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). Conan Doyle's most famous creation was of course the detective Sherlock Holmes and he wore a houndstooth deerstalker cap. 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 standard.
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.
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.
Actor Anya
Taylor-Joy (b 1996) in ankle-length, collared houndstooth
cape with matching
mini-skirt by Jonathan Anderson (b 1984; creative director of Christian Dior
since 2025) over a sleeveless, white,
button-down vest and black,
stiletto
pumps, Paris Fashion Week, October, 2025.
The car is a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit (1980-1997), the first of the SZ
Series platform which would serve the line until 2003. The Silver Spirit (and the companion LWB
(long wheelbase) variant the Silver Spur (1980-2000)) was mechanically little
changed from the Silver Shadow (1965-1980) but with styling updated with hints
from the still controversial Camargue (1975-1986), a somewhat ungainly two-door
saloon designed by Pininfarina which, as an addition to the range which
included the conceptually identical Corniche (under various names available
since 1966), appeared to have no purpose other than being positioned as the “world’s most
expensive car” but that was apparently enough; even in the troubled
1970s, there was a demand for Veblen products.
In the closet: The ensemble awaits.
There were
nice touches in the cape, a highlight of the detailing the arpeggiating used
for the hem. In sewing, the arpeggiated
stitch is a technique in hand-stitching that creates an invisible and durable finish
by catching only a single thread from the main fabric with each stitch. This demands the hem be folded, turning the
garment inside out allowing a hand-held needle to form small, V-shaped stitches
by piercing the seam allowance and then the main fabric. For the necessary robustness to be achieved, the
stitching is kept deliberately loose (preventing pulling which would distort
the line) with the finished hem pressed and steamed further to conceal the
stitch-work. Obviously labor intensive
and therefore expensive to implement, it’s used in garments where the most
immaculate finish is desired and although it’s now possible partially to emulate
the effect using machine-stitching, the fashion houses know that for their
finest, the old ways are best.
Poetry in motion: The lovely Anya Taylor-Joy on the move, illustrating the way the fashion industry cuts its capes to provide a "framing effect" for the rest of the outfit.
Amusingly,
although the industry is sensitive to the issue of cultural appropriation (and
especially so if matters end up in court), the term “arpeggiated” was “borrowed”
from music. In music, arpeggiate
describes the playing of a chord as an arpeggio (the notes of a chord played
individually instead of simultaneously, moving usually from lowest to highest
but the same word is used whether notes are rising or falling). It was from the Italian arpeggiare (to play on a harp), the construct being arpa (harp) + -eggiare
(a suffix from the Late Latin -izāre and used to form verbs from adjectives or
nouns). The connection comes from the
harp’s sound being associated with flowing
sequences of notes rather than “block sounds”.
So, the word can be understood as meaning “broken into a rhythmic or
sequential pattern, note by note” and the use in sewing (as “arpeggiated stitch”)
took the metaphorically from the musical term, referencing a series of short,
regularly spaced diagonal or looped stitches that create a flowing, undulating
pattern (ie a rising and falling wave-like progression rather than a static
block).
Anya Taylor-Joy in cape, swishing around.
Capes often
are spoken of as having an “equestrian look” and it’s true capes do have a long
tradition on horseback, both in military and civilian use although in fashion the
traditional cut of the fabric has evolved into something better thought of as a
“framing effect” for what is worn beneath.
That differs from the more enveloping capes worn by those in professions
as diverse as cavalry officers and nomadic sheep herders form whom a cape was
there to afford protection from the elements and to act as barrier to the dust
and mud which is a way of life in such professions. On the catwalks and red carpets there’s not
usually much mud thrown about (other than metaphorically when the “best &
worst dressed” lists appear) and the cape is there just for the visual effect. That effect is best understood on the move
because a cape on its hanger is a lifeless thing whereas when on someone
walking so it can flow, coming alive; models become expert in exploiting the
billowing made possible by the “sail-like” behavior of the fabric when the
fluid dynamics of air are allowed to do their stuff. A skilled model can make a cape swish seductively.
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 “Rich Corinthian Leather” although until a one-off appearance in brochures for the 1975 Imperials, the Corinthian hides were exclusive to the Cordoba. 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 were usually paired with vinyl although in some more expensive ranges they were used with leather.
Houndstooth (left), Pepita (Shepherd's Check) (centre) and Vichy Check (right).
For decades, it’s been common to refer to the optional upholstery offered by Porsche in the 1960s as “houndstooth” but according to Recaro Automotive Seating, the German concern which supplied the fabric, the correct name is “Pepita” (known also as “Shepherd’s Check”), a design built with interconnected squares. What has happened is that “houndstooth” has for most purposes in colloquial English become a generic term, used to describe anything “houndstoothesque” and it’s an understandable trend given that not only would a close examination be required to determine which pattern appears on a fabric, unless one is well-acquainted with the differences in shape, most would be none the wiser. Nor did Recaro use “Vichy Check” for the seats they trimmed for Porsche although that erroneous claim too is sometimes made. Further confusing the history, when Stuttgarter Karosseriewerk Reutter (Porsche’s original supplier) started production of seats used in the Porsche 356 (1948-1965) a number of fabrics were offered including one in nylon in a similar black-and-white pattern which was neither houndstooth nor Pepita.
1967 Porsche 911S, trimmed in Recaro Pepita.
The Reutter family founded Recaro in 1963 and in December that year the first Pepita pattern fabrics were made commercially available, used on the later Porsche 356Cs, the 911 (which briefly was called the 901) & the 912. Porsche’s best known use of the pepita fabric was on the Recaro Sportsitz (Sport seat), first displayed at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show and they’re a prized part of the early 911S models, the first of which were delivered in the northern summer of 1966. At that point, the Pepita fabric became a factory option for the 911 and the last use was in the Recaro Idealsitz (Ideal seat), offered only in 1970–71 in black & white, red & beige, brown & beige and blue & green. In a nostalgic nod, Porsche returned Pepita seats to the option list for the 911 legacy model, released in 2013 to mark the car’s 50th anniversary although Recaro was not involved in the production.
1969
Porsche 912. The Pepita key-fob, sun
visors and dashboard trim will appeal to some.
The factory
at the time didn't apply the Pepita fabric quite so liberally but the
originality police seem more indulgent towards departures from specification in
912s, especially if done in a way the factory might have done it; if seen on a 911, automatically, they deduct
points. The Porsche 912 (1965-1969 &
(as 912E) 1976) was essentially a four-cylinder version of the 911 with less
standard equipment and the early models used a version of the air-cooled flat-four
from the superseded 356 (1948-1965). It
was highly successful (initially out-selling the much more expensive,
six-cylinder, 911) and production ceased only because the factory’s capacity
was needed for the new 914 (1969-1976) which, being mid-engined, Porsche
believed was a harbinger for its future sports cars, there being little belief
the rear-engine configuration would endure into the 1980s. However, the customer always being right,
things didn’t work out that way and, still in high demand, the rear-engined 911
has already entered the second quarter of the twenty-first century. The 912E was a single-season “stop-gap model”
for the US market to provide an entry-level Porsche between the end of 914
production and the introduction of the front-engined 924 (1976-1988). Like the four-cylinder 914s and the early
924s, the 912E used a Volkswagen engine, Porsches old 356 unit having never
been made compliant with emission control regulations. Long something of an orphan, the 912 now has
a following and while there are faithful restorations, modifications are not
uncommon, many with interior appointment upgraded to include those used on the more
expensive 911s (though Pepita sun-visors will for most be a resto-mod too far).
Reception
Chairs with Porsche Pepita-style fabric by
1600 Veloce.
While
not all Porsche owners “have everything”, some presumably do so buying them a
present can be a challenge. However, there
exists in the collector car business a minor collateral trade in thematically
attuned peripheral pieces including models of stuff which can be larger than
the original (hood ornaments, badges and such) or smaller (whole cars, go-karts
etc). Parts can also be repurposed, the best
known of which are internally-damaged engines re-imagined as coffee-tables
(almost always with glass tops) but there are also chairs and occasional tables. Ideal for a collector, Porsche dealership or
restoration house, specialists will trim chairs and occasional tables in the
distinctive Pepita fabric, which, being black & white, might even get a
tick of approval from interior decorators, a notoriously judgmental lot. Some even offer rugs in the style but fibre floor-coverings
even partly white can be tiresome to own.
For those who want a later motif, furniture has been made using the even
more distinctive “Porsche Pasha” which, being jarringly asymmetric, needs the
eye of an expert upholsterer for things to line-up in a pleasing way.
Matching numbers, matching houndstooth: 1970 Holden HG GTS 350
Monaro in Indy Orange with black detailing (paint combo code 567-122040) and houndstooth
cloth seat inserts in Indy Orange & black (trim code 1199-10Z). This car (VIN: 81837GJ255169; Model: HG81837;
Chassis: HG16214M) is one of the most prized Monaros because the specification
includes a 350 cubic inch (5.7 litre) small block Chevrolet V8 (L48) with the “McKinnon
block”, paired with the four-speed manual Saginaw (variously the 2.54:1 M21 or 2.85:1 M22) gearbox. Holden built 405 HG GTS 350s, 264 as manuals
and 141 with the two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. “McKinnon” is a reference to the
General Motors (GM) McKinnon Industries plant in St. Catharine's, Ontario where
the blocks were cast; many of the the “American” cars exported to the UK, Australia, New
Zealand and elsewhere in the Commonwealth often came from Canada because of the
lower tariff rates, a legacy of the old "Commonwealth Preference scheme", the last relic of the chimera of "Imperial Free Trade". Despite the UK in 1973 joining the EEC (European Economic Community, the institution which ultimately became the EU (European Union), some of Detroit's Australian outposts would until 1976 retain a small export flow of cars to the UK, their relatively large size and V8 engines inhabiting a limited but lucrative niche.
Very 1970s: GM's Black & Indy Orange houndstooth fabric; in the US it was also offered in the Chevrolet Camaro. What was it about brown & orange in the 1970s?
Introduced
in 1968, the Holden Monaro was the car which triggered Australia’s brief
flirtation with big (in local terms, in US nomenclature the cars were “compact” size) coupés, a fad which would fade away by the mid 1970s. It had been Ford which had first tested the
market with a Falcon two-door hardtop (XM, 1964-1965 & XP, 1965-1966) but
when the restyled model was released, it was again based on the US Falcon and
the range no longer included a two-door hardtop, the wildly successful Mustang
having rendered it unnecessary. There
was in the US still a two-door Falcon sedan but it was thought to have limited appeal in
Australia so was never offered meaning Ford didn’t have a model comparable with the
Monaro until the XA Falcon Hardtop made its debut late in 1972 although by then the brief moment had almost passed. While the Falcon Hardtop proved successful as a race-car, sales never met expectations, compelling the factory to produce a number of promotional "special models", usually unchanged in mechanical specification but with distinctive paint schemes and "bundled options", the latter at a notional discount.
1970 Ford Mustang Grandé in New Lime Metallic with Ivy Green Corinthian Vinyl & Houndstooth Cloth trim with Houndstooth vinyl roof in green & black.
In 1969, when introducing the Mustang Grandé, Ford attempted to remove any ambiguity by using an “é” with a l'accent aigu (acute accent), indicating the pronunciation should be Grahn-day, despite the spelling not being used in any language where “grande” exists. Introduced in 1969, the Mustang Grandé was the range’s “luxury” version and its addition to the line was a harbinger for the trend of the 1970s as high-performance was, for many reasons, put on-held. The Grandé used a standard mechanical specification but included a long list of “convenience” and “dress-up” items and was a success; it was the spiritual ancestor of the “Ghia” versions which for decades would be the most elaborately equipped Mustangs. Surprisingly, despite being aimed at a demographic not interested in going fast, the Grandé could be ordered with almost any engine in the catalogue, including the 428 cubic inch (7.0 litre) Super CobraJet, designed for use on drag strips and some really were built so configured; only the unique Boss 429 was not available. A vinyl roof was standard but the rarely ordered houndstooth option cost an additional US$28.
