Less-familiar Cords

[B & J sells cotton corduroy in an array of colors.]

According to Brooks Brothers and other sources, Corduroy Appreciation Day doesn't take place until November 11 (note how well the date works out, visually: 11/11) but I already said I wanted to start celebrating menswear fabrics in September.

[Walnut and corduroy side chair by Georges de Feure, French, born 1868, died 1943. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.]

In my mind, you can't beat menswear translated for interiors. A circa 1899 French chair by Georges de Feure wasn't what I was originally thinking for a corduroy post, but this interesting Art Nouveau-influenced piece, with corduroy upholstery, belongs to The Met and, coincidentally, it came from Edward C. Moore, Jr., son of the collector/designer mentioned in the previous post. Since the image here is black-and-white, you can imagine the corduroy to be whatever color you like best.

[1750-1759 waistcoat back, Victoria and Albert Museum.]

Contrasting with the straightforward wales we're used to, this much older piece (the back of a man's mid-18th-century waistcoat belonging to the V & A) has "wales of light brown cotton woven in a decorative pattern, imitating that of silk velvet," according to the museum. Curators are uncertain whether the light brown cotton corduroy was woven in England or France. To paraphrase the V & A: Lancashire, one possibility, was a major hub of cotton weaving at the time, and English weavers in London (Spitalfields, to be exact) often produced textiles based on French designs for silk, but when the waistcoat was made French weavers in Rouen were trying their hand at cotton, too.

[Sid Mashburn cords.]

So, like the French chair, the intricately detailed antique corduroy is far from the Ivy Style pieces that put me on the menswear wavelength. Still, it's one for the get-to-know corduroy file.

BTW, Brooks Brothers' post offers a great synopsis of corduroy history.