Glen plaid

{{Short description|Woollen fabric with a woven twill design of small and large checks}}{{redirect|Glen Check|the South-Korean indie band|Glen Check (band)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} [[Image:Glen Plaid aka Prince of Wales check pattern.JPG|thumb|right|Glen plaid fabric, in a houndstooth weave]] '''Glen plaid''' (short for Glen Urquhart plaid), also known as '''Glenurquhart check''' or '''Prince of Wales check''', is a woollen fabric with a woven twill design of small and large checks.<ref name="Polo">{{Cite web |work=Ralph Lauren Style Guide |title=Glossary: Glen plaid |date= |url=http://style.polo.com/glossary/default.asp?letter=G |access-date=23 November 2008 |archive-date=13 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113035515/http://style.polo.com/glossary/default.asp?letter=G |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is usually made of black/grey and white, or with more muted colours, particularly with two dark and two light stripes alternating with four dark and four light stripes, which creates a crossing pattern of irregular checks.<ref>Dictionary.com</ref> Glen plaid as a woven pattern may be extended to cotton shirting and other non-woollen fabrics.

==Name== [[File:Double Breasted Checked – Medium Light Grey Glen Check Suit.jpg|thumb|Double-breasted suit in Glen plaid]] The name is taken from the Glenurquhart Estate in Inverness-shire, Scotland, where the checked pattern was first used during the 1840s by the Countess of Seafield<ref name=Glenurquhart>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=1440 |title=Glenurquhart Estate Check |access-date=24 November 2023 |work=Scottish Register of Tartans}}</ref> to fit out her gamekeepers,<ref name="Polo" /> though the name 'Glen plaid' does not appear before 1926.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/glen+plaid Merriam-Webster Online dictionary].</ref>

Glen plaid is also known as the Prince of Wales check, as it was first made famous by King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales.<ref>[https://www.parisiangentleman.com/blog/how-to-identify-a-glen-check-within-seconds-vbc-fabric-academy-6 How to Identify a Glen Check]</ref> The pattern was later popularized by King Edward VIII when he was Prince of Wales.<ref>[https://www.gq.com/story/dropping-knowledge-glen-plaid ''GQ'']</ref> In other words, despite its internationally known name (French ''prince de Galles'', Spanish ''príncipe de Gales'', Italian ''principe di Galles'', etc.), the Prince of Wales check is not a Welsh pattern but a Scottish one.

==Notable wearers== Pee-wee Herman was famous for his light-grey Glen plaid suit, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan was considered "unpresidential" in a gray-and-blue Glen plaid suit on a European trip in 1982.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/06/30/back.time/ Hugh Sidey, "Live Men Do Wear Plaid"]</ref> In addition, Cary Grant wore a grey suit in a subtle Glen plaid during the 1959 American spy thriller film ''North by Northwest''.

Alan Stanford wore a single-breasted sport coat of Glen plaid tweed in the 1999 film based on George Orwell's ''Animal Farm''.

Matt Smith wore a single-breasted sport coat of brown Glen plaid tweed when playing the Eleventh Doctor in the ''Doctor Who'' episode ''A Christmas Carol''.

==See also== *Houndstooth *Tartan *Eleventh Doctor

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{cite web |url=https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=1440 | title=Tartan Details - the Scottish Register of Tartans }} Glenurquhart Estate Check *{{cite web |url=https://www.parisiangentleman.com/blog/how-to-identify-a-glen-check-within-seconds-vbc-fabric-academy-6 | title=How to Identify a Glen Check within Seconds VBC Fabric Academy 6 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glen Plaid}} Category:Textile patterns Category:Scottish clothing