place it briefly on their heads and hand it back with a blessing.  Recent popes have also adopted the practice, presumably thinking it a good photo opportunity but the system could be open to abuse.  Should a zucchetto which has adorned the head of a priest (or even a cardinal or pope!) fall into the hands of a voodoo priest, they could use it to make a voodoo doll.

Pantsuit

Pantsuit (pronounced pant-soot)

A woman's suit consisting of slacks and a matching jacket.

1966: The construct was pant + suit.  The original form “pants suit” was noted first in 1964, wholly supplanted by pantsuit which emerged within two years.  Pant is a shortened form of pants (trousers, drawers) itself a shortening of pantaloons, a usage from 1840 which was initially limited to vulgar and commercial use with the colloquial singular pant attested from 1893.  Suit is from the Middle English sute, from the Anglo-Norman suite and the Old French sieute & siute (in Modern French as suite), originally a participle adjective from the Vulgar Latin sequita (for secūta), from the Classical Latin sequi (to follow), in the sense the component garments "follow each other" (ie are worn together).  Although known also as the trouser suit or slack suit, it was only ever pantsuit which evolved into a single word although modern feminist thought seems to prefer the simple “suit” as applied to the men’s business staple.

Women in trousers: The subversive history

Lindsay Lohan in pink pantsuit with Valentino’s Rockstud pumps, New York, October 2019.

The style actually predates the word, the combination of trousers and a jacket having for centuries been worn for practical reasons by working-class and peasant women and it became a not uncommon sight after women entered the manufacturing workforce at scale during World War One.  However, among some, it seemed to induce conniptions when middle-class women began to adopt the combination as distinctive daywear in the inter-war years.  It wasn’t for lack of modesty but rather that trousers were seen as emblematic of female assertiveness that had already seen gains in political, legal and economic rights.  Apparently not at all threatening when worn in the field or on factory floors, they were clearly part of an ever-thickening wedge when they appeared in the office.

Lindsay Lohan, New York City, November 2022.

Lindsay Lohan in November 2022 appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to promote the Netflix movie, Falling for Christmas.  What caught the eye was her pantsuit in a gallimaufry of colors from Law Roach’s (b 1978) Akris’ fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection, the ensemble including a wide-lapelled jacket, turtleneck top and boot cut pants fabricated in a green, yellow, red & orange Drei Teile print in an irregular geometric pattern.  Whether the color combination was inspired by champagne jelly wasn't discussed and the distinctive look was paired with a similarly eclectic combination of accessories, chunky gold hoop earrings, a crossbody Anouk envelope handbag, and Giuseppe Zanotti platform heels.  The enveloping flare of the trousers concealed the shoes which was a shame because, while hardly original, the Giuseppe Zanotti (b 1957) bebe-style pumps in gloss metallic burgundy leather deserved to be seen, distinguished by 2 inch (50 mm) soles, 6-inch (150 mm) heels, an open vamp, rakish counters and surprisingly delicate ankle straps.  The stylist's desire for the hem of the trousers to reach to the ground is noted but the shoes were nice pieces.  The fashion critics are a tough and unforgiving crew and it can be hard to predict which way they'll jump but the collective reaction was positive.  

Marlene Dietrich, Paris, 1933.

First an identifiable item when the appeared in the United States during the 1920s, the pantsuit has at various times be spelled also as pant suit & pants suits; the preferred term in feminist circles seems now to be “suit”.  Outside the US, elsewhere in the English-speaking world, the term "trouser suit", dating from the First World War, operated in parallel during most of the twentieth century but has now faded from use as has the linguistically unhappy "slack suit" or the (probably worse) "slacks suit".  More deliberately androgynous than what would follow, Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) famously adopted men’s suits with dramatic effect and not without social effect.  After being photographed in 1933 aboard the SS Europa en route to France wearing a white suit, the Paris police sent a warning that she would be arrested if she wore menswear in the City of Lights. Dietrich ignored them and disembarked in a tweed suit complete with a tie, overcoat, beret and sunglasses.  The gendarmes did not arrest her.

YSL's Le Smoking tuxedo suit, 1966 (left), reprised by Abbey Lee Kershaw (b 1987) in 2014 (right).

It was probably Yves Saint Laurent's (1936-2008) Le Smoking design in 1966 which legitimized the presence of the pantsuit in catalogues and, increasingly, on the catwalk.  The 1966 piece was a revived tuxedo, tailored to the female form, in velvet or wool.  Other fabrics soon followed but unfortunately, not all modern interpretations are as pleasing because they’re the choice of many whose figures tend not to suit more flattering cuts and, being now positioned as a feminist symbol, the implication is any criticism of the style is, at least, a micro-aggression and even as long ago as the 1960s, women were pushing back; New York socialite Nan Kempner (1930–2005) was once denied entry to La Cote Basque restaurant because she was wearing pants so instantly she took them of and walked in, wearing just her tunic top.

Kim Jong-un (Kim III, b 1982; Supreme Leader of DPRK (North Korea) since 2011), fashion icon.

Forty-odd years on, in August 2008, crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013) referred to her campaign staff as The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pantsuits.  That didn't work out well but she persisted with the pantsuits to the point the garment was her one identifiable style and in an interview with CNBC she explained the choice:

(1) It was initially that she liked pantsuits, saying “They make me feel professional and ready to go.”

(2) A pantsuit is a kind of uniform which matches the default male suit & tie and men traditionally haven't attracted criticism for that.  She noted it was "an easy way to fit in" with what was a male-dominated business and that “as a woman running for President,” she liked the “visual cue” that she was “different from the men but also familiar.”

(3) The uniform was an "anti-distraction technique."  Removing much of the scope for those who traditionally focused on what women wore, it forced some attention on what she was saying.  Obviously, that could be sometimes be to her disadvantage.

(4) The cut of the pantsuit provides protection "from creeps."  "They helped me avoid the peril of being photographed up my skirt while sitting on a stage or climbing stairs, both of which happened to me as First Lady.”  She explained that after that happened, she took a cue from one of her childhood heroes, Nancy Drew, because she “would often do her detective work in sensible trousers.”

The pantsuit turned out to be a good platform for subliminal messaging, crooked Hillary successively wearing red, white and blue iterations for the three presidential debates in 2016, an option no male candidate could emulate without attracting derision.  Men can of course wear ties of different colors but it's hardly as obvious.  Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021) would later suggest an orange pantsuit was best suited to crooked Hillary's skin tone and character.

Donald Trump shaking hands with crooked Hillary Clinton (in red pantsuit) and Kim Jong-un (in blue pantsuit).

Tartan

Tartan (pronounced tahr-tn)

(1) A wool or worsted cloth woven with stripes of different colours and widths crossing at right angles, worn chiefly by the Scottish Highlanders, many clans now having its own distinctive design.

(2) A design now often identified by the name of the clan wearing it and most associated with the kilt.

(3) A generalized descriptor for any similar (sometimes called plaid) design.

(4) A single-masted vessel used in the Mediterranean, usually with a lateen sail (also spelled as tartane).

(5) The trade name of a synthetic resin, used for surfacing tracks etc.

1490-1500: Of uncertain origin, apparently a blend of the Middle English tartaryn (rich material) from the Middle French tartarin (Tartar cloth) and the Middle French tiretaine (strong coarse fabric; linsey-woolsey; cloth of mixed fibers) from the Old French tiret (kind of cloth), from tire (oriental cloth of silk) (and as the French tartane from the Italian tartana, of uncertain origin) from the Medieval Latin tyrius (material from Tyre), from the Classical Latin Tyrus (Tyre).  The origin of the name as applied to the small ship most associated with the Mediterranean, dates from seventeenth century French, probably the Provençal tartana (falcon, buzzard), it being common practice in the era to name ships after birds.  As an adjective meaning "design with a pattern of bars or stripes of color crossing one another at right angles", use began circa 1600.  The etymology of the fabric is certainly murky.  Most agree about the influence of the Old French tertaine but some trace the origin of that not to Latin via Italian but rather the Old Spanish tiritaña (a fine silk fabric) from tiritar (to rustle).  The spelling of tartan must have been influenced in Middle English by tartaryn from the Old French tartarin from Tartare (“Tartar," the people of Central Asia).  Tartan & tartanization are nouns, tartanize & tartaning are verbs and tartaned is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is tartans.

Lindsay Lohan in Royal Stewart tartan, Freaky Friday (Walt Disney Pictures, 2003), costume test photo.

Despite the perception of many (encouraged by the depictions in popular culture), tartan in the sense of specific color & pattern combinations attached to specific clans is something of recent origin.  Tartan (breacan (pɾʲɛxkən) in Scots Gaelic) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours.  The word plaid is now often used interchangeably with tartan (particularly in North America and when not associated with anything Scottish (especially kilts)), but technically (and always in Scotland), a plaid is a large piece of tartan cloth, worn as a type of kilt or large shawl although it’s also used to describe a blanket.  During the disputes between England and Scotland, the wearing of tartan became a political expression and, after the failure of the of the 1745 Jacobite rising, the UK parliament in 1746 passed the Dress Act which restricted the wearing of tartan and displays of other aspects of Gaelic culture in Scotland; it was one of a number of laws designed to suppress the warrior clans north of the border.  Perhaps inspired by this weaponization of fashion, during the Nazi occupation of France (1940-1944), the administrators of Alsace made an attempt to "ban the beret" on the grounds it was a "political symbol of Frenchness" (onion sellers curiously exempt from this crackdown) but the bizarre scheme quickly was ended by Berlin.  The Dress Act was repealed in 1782 and tartan was soon adopted as both the symbolic national dress of Scotland and in imagery more generally.  The Royal Stewart was the personal tartan of Elizabeth II (1926-2022; Queen of the UK and other places, 1952-2022) and historically associated with the royal house of Stewart (or Stuart), the dynasty which ruled Scotland from 1371, in 1903 uniting with the English crown in 1603 under James VI of Scotland (1566–1625) who thus became also James I of England and Ireland as James I.

Paired with a denim jacket, Lindsay Lohan in her screen test wore the dress in something of the way in the 1970s it became part of the punk sub-culture but for more conventional types there are also scarves, ties, sashes and such.  There was a time when the convention was it could be worn in Scotland only with the permission of the sovereign but those days are gone and it has long been a most “democratized fabric” to the point where it’s now something of a “universal tartan”, one widely seen in commercial fashion and in that sense is used in parallel with the clan affiliation.  Commonly, it’s worn to formal events such as weddings, ceilidhs, or Burns Nights (readings of the poems of Robert “Rabbie” Burns (1759–1796)), the modern trend to pair a kilt with a Prince Charlie or Argyll jacket, traditionalists adding a sporran (pouch), hose (kilt socks) & flashes, Ghillie brogues (traditional shoes) and even a Sgian dubh (a small dagger tucked in the sock) although carrying the last item may be unlawful in some jurisdictions.  Historians of the fabrics deconstruct the Royal Stewart as: (1) red background (boldness, power & visibility (thus a very “royal” color)), (2) blue & black (lines strength & dignity) and (3) white & yellow stripes (light, honor & distinction).  Remarkably, in the age of identity politics and sensitivity to cultural appropriation, the etiquette guides note there is no objection to non-Scots folk wearing their tartan of choice except when an event is clan-specific in which case only those in the lineage should don the fabric.  That said, even then, the consequence of a tartan faux pas will likely be less severe than wearing a Rangers shirt in a Glasgow pub filled with Celtic’s hoops.

Car seat covers in Clan Lindsay Tartan.  The Clan Lindsay motto is Endure Fort (Endure bravely).  Think about it.

Although there’s now an industry devoted to the tartans of the clans, the specific association of patterns with clans and families began only in the mid-nineteenth century.  This history was both technological and economic deterministic.  Unlike some fabrics, tartans were produced by local weavers for local sale, using only the natural dyes available in that geographical area and patterns were just designs chosen by the buyer.  It was only with a broader availability of synthetic dyes that many patterns were created these began (somewhat artificially) to become associated with Scottish clans, families, or institutions wishing to emphasize their Scottish heritage.  The heritage was usually real but not often specific to a particular tartan, the mid-nineteenth century interest in the fabrics a kind of manufactured nostalgia.  There are many modern tartans on sale, the color combinations and patterns of which are chosen for market appeal rather than any relationship to clan identity or any other historic link: Among the purists, these collectively are called "the clan McGarish".  The phrase "Tartan Tory" does not refer to Scottish members of the Conservative Party (a once prolific species which has for decades been listed as "threatened" and may already be functionally extinct) but to the faction of the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is associated with cultural nostalgia rather than radical nationalist politics.

1976 Porsche 914 2.0 with factory-fitted heckblende in Nepal Orange over black leatherette with orange & black plaid inserts.  All the mid-engined 914 built for public sale had a targa top although for use in competition the factory did a few with a fixed roof to gain additional rigidity.  The 914 was the first of a number of attempts by Porsche’s engineers to convince customers there were better configurations than the rear-engine layout used on the 911 & 912.  The customers continued to demand 911s and, the customer always being right, rear-engined 911s remain available to this day.

These days, a designer might, for the right design, for a certain target market use orange paint or orange & black plaid but it's unlikely they'd be seen in combination; it'd be sort of like mixing spots & stripes.  The 1970s however were different and, for better and worse, there was more adventurism on the color charts although, regrettably, polka-dot upholstery never caught on.  The last Porsche 914s (1969-1976) were sold in 1976 but because the new 924 (1976-1988) wasn’t ready for production, to create an “entry-level” model for the vital US market, the factory resurrected the 912.  The original 912 (1965-1969) was essentially a four-cylinder 911 (1964-) with less elaborate appointments and fitted with a version of the 1.6 litre flat-four used in 356 (1946-1965) but the 1976 912E used the 2.0 litre Volkswagen unit from the 914 because the older engine had never been modified to comply with the new emission control rules.  The single-season 912E was an unexpected swansong for the 912 and although some 30% cheaper than the contemporary 911S, it sold in only one fifth the volume, a telling comparison with the mid 1960s when the 912 initially out-sold the 911.  So barely more than 2,000 912Es were built and the aftermarket was for decades subdued but the survival rate was high and although the prices realized don’t match the 912s of the 1960s (let alone the six cylinder cars), the 912E is now appreciated as a practical, well-built and surprisingly economical machine so prices have been rising.

High-priced plaid

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198) trimmed in blue-grey plaid.  The factory option codes for the plaid were L1 Blaugrau (blue-grey), L2 Rot-Grün (red-green) & L3 Grün-Beige (green-beige).

Buyers of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198, 1954-1957) had the choice of seats covered in leather or plaid cloth.  In the years since, many Gullwings originally fitted with plaid upholstery were re-trimmed in leather during refurbishment or restoration, partly because the leather was thought to have more of a allure but also because for decades fabrics exactly matching what was available in the 1950s had become unobtainable (unobtainium thus the preferred industry term).  However, in 2018, in what was said to be a response to "demand", Daimler announced bolts replicating exactly the original three designs (L1 Blaugrau (blue-grey), L2 Rot-Grün (red-green) & L3 Grün-Beige (green-beige)) would again be available as factory part-numbers.  Manufactured to the 1955 specification using an odor-neutral wool yarn woven into a four-ply, double weave twill, it’s claimed to be a “very robust material”.  In the era, the blue-grey fabric was the most popular, fitted to 80% of 300SLs not trimmed in leather while the red-green and green-beige combinations were requested respectively only by 14 & 6% of buyers.  The price (quoted in 2018 at US$229 per yard) was indicative of the product’s niche market but for those restoring a 300 SL to its original appearance, it's a bargain.  The fabric may be ordered from the Mercedes-Benz Klassisches Zentrum (Classic Centre).

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198; chassis 5500428; Engine 198.980.5500455 & body 5500411 and factory-fitted with the Rudge Wheel option), refurbished by Paul Russell & Company, Essex, Massachusetts (Leder rot (red leather) 1079 (left) and non-original Rot-Weiß (red-white plaid) (right)) .  Note the strapped-down luggage in the "head-rest" position.

Now bolts of fabric replicating the construction and appearance of the originals are available, restorers are able even more closely to replicate the appearance of seven-odd decades ago.  With chassis 5500428, Paul Russell & Company re-painted and re-trimmed to the original factory specifications (Graphitgrau (Graphite Grey) DB190 over Leder rot (red leather) 1079) but also included an interchangeable set of seat cushions and squabs in a non-original red-white plaid.  Additionally, the company fabricated a reproduction of the matching luggage set and while restorers have long been able, at a price, to recreate just about anything constructed from metal, timber and metal, in recent years the industry has been transformed with the advent of large scale 3D printers meaning even plastic parts can be formed from either specifications or scans of an original.  The 1955 design for the location of the luggage was thoughtful and a fine example of space utilization but, cognizant of Sir Isaac Newton's (1642–1727) laws of motion, today's regulators would be less than pleased.  In April, 2025, the car was offered for sale on the Bring-a-Trailer on-line auction site.

The part-numbers for the bolts of fabric: L1 Blue-Grey (A 000 983 44 86 / 5000), L2 Red-Green (A 000 983 44 86 / 3000) & L3 Green-Beige (A 000 983 44 86 / 6000).

Whitewall

Whitewall (pronounced hwahyt-wawl or wahyt-wawl)

(1) A tyre (or tire), almost always pneumatic, with a sidewall with a white circular line of varying widths.

(2) Having white sidewalls (of a tyre).

(3) In US military use, a hair cut with a closely cropped back and sides and the hair on the top of the head left longer.

(4) In UK dialect (Northamptonshire), the spotted flycatcher (the bird so-called because of the white color of the under parts).

1950–1955: The construct was white + (side)wall.  White pre-dates 900 and was from the Middle English whit & hwit, from the Old English hwīt (whiteness, white food, white of an egg (and in late Old English “a highly luminous color devoid of chroma”)), from the Proto-West Germanic hwīt, from the Proto-Germanic hwītaz, from the primitive Indo-European ḱweydós, a by-form of ḱweytós (bright; shine). It was cognate with the German weiss, the Old Norse hvītr and the Gothic hweits; akin to wheat.  The idea of the “whites of the eye” was known in the late fourteenth century while the use of the term “white man” emerged in the late 1600s.  Wall pre-dates 900 and was from the Middle English wal, from the Old English weall (wall, dike, earthwork, rampart, dam, rocky shore, cliff), from the Proto-West Germanic wall (wall, rampart, entrenchment), from the Latin vallum (wall, rampart, entrenchment, palisade), from vallus (stake, post), from the primitive Indo-European welH- (to turn, wind, roll).  It was likely conflated with waw (a wall within a house or dwelling, a room partition), from the Middle English wawe, from the Old English wāg & wāh (an interior wall, divider).  It was cognate with the North Frisian wal (wall), the Saterland Frisian Waal (wall, rampart, mound), the Dutch wal (wall, rampart, embankment), the German Wall (rampart, mound, embankment) and the Swedish vall (mound, wall, bank”).  The forms white wall & white-wall are also used.  Whitewall is a noun & adjective; the noun plural is whitewalls.

Wide whitewalls on 1953 Packard Caribbean Convertible (left), narrow whitewalls on 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 (centre) and triple whitewalls on 1966 Cadillac Coupe De Ville (right) (there were also double whitewalls).

Whitewall tyres became available in the early years of the twentieth century but it wasn’t until the 1930s they became a noted feature on luxury cars sold in the US and, in the way these things work, they were soon also an option on lower-priced models although, being relatively expensive and offering no functionality, the take-up rate was low.  The very existence of the whitewall was, stylistically, something of a throwback because the earliest pneumatic tyres were an off-white, the color of the natural rubber formula and the manufacturers soon added a zinc oxide to the mix for no reason other than producing a bright white which was more appealing in showrooms.  Given the unsealed roads of the era, the stark white didn’t long last in use and tyres quickly degenerated to a “dirty beige” and although “tyre cleaning” products were available, it was a sisyphean task and presumably few persisted.  In 1910 the BF Goodrich Company began adding carbon black to its various formulae after tests confirmed this added strength and durability to the rubber.  Rapidly the technique was adopted by the industry although because carbon black was an additional input cost, some tyres were produced with the additive used only for the portion of the rubber used for the tread surface, meaning the sidewalls remained white.  The first whitewalls were thus a product of cost-cutting and it’s an irony the look would more than a decade later be picked up as a marker of wealth and luxury although the commercial “whitewalls” would be a strip of white rubber added during the manufacturing process to an all-black carcass.  As a “discovery” the whitewall can be thought serendipitous.

Lindsay Lohan on the cover of Whitewall magazine, Fall / Autumn 2012 edition.  The photograph was Lindsay Lohan V by Richard Phillips (b 1962).  By magazine standards, the predominately black & grey cover was unusually dark but this was a deliberate editorial choice.  New York-based Whitewall magazine was founded in 2006 by Michael Klug (b 1978) who remains publisher & editor at large.  Whitewall is described as a publication for creative communities, bringing together art, design, fashion & lifestyle, with a focus on sustainability and diversity, offering a platform for the queer, trans and those identifying as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Persons of Color).

Raised-letter tyre on 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 (left) and red-line (later, there would be blue-line, yellow-line etc) tyre on 1966 Pontiac GTO (right).  The BF Goodrich Radial T/A (left) was valued by road-racers because it was discovered as the tread wore it behaved with characteristics which were similar to a racing "slick".  For a while, worn T/A Radials became a handy revenue earner for tyre shops.

The whitewall became more popular in the late 1940s until the Korean War (1950-1953) caused a squeeze on rubber supplies but once the peacetime returned, so did the whitewall and the width grew, often measuring 2½-3 inches (65-75 mm), something made possible by the physical size of tyre sidewalls increasing during the 1950s.  The perception now is the fashion was very much a US taste and while there’s some truth in that, American culture in the 1950s exerted a great influence and whitewalls were seen in Europe, Australia and Japan and for some reason the Italian fashion magazines seemed particularly taken with them for their photo-shoots.  Curiously, the US industry seemed to lose interest in whitewalls between 1961-1963, just as the wild fins of the era suddenly vanished although there was a period of transition, the “standard” whitewall shrinking to a width of 1 inch (25 mm) and sometimes less.  During the 1960s, although whitewalls remained a fixture on the more up-market mainstream vehicles the preferred look for high-performance machinery (it was the “muscle-car” era) was the “raised letter” tyre which spelled out the manufacturer’s name and often model of tyre, the free advertising greatly pleasing.  At the same time, the muscle car circle developed a taste for “red-line” tyres” which featured a thin red strip.

US actress Mamie Van Doren (b 1931) cleaning her Jaguar XK120 OTS (open two seater (ie roadster) 1948-1954), paying special attention to the whitewall tyres.  For those who need advice on such matters, Longstone Tyres has published a guide.

In the collector community there are factions for whom whitewalls are a thing (for some, verging on a fetish) and according to these experts, the most common mistake is to use a product like ArmorAll’s various tyre cleaners (ArmorAll’s stuff usually a good choice for many surfaces) which, because of the chemical composition, tend to draw the carbon from the black rubber of the tyres, permanently staining the whitewalls with a yellowish hue.  For generations the preferred cleaning product was Westley’s Bleche Wite but, after a corporate takeover, the ingredients were in some way changed and the reputation suffered, the product later replaced.  Among disgruntled ex-customers, the theories explaining all this included corporate greed and some (unspecified) intervention by the EPA (Environmental protection Authority).  Containers of Westley’s Bleche Wite (those with the original chemical composition) now trade on the internet at multiples of their original price, in the manner of bottles of “original” Absinthe dating from the days when it was in many places banned although, unlike the “green fairy”, most of the cleaning spray is probably authentic.  There seems not now a consensus about what’s the nest cleaning product and some even suggest good results can be obtained by using a mix of baking soda or plain white toothpaste with warm water.

Sir William Lyons (1901–1985) presenting the Jaguar E-Type to the press pack, Geneva, March 1961 (left) and a 1961 publicity shot for the US market release (right).  In the US market, Jaguar had long made the whitewalls optional for the XK sports cars but there, most of the E-Type's (often called XK-E or XKE in the US) publicity material featured whitewalls.  The fad soon faded although narrow whitewalls were still available until 1975 when the last E-Types were sold.

Using one of his trademark outdoor settings, Norman Parkinson (1913-1990) photographed model Suzanne Kinnear (b 1935) adorning a Daimler SP250, wearing a Kashmoor coat and Otto Lucas beret with jewels by Cartier.  The image was published on the cover (left) of Vogue's UK edition in November 1959, the original's (right) color saturation being "enhanced" in pre-production editing; Vogue's artists made models thinner and cars shinier.  Although never quite as popular in Australia, the UK & Europe as they were in the US, whitewalls until the 1980s were not a rare sight in these places and buyers were seduced also by that other American intrusion, the vinyl roof, something more of a crime against good taste than any whitewall.

1952 Ferrari 212 (which the factory supplied with an up-rated 225 engine) Barchetta by Touring Superleggera (left) and 1974 Mercedes-Benz R107 (450 SL).

The Ferrari was a gift from Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) to Henry Ford II (1917–1987) and was the last non-racing Ferrari bodied by coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera.  The whitewall tyres were fitted especially for US delivery and Ford used the car during its evaluation process for the 1955 Thunderbird which picked up styling cues including the hood (bonnet) scoop and egg crate grille.  The Mercedes-Benz 450 SL illustrates just how jarring whitewalls can be if used on vehicles not suited to their presence.  On the early R107s (1971-1989) and C107s (the SLC, 1971 1981), thin whitewalls were sometime fitted to US market cars and even then there was comment about they really didn’t suit.  On the 450 SL pictured, the error is compounded by the fitting of the “chrome” wheel arch trims.  This was an unfortunate trend (which spread also to Jaguar, BMW and beyond) which began with their appearance in 1963 on the Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100, 1963-1981) but on the original they were of metal whereas the aftermarket ones were almost always anodized plastic.