History and evolution of the check pattern And a shopping guide to add a timeless piece to your winter wardrobe

Traditional for the Scottish clans, subversive for Vivienne Westwood, iconic for Burberry, a timeless classic especially in winter, the so-called check pattern, a term stolen from the game of chess, is back once again.

Like the English origins of the brands that made it their leitmotiv, the check, or rather the tartan, sees the beginning of its history in Scotland. The endless combinations of the warp and weft of this wool fabric, gave life to the colors of the clans that made up the Scottish society of the sixteenth century, and to their traditional kilts. Then became the uniform of official occasions under the reign of King George IV in 1822, but no one could imagine how far this pasttern would go.

Check and tartan

But what is the difference between tartan and check? The term check tends to generalize all fabrics made up a grid of colors. In reality, the tartan is characterized by multiple horizontal and vertical bands which, when crossed, give the impression of creating other color combinations. While the check is made up of only two stripes of alternating colors, creating a "checkerboard" effect. The check itself has three other variants, very common but less known with their proper names, such as Gingham (or Vichy), Windowpane (two thin lines that intersect create large windows) and Buffalo (whose two lines crossing create games of full and empty spaces between the lines). The latter, especially in red and black or black and white, is often used by the outerwear brand Woolrich. The Prince of Wales, the crossroads of pied-de-poule lines, could also be added to this great family.