A medium-weight plain-weave cotton fabric with a checked pattern of colored and white yarns—a fabric whose association with innocence and domesticity makes it one of the most emotionally resonant textiles in fashion.
Gingham is produced by weaving dyed and undyed yarns in both warp and weft, creating a pattern of colored and white squares. The size of the check is determined by the number of dyed and undyed threads in each group: smaller checks produce a finer pattern, larger checks a bolder one.
Gingham carries an extraordinary weight of cultural association. It is the fabric of Dorothy’s dress in The Wizard of Oz, of the picnic blanket, of the summer tablecloth, of the schoolgirl’s uniform. Gingham is the textile equivalent of nostalgia, a fabric that has come to represent a prelapsarian ideal of rural simplicity and domestic contentment.
In the 1950s, gingham was adopted by Christian Dior for his “New Look” day dresses, treating the humble check as a fabric of sophistication. The Brigitte Bardot film And God Created Woman featured a gingham dress that became one of the most imitated garments of the decade. Gingham continues to appear in summer collections, its pattern evoking a warmth and innocence that the fashion industry otherwise works hard to resist. Gingham is fashion’s memory of optimism.
