Houndstooth

Houndstooth (pronounced houns-tuth)

(1) A two-colour fabric pattern of broken checks (multi-color versions using the pattern do now exist and are also so-described).

(2) Fabric with a houndstooth pattern; an item of clothing made with such fabric.

(3) In botany, as Cynoglossum officinale (houndstongue, houndstooth, dog's tongue, gypsy flower (and “rats and mice” due to its smell), a herbaceous plant of the family Boraginaceae.

1936: A word, based on the appearance of the design, the pattern (in architecture, decorative art, fabric etc) is ancient but the descriptive term “houndstooth” has been in use only since 1936.  The shape is sometimes referred to as dogstooth (or dog's tooth) and in French it’s the more pleasing pied-de-poule (chicken feet), preferred also by the Italians.  In 1936 there must have been pedants who insisted it should have been “hound's tooth” because that does appear in some advertisements but in commercial use, houndstooth quickly was standardized.  The name was chosen a reference directly to a dog’s tooth, not the pattern of teeth marks left by its bite.  The construct was hounds + tooth.  Hound was from the Middle English hound, from the Old English hund, from the Proto-West Germanic hund, from the Proto-Germanic hundaz and was congnate with the West Frisian hûn, the Dutch hond, the Luxembourgish Hond, the German Hund, the German Low German Hund, the Danish hund, the Faroese hundur, the Icelandic hundur, the Norwegian Bokmål hund, the Norwegian Nynorsk hund and the Swedish hund, from the pre-Germanic ḱuntós (which may be compared with the Latvian sùnt-ene (big dog), an enlargement of the primitive Indo-European ḱwṓ (dog).  Elsewhere, the forms included the Old Irish cú (dog), the Tocharian B ku, the Lithuanian šuõ, the Armenian շուն (šun), and the Russian сука (suka)).  

In England, as late as the fourteenth century, “hound” remained the word in general use to describe most domestic canines while “dog” was used of a sub-type resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog.  By the sixteenth century, dog had displaced hound as the general word descriptor. The latter coming to be restricted to breeds used for hunting and in the same era, the word dog was adopted by several continental European languages as their word for mastiff.  Dog was from the Middle English dogge (source also of the Scots dug (dog)), from the Old English dogga & docga of uncertain origin.  Interestingly, the original sense appears to have been of a “common dog” (as opposed one well-bred), much as “cur” was later used and there’s evidence it was applied especially to stocky dogs of an unpleasing appearance.  Etymologists have pondered the origin:  It may have been a pet-form diminutive with the suffix -ga (the similar models being compare frocga (frog) & picga (pig), appended to a base dog-, or doc-(the origin and meaning of these unclear). Another possibility is Old English dox (dark, swarthy) (a la frocga from frog) while some have suggested a link to the Proto-West Germanic dugan (to be suitable), the origin of Old English dugan (to be good, worthy, useful), the English dow and the German taugen; the theory is based on the idea that it could have been a child’s epithet for dogs, used in the sense of “a good or helpful animal”.  Few support that and more are persuaded there may be some relationship with docce (stock, muscle), from the Proto-West Germanic dokkā (round mass, ball, muscle, doll), from which English gained dock (stumpy tail).  In fourteenth century England, hound (from the Old English hund) was the general word applied to all domestic canines while dog referred to some sub-types (typically those close in appearance to the modern mastiff and bulldog.  In German, the form endures as der Hund (the dog) & die Hunde (the dogs) and the houndstooth pattern is Hahnentritt.  Houndstooth is a noun; the noun plural is houndsteeth.  Strictly speaking, it may be that certain use of the plural (such as several houndstooth jackets) should be called “houndstooths” but this is an ugly word which should be avoided and no sources seem to list it as standard.  The same practice seems to have been adopted for handing the plural of cars called “Statesman”, “statesmen” seeming just an absurdity.

Although the classic black & white remains the industry staple, designer colors are now not uncommon.

In modern use in English, a “hound” seems to be thought of as a certain sort of dog, usually large, with a finely honed sense of smell and used (often in packs) for hunting and the sense development may also have been influenced by the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-1902) by the physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930).  The best regarded of Conan Doyle’s four novels, it’s set in the gloomy fog of Dartmoor in England’s West Country and is the tale of the search for a “fearsome, diabolical hound of supernatural origin”.  The author's name is an example of how conventions of use influence things.  He's long been referred to as “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” or “Conan Doyle” which would imply the surname “Conan Doyle” but his surname was “Doyle” and he was baptized with the Christian names “Arthur Ignatius Conan”, the “Conan” from his godfather.  Some academic and literary libraries do list him as “Doyle” but he's now referred to almost universally as “Conan Doyle” and the name “Arthur Doyle” would be as un-associated with him as “George Shaw” would with George Bernard Shaw (GBS; 1856-1950).  Tooth (a hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for biting and chewing food) was from the Middle English tothe, toth & tooth, from the Old English tōþ (tooth), from the Proto-West Germanic tanþ, from the Proto-Germanic tanþs (tooth), from the primitive Indo-European h₃dónts (tooth) and related to tusk.

Lindsay Lohan in monochrome check jacket, Dorchester Hotel, London, June 2017 (left), Lindsay Lohan in L.A.M.B. Lambstooth Sweater, Los Angeles, April 2005 (centre) and racing driver Sir Lewis Hamilton (b 1985) in a Burberry Houndstooth ensemble, Annual FIA Prize Giving Ceremony, Baku, Azerbaijan, December 2023 (right).  The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (the FIA; the International Automobile Federation) is world sport's dopiest regulatory body.  Although, at a distance, a wide range of fabrics look like houndstooth, some are really simple symmetrical, monochrome checks without the distinctive pattern and where designers have varied the shape, other descriptors (and L.A.M.B. couldn’t resist “lambstooth”) are used, something which helps also with product differentiation.  Sir Lewis though, sticks to the classics.  Regarded as the most fashion conscious of the Formula One drivers of his generation, it’s clear that assiduously he studies Lohanic fashion directions.

Designers consider houndstooth part of the plaid “family”, the jagged contours of the shape the point of differentiation from most which tend towards uniform, straight lines.  Although for the archaeological record its clear the concept of the design has an ancient lineage, what’s now thought of as the “classic” black & white houndstooth was defined in the mid-nineteenth century when it began to be produced at scale in the Scottish lowlands, in parallel with the plaid most associated with the culture, the tartan (although in some aspects the “history & cultural traditions” of tartan were a bit of a commercial construct).  Technically, a houndstooth is a two tone (the term monochrome often used in the industry to convey the idea of “black & white” (a la photography) rather than being etymologically accurate) plaid in four bands, two of each color (in both the weft & warp weave), woven with the simple 2:2 twill.  One of the charms of the design is that with slight variations in size and scale, different effects can be achieved and color mixes are now not uncommon although the classic black & white remains the industry staple.

1969 Holden Monaro GTS 350 (left), 1972 Holden Monaro GTS 308 (centre) and 1977 Chrysler Cordoba (right).  Despite the popular perception, not all the “personal luxury” Chryslers of the era and not even all the Cordobas (1975-1983) were finished in “Fine Corinthian Leather”.

For passenger car interiors, houndstooth (rendered usually with a synthetic material) enjoyed a late mid-century spate of popularity, used for what were called generically “cloth inserts” and the use of houndstooth trended towards vehicles marketed as “sporty” whereas for luxury cars plusher fabrics like velour were preferred.  The cloth inserts seem only ever to have been paired with vinyl and not used with leather.

The history in the Lowlands is murky but it seems certain the early fabrics were woven from wool which makes sense given the importance of sheep to the economy and the early garments were utilitarian, often cloak-like outer garments for those tending the flocks.  The early term was “shepherd’s check” which became first “dogstooth” and then “houndstooth”, canine teeth something with which shepherds would have been familiar because of the threat to their animals from the predations of wild dogs.  Fabric with smaller checks could be called “puppycheck”.  Interestingly, despite its striking appearance, the houndstooth pattern remained a generic and was never adopted as a family or clan symbol, a la the tartans.  It gained a new popularity in the 1930s when photographs began to appear of members of the British royal family and various gentry wearing houndstooth jackets while hunting or riding, thus the association with wealth and privilege which so appealed to the middle class who started wearing them too.  By the time designers began to put them on the catwalks, houndstooth’s future was assured.

Houndstooth has received the imprimatur of more than one Princess of Wales: Catherine, Princess of Wales (b 1982, left) and Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997, right) in a typically daring color mix.

Tartan

Tartan (pronounced tahr-tn)

(1) A woolen 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 tartan, Freaky Friday (2003) costume test photo (Walt Disney Pictures).

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 the Dress Act (1746) was part of the campaign to suppress the warrior clans north of the border; it banned tartan and other aspects of Gaelic culture. The law was repealed in 1782 and tartan was soon adopted as both the symbolic national dress of Scotland and in imagery more generally.  

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

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

High-priced plaid

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198) trimmed in blue-grey plaid.

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 (blue-gray, red-green and green-beige color) would again be available as a factory part-number.  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-gray 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 (US$229 per yard) is indicative of the product’s niche market but for those restoring a 300 SL to its original appearance, it's a bargain.

The part-numbers:  Blue-Grey: A 000 983 44 86 / 5000, Red-Green: A 000 983 44 86 / 3000 & Green-Beige: A 000 983 44 86 / 6000.

Rubricate

Rubricate (pronounced roo-bri-keyt)

(1) To mark or color with red; to adorn with red; to redden.

(2) To furnish with or regulate by rubrics.

(3) To write in the form of a rubric.

(4) In publishing, to print (a book or manuscript) with red titles, headings etc; to illuminate a manuscript with red letters.

1560–1570: Either from the perfect passive participle of the Latin verb rūbrīcō (to paint red) or from the Late Latin rūbrīcātus, past participle of rūbrīcāre (to color red), the construct being rūbrīc(a) (red ocher; red earth) + -ātus.  The Latin suffix -ātus was from the Proto-Italic -ātos, from the primitive Indo-European -ehtos.  It’s regarded as a "pseudo-participle" and perhaps related to –tus although though similar formations in other Indo-European languages indicate it was distinct from it already in early Indo-European times.  It was cognate with the Proto-Slavic –atъ and the Proto-Germanic -ōdaz (the English form being -ed (having).  The feminine form was –āta, the neuter –ātum and it was used to form adjectives from nouns indicating the possession of a thing or a quality.  Rubricate & rubricating are verbs, rubricated is a verb & adjective and rubrication & rubricator are nouns.

Rubic (rubrick the obsolete spelling) was from the Middle English rubriche & rubrike, from the Old French rubrique, from Latin rūbrīca (red ochre; red earth), the substance used to make red letters, from ruber (red), from the primitive Indo-European hrewdh.  Rubic came widely to be used, derived mostly from the sense of “giving emphasis or illumination to the text”.  In ecclesiastical printing, a “church text with rubrics” was one with the directions for a religious service printed in red.  This extended to secular publishing when used of a heading in a book or something highlighted in red which led to the general use as (1) a title of a category or a class, (2) an established rule or custom; a guideline.  By extension it came to describe (3) in education, a set of scoring criteria for evaluating a pupil’s work and the associated comments and (4) the flourish appearing after a signature.

The comparative is more rubricate and the superlative most rubricate.  Lindsay Lohan illustrates the nuances:

(1) Naturally rubricated.
(2) De-rubricated.
(3) Re-rubricated.
(4) Highly rubricated.

The popularity of red among Ferrari buyers has declined from the highs of the 1990s (and it was in this decade the phrase “resale red” was popularized) when fewer than two in ten were ordered in any other color but even today some 40% of Ferraris leave the factor finished in some shade of red.  Sliver, black, bright yellow and darker blues now attract buyers and noting this, the factory has in recent years launched new models in a variety of colors, the debut of the 488 Pista Spider at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance using a white car trimmed in black in Alcantara and leather, an unfortunately neglected combination.

Ferrari 488 Pista Spider, 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Recent trends notwithstanding, red probably still is lodged in the public imagination as the color of a Ferrari and the origins of that long pre-date the brand, the motor-car and perhaps even the Italian state.  Quite how red became the Italian national color is contested among historians but the tale most Italians prefer is that of Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), an Italian nationalist general and politician.  Already famous for his exploits in Brazil, Uruguay and elsewhere in Europe, the legend of Garibaldi was created by his personal command of many of the military campaigns which led eventually to Italian unification in 1871 and his reputation as a romantic revolutionary has flourished because historians have seemed always anxious to present his military adventures as noble causes; unlike many pragmatic politicians of his time, Garibaldi longed for a united country and believed in miracles.

Portrait of Giuseppe Garibaldi (wearing garibaldino) during the landing of Thousand at Marsala (1860), oil on canvas by Induno, Gerolamo (1827-1890), Museo del Risorgimento, Turin.

Garibaldi’s part in the movement for Italian unification (known as il Risorgimento (Rising Again)) also added to the lexicon of paramilitary fashion.  His followers were known as the Garibaldini and in lieu of a uniform, they wore the red shirts he favored, the popular legend being it was to ensure they weren’t distracted from fighting were their blood to be spilled although it’s said that during his time in Uruguay, he wore the red shirts used by the butchers from a nearby slaughterhouse.  It was also an indication the campaign was a popular insurrection, not one fought by conventional military maneuvers or with traditional formations because, as the red-coated British soldiers had discovered, red wasn’t a good color to wear on a battlefield.  The word Garibaldino (plural Garibaldini) is used to refer to any volunteer soldier who served in the cause and the red shirts (which were never standardized in shade, style or cut) are often called garibaldino shirts or just garibaldinos.  From that point onwards, red began to be adopted as a symbol of many things Italian.

Le Mans 24-hour winning 1956 Jaguar D-Type in Ecurie Ecosse livery (known informally as Scottish Racing Blue)  In 2016 it sold at auction for US$22 million.

Il Risorgimento however can’t much in 1900 have occupied the minds of the members of the AIACR (the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (International Association of Recognized Automobile Clubs), predecessor of the FIA (the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (International Automobile Federation)) because, displaying an ineptitude the FIA has of late turned into a mission statement, the color red was allocated to the United States as the official shade to be used on their racing cars.  The Belgiums were granted yellow, the French blue, the Germans white and the British Green and it wasn’t until 1907 the Italians were able to claim the right to red and these colors would sometimes be an issue in the years to come.  In 1934, Mercedes-Benz cars appeared in raw aluminum and the myth developed that the mechanics had to work overnight scraping off the thick layers of white paint so the machines would comply with the formula’s weight limit but the truth is less romantic. The factory simply didn’t wish to apply paint and the cars appeared at the track unpainted well before the weight limit was imposed, the company successfully arguing that in heraldry, silver and white are the same tincture (color), known as Argent.  The Nazis having taken power, the attitude “don’t argue with the Germans” was settling over Europe and the authorities relented.  Thus was born the era of the “silver arrows”, the all-conquering, aluminum-skinned grand-prix cars which would dominate the circuits in the 1930s and return for two winning seasons two decades later and the idea that white could be silver may have inspired the Nazis who for years argued (with gradually diminishing returns) that black was white.  The FIA also didn’t push the point in the 1950s when the Edinburgh-based Ecurie Ecosse (Scotland Stable) requested to race in the blue and white livery of the flag of Scotland, noting the pre World War I precedent of a Scottish outfit which had competed under a blue tartan.  Notably darker than French Racing Blue, Ecurie Ecosse argued the color really was a variation of green (although the real reason was they thought British Racing Green (BRG) was too identifiably “English”) and the request was approved, proving that if white can be silver, blue can be green.  In 1968, the system began to be abandoned under pressure from teams which wanted to use the corporate colors of their sponsors and that proved the thin end of the wedge, almost unrestricted advertising appearing within years.

But even when adorned with the logos of sponsors, Ferrari stuck to red.  Ferrari has sold road-cars (initially without great enthusiasm) to customers since 1947 and it’s impossible to compile a definitive list of all of the shades of red used over the decades given (1) the changes in the composition of paint which subtlety have altered the exact tincture, even of colors which retained the same designation (2) the sketchiness of the factory’s early records of such things and (3) the number of vehicles painted to special order, some of which used one-off shades.  However, Rossoautomobili compiled an illustrated guide to a dozen-odd which are said to be representative of the variations in rosso (red), all being rubricated although some are more rubricated than others; their indicative list including:

Rosso Barchetta (Little Boat Red): A darker shade of red.  Barchetta is Italian for “little boat”, an allusion to the shape Ferrari’s early (late 1940s) race cars.

Rosso Berlinetta (Coupé Red): A recent addition which takes advantage of newer techniques, permitting a triple-layer finish which sparkles in direct sunlight.  On the options sheet it lists at €20.000 (US$21,200).  In translation, berlinetta is literally “a small saloon” but in the Italian way of things is to applied to coupés.

1965 Ferrari 275 GTB (short-nose) in Rosso Cina.

Rosso Cina (China Red): Another of the darker hues which many would think of as a burgundy or maroon.  Non-metallic, it was introduced during the 1960s, the era of the 275 and 330 series cars and was reputedly a tribute to the red used on some fine Chinese porcelain held in Italian museums.

Rosso Dino: Another artifact from the 1960s, this one was discontinued in the 1970s before being re-introduced early in the twenty-first century and it remains part of Ferrari’s historical colour palette.  It straddles that area between red and orange, the name a tribute to Alfredo Ferrari (nicknamed Alfredino or Dino) 1932-1956; son of il Commendatore, Enzo Ferrari (1898-1987).

Rosso Fiorano (Fiorano Red): A darker shade named after Ferrari’s test track Pista di Fiorano.

Rosso Magma (Lava Red): A very metallic shade which was originally a Maserati part-number, added through the factory’s "Tailor Made" programme for selected models.  The name summons the image of the red-hot lava which flows from the earth’s magma chambers during volcanic eruptions.

2014 Ferrari LaFerrari in Rossa Vinaccia.

Rosso Vinaccia (Red Wine): The factory insists this must be thought a red although most might at first sight think it a purple.  The link lies in the literal translation as “red wine” but rather than the drops, the inspiration came from the detritus, the remains of the grapes after the juice is extracted.

Rosso Maranello Opaco (Matte Maranello Red): Reflecting the fad in recent decades for matte-finish paints (which seems to date from the idea that the military’s stealth technology could be used to absorb rather than reflect the radar waves police use in speed-limit enforcement), this is based on the metallic triple-layer Rosso Maranello. 

Rosso Metallizzato (Metallic Red): Dark almost to the point of suggesting a hint of purple, it’s one of the darkest shades of red on the option sheet.

Rosso Mugello (Mugello Red): Named after the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, this is both darker and a little more subdued than most reds.

Rosso Portofino (Portofino Red): Introduced as the signature shade of the Ferrari Portofino in 2017, it’s in the traditional vein and probably only experts can pick the difference.

1972 Dino 246 GT by Ferrari in Rosso Corsa.

Rosso Corsa (Racing Red): The classic Italian Racing Red, the original, and to many the definitive Ferrari color.

Rosso Scuderia (Factory Team Red): The especially bright Rosso Scuderia will be familiar to many as the exact color used by the Scuderia Ferrari (the factory racing team) for the Formula 1 cars.  In certain light conditions, it tend to orange.

Rosso Singapore (Singapore Red): Reflecting the increasing importance of the markets in the Far East, Rosso Singapore first appeared on a "Tailor Made" Ferrari commissioned by a dealer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Singapore.

Rubino Micalizzato (Micalised Ruby): A dark and most subdued red (which is described as a “ruby”), it’s available only on request and doesn’t appear on the factory’s color charts.

Italian Racing Red: 1950 Ferrari 375 FI (left) & 1960 Ferrari 246 F1 (right).

The 375 was built to contest Formula One during the immediate post-war era when the rules permitted engines to be either 4.5 liters (275 cubic inch, naturally aspirated) or 1.5 litres (92 cubic inch, supercharged).  Although down on power compared with the supercharged BRM V16, the 4.5 litre V12 Ferrari proved more reliable and was the first in a series of classic front-engined roadsters which endured until 1960.  In 1960, a 246 F1 using a 2.4 litre (147 cubic inch) V6 was the last front-engined machine to win a Formula 1 grand prix, taking the checkered flag at the Italian Grand Prix (most of the mid-engined competition having withdrawn over safety concerns about the fast Monza circuit).

Thistle

Thistle (pronounced this-uhl)

(1) Any of numerous perennial composite plants of the genera Cirsium, Cynara, Carduus, Onopordum and related genera, having prickly-edged leaves, pink, purple, yellow, or white dense flower heads, and feathery hairs on the seeds: family Asteraceae (composites).

(2) A common term for many other prickly plants.

(3) The national emblem of Scotland since the fifteenth century.

(4) As the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (1687), a United Kingdom order of chivalry associated with Scotland; the word denoting membership of this order.

Pre 900: From the Middle English thistel, from the Old English thīstel (the earlier form was þistel).  The origin was probably the Proto-Germanic þistilaz & thistilaz, the source also of the Old Saxon thistil, the Old High German distil & thīstil, the German Distel, the Old Norse þistell & thīstill, the Scots thrissel, the Danish tidsel, the Dutch distel and the Icelandic þistill.  The root is uncertain origin but may have been an extended form of the primitive Indo-European (s)teyg & steig- (to prick, stick, pierce).  The adjective is thistly and the noun plural thistles.

Insignia of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry of the United Kingdom which, unusually, is one of a small class in the personal gift of the sovereign whereas most are conferred on the basis of a recommendation from the various governments where the British monarch remains head of state.  The order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland (1633-1701; James II of England and Ireland) who at the time asserted it was a revival of an earlier order but historians doubt the claim, the royal warrant of 1687 containing some dubious history and most doubtful chronology.  Nor is there any documentary evidence to support the idea an award in some way linked to the thistle was instituted after the Scottish victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the earliest vaguely plausible claim dating from the fifteenth century when James III (1451-1488) adopted the thistle as the royal insignia and minted coins depicting thistles.  There’s nothing however to support any link with knighthoods or other orders of chivalry and all that is certain is that the thistle became established as an emblem of Scotland, attached firstly to the royal court and later to the national identity.

The troublesome Bull Thistle.

Not discouraged by tiresome, inconvenient history, in 1687 James VII issued letters patent for an order of knighthood "reviving and restoring the Order of the Thistle to its full glory, lustre and magnificency".  Intended to be exclusive, membership was limited to twelve but James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution (1688) and no appointments to the order were made beyond the original eight although the exiled House of Stuart continued to issue what came to be referred to as “the Jacobite Thistle”, these not acknowledged by the British Crown.  The award of the Thistle resumed in 1704, before even the 1707 Acts of Union under which the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain.  The motto of the order is Nemo me impune lacessit (No one provokes me with impunity), an adoption of that which had been used by the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland since at least the 1570s.  It's used also by three of the British Army's Scottish regiments and appears on both the royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland and the version of the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom used in Scotland.

In the UK’s order of precedence, Knights and Ladies of the Thistle rank second only to the Order of the Garter and the wives, sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights of the Thistle also can rise a few notches on the order of precedence, a courtesy not extended to any relative of a Lady of the Thistle, something which must be seen as an anomaly in the early twenty-first century but which probably cannot easily be reformed in isolation, any alteration in these things likely to trigger a chain-reaction of events in a system designed to resist change.  The television show Yes Minister did offer an alternative explanation for the mechanism for awarding the Thistle, suggesting “…a committee sits on it”.

Sir Robert Menzies (1894–1978; prime minister of Australia 1939-1941 & 1949-1966) in his Knight of the Thistle robes.

Like the Most Noble Order of the Garter (1348) and the Royal Victorian Order (1896), the Thistle lies in the personal gift of the sovereign rather than being an award made by governments as is the case with most honors.  Unusually too, the Thistle is geographically specific, awarded only to those with some connection to Scotland, although, they need not be actually Scottish.  The equivalent Irish Order, the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick (1783) was for those with an association with Ireland handled in a similar manner to the Thistle but awards were restricted after independence was granted to Eire (southern Ireland) in 1922 and the order has been dormant (though not abolished) since 1936.  This follows the practice applied to imperial honors tied to particular colonies of the Raj and the old British Empire, the Indian (the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (1861) & the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (1878)) and Burmese (the Order of Burma (1940)) orders dormant since the respective grants of independence in 1947 & 1948.  Presumably, were Scotland to become an independent state, the Thistle too would lapse into a similar state of abeyance.

Clan Lindsay car seat covers.

Clan Lindsay is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands although the origins of the Lindsay name lie in England, south of the border.  Lindsay is a toponym (a word derived from the name of a locality), itself drawn from the Old English toponym Lindesege (Island of Lind), a reference to the city of Lincoln, in which Lind is the original Brittonic form of the name, the “island” referring to Lincoln being an island in the surrounding fenland.  Under Roman occupation, the area in Lincolnshire now occupied by the city of Lincoln was known as Lindum Colonia, shortened in the Old English to Lindocolina and later to Lincylene, Lindum a Latinized form of a native Brittonic name which had been reconstructed as Lindon (pool or lake).  In the late nineteenth century, as the modern convention in the Western World (Christian name + Surname) became (more or less) standardized, like many others, surnames Lindsay and Lindsey began to be used as given names although it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that it became common in the Commonwealth to use them for girls, a trend which spread quickly to the US and by late in the century, the use for boys rapidly declined, the two trends presumably not unrelated.

Lindsay Lohan in tartan for Freaky Friday (2003) costume test photos (left), the Clan Lindsay tartan garden flag with swan crest, augmented by the thistle (national flower of Scotland) emblems (centre) and Clan Lindsay T-Shirt with stylized thistle (right).  The Clan Lindsay motto is Endure Fort (Endure Bravely).

Argyle

Argyle (pronounced ahr-gahyl)

(1) A diamond-shaped pattern of two or more colors, used in knitted socks, sweaters and a design motif for other purposes.

(2) Specifically, a sock made with this pattern (often in the plural); now increasingly used also of sweaters.

1790s: A adapted variant of the surname Argyll, so called because the original design closely emulated the clan tartan associated with the name.  Argyle does exist as a surname & given name where it is capitalized but this is now sometimes also the practice when referring (as a noun) to garments (though never as a adjective).  The surname Argyle was from the Middle English erguil & erguile, a variant of the Middle English orguil & orguile, from the Old French orguel (pride arrogance), thus the variation of Argill and Argile with Orgill.  There is an alternative suggestion of a link to Arkell (with a voicing of “k” to “g”) but it’s thought either speculative or an unjustified generalization from what may have been a genealogical cul-de-sac.  Nor is there evidence has to support the notion of it being a habitational name from Argyll, the county of south-west Scotland although folk etymology may have influenced the modern spelling of the surname, something not uncommon, even as late as the nineteenth century.  Argyle is a noun & adjective; the noun plural is argyles.

Lindsay Lohan in an argyle-patterned Harlequin Sequin Tunic (a long vest or mini-dress depending on pairings or circumstances) by Topshop, the shoes are Lanvin platform peep-toe pumps in suede: New Year's Party at the Mansion nightclub, South Beach, Miami Beach Florida, 31 December 2008.

As a given name, Argyle’s origins are Scottish, meaning “from the land of the Gauls”.  When used as a locality name outside the British Isles, Argyle was usually a borrowing from there although the Canadian municipality of Argyle was named after Governor-General of Canada, John Campbell (1845-1914), ninth Duke of Argyll.  Argyle socks were first so described in that form in 1935, the use as a general descriptor for other garments (mostly sweaters but also shirts, skirts etc) emerged in the post-war years.  It’d long been used with fabric sold in bolts and other products (blankets, table cloths, mufflers etc).  The argyle (diamond-shaped in two or more colors in fabric) pattern was influenced by the tartan which came to be associated with the Argyll branch of the Campbell clan of Argyll, Scotland.  The place name translates literally as "land of the Gaels", the first element from the Old Irish airer (country).  The surname Campbell was from the Scottish Gaelic Caimbeul, the construct being cam (crooked) + beul (mouth) and it’s often compared with Cameron, the construct being the Scottish Gaelic cam + sròn (nose).  Etymologists have concluded crooked in this context was a literal rather than a figurative reference.

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 the Dress Act (1746) was part of the campaign to suppress the warrior clans north of the border; it banned tartan and other aspects of Gaelic culture. The law was repealed in 1782 and tartan was soon adopted as both the symbolic national dress of Scotland and in imagery more generally.

Argyll No.230.  Records from 1850 lists the pattern Argyll No.230 as Cawdor Campbell and it was in the pattern books of a Bannockburn weaver printed in 1819 and the earliest known reference to an (un-illustrated) “Argyll tartan” dates from 1798.  In documents from 1906 it was referred to as the “Argyll District tartan” and was said to have been adopted by other clans but this is disputed.

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.

Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert (b 1982)) in Mean Girls (2004) liked the diamond look, wearing two different argyle sweaters and one skirt with the pattern.

One aspect of the fashions of Mean Girls which did attract comment was that the Plastics, despite having many self-imposed rules on matters sartorial, apparently placed no restrictions on repeating a outfit within a short time although the argyle sweater was the only piece of note worn by the protagonists which made a second appearance.

2022 Mercedes-Maybach 600 Pullman (left), after-market seat covers (centre) and 2005 Bentley Arnage T Mulliner (right).

Early in the twenty-first century, high-end car manufacturers embraced quilted leather with great enthusiasm and the trend, although criticized by some, shows little sign of fading.  Some have, with variable results, embraced two-tone color schemes but not in the traditional argyle style although third-party manufacturers of seat-covers have offered a few.  Perhaps fortunately, this seems not to have inspired the majors.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198) trimmed in blue-grey plaid.

Buyers of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing (W198 1954-1957) had the choice of seats covered in leather or plaid cloth (in the US in 1956 the hide was listed as a US$165 option).  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 (blue-gray, red-green & green-beige) would again be available as a factory part-number and, 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-gray 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 (US$229 per yard) is indicative of the product’s niche market but for those restoring a 300 SL to its original appearance, it's a bargain.

The part-numbers:  Blue-Grey: A 000 983 44 86 / 5000, Red-Green: A 000 983 44 86 / 3000 & Green-Beige: A 000 983 44 86 / 6000.

Vogue, January 1925, cover art by Georges Lepape.

Triangles (and the diamond shapes they could combine to create) were one of the notable motifs of the art deco era.  From the start, Vogue was of course about frocks, shoes and such but its influence extended over the years to fields as diverse as interior decorating and industrial design.  The work of Georges Lepape (1887-1971) has long been strangely neglected in the history of art deco but he was a fine practitioner whose reputation probably suffered because his compositions have always been regarded as derivative or imitative which seems unfair given there are many who are more highly regarded despite being hardly original.  His cover art for Vogue’s edition of 1 January 1925 juxtaposed one of French artist Sonia Delaunay’s (1885–1979) "simultaneous" pattern dresses and a Voisin roadster decorated with an art deco motif.

One collector in 2015 was so taken with Pepape’s image that when refurbishing his 1927 Voisin C14 Lumineuse (literally “light”, an allusion to the Voisin’s greenhouse-inspired design which allowed natural light to fill the interior), he commissioned Dutch artist Bernadette Ramaekers to hand-paint a geometric triangular pattern in sympathy with that on the Vogue cover in 1925.  Ms Ramaekers took six months to complete the project and in 2022 the car sold at auction for £202,500 (US$230,000).  Produced during the whole inter-war period (1919-1939), the Voisin cars were among the most strikingly memorable of the era although for a variety of reasons, commercial viability was often marginal.  The demise was unfortunate because a manufacturer which once contemplated production of a straight-twelve engine deserved to survive.