“What seemed a useful action [per the admonition of Ghandi] to Gupta and his wife, Meenakshi, was simply to give away some of their clothes. The couple were not wealthy. But going through their wardrobe, selecting clothes they hadn’t worn for three years, they found 67 items. This raised the question: With India’s vast emerging middle class — and the explosion of consumerism in the country — how much clothing is gathering dust in wardrobes? More than can be imagined. So, in 1998, the Guptas started an organization, Goonj (meaning “echo”), to redistribute some of it to where it was most needed.”— NYT: Bridging the Clothing Divide
Colonel Alexander Gardner, 1864
Now that’s what I call a Madras suit.
From Wikipedia:
Gardner was involved in numerous gun fights and sword fights during his career. He was described as being six foot, with a long beard, an all around warrior and fighter. Gardner was known to have saved the City of Lahore in 1841 when his comrades abandoned him and he fired the guns that killed 300 enemies. He is described by Keay as continuing to suffer the effects of 14 wounds in later life.
(Thanks, IM.)
Q and Answer: What’s the Difference Between Plaid, Tartan and Madras?
Michael asks: I have looked for an explanation of the difference (or relationship) between plaid, madras, and tartan. The results have been less informative than I had hoped for. I was also curious if there was a definitive way to tell the difference between the three.
Scotland has always been known for its weaving, and particularly its weaving of wool. Scotland is also known for Highland Dress, the combination of kilt and other elements that is the country’s national costume. Banned by King George II in the early 18th century, these outfits became a powerful symbol of Scottish and Celtic identity.
One of the most important characteristics of Highland Dress is the distinctive checked patterns of its woolens - tartans. These patterns came into vogue throughout the commonwealth in the early 19th century, and have stayed popular ever since.
The tartan emerged in Scotland in the 16th century. Over the course of the next three hundred years, these distinctive patterns gained symbolic associations. Today, a specific tartan pattern can “belong” to a clan, an organization, even a company. In the United States, when we say “tartan,” we’re usually referring to a pattern that has a specific association, like the famous Stewart tartan, above.
In Scotland, a “plaid” is a specific part of Highland Dress: a sort of pleated blanket-wrap that’s sometimes twice as long as its wearer is tall. This plaid is worn over one shoulder and under the opposite arm, as seen in the photo above. As you can see, the effect is quite impressive.
In the United States, the word plaid is a generic word that describes checked patterns of all kinds. Here in the States, we generally use “plaid” to describe pretty much any such pattern, and “tartan” to describe a pattern with a specific Scottish symbolic meaning. (We also tend to chuck out the window the symbolic meaning of the tartans, unless we’re in a Scottish person’s wedding or at a Highland Games.)
Madras is something else entirely. It refers to a type of cloth, originally made during the British colonial era in Madras, India, (now Chennai). The cloth is a very lightweight cotton, decorated with plaids that are typically in loud colors. The most famous madras fabrics were dyed with natural dyes, which bled when washed - “bleeding madras.” These fabrics were particularly prized by Americans in the middle of the 20th century, and the Ivy League revival has made them popular again today. Today’s madras, largely made with artificial dyes in places other than India, tends to be even brighter than its forbear.
An anonymous emailer brought these lovely longwings to my attention. They’re from a new venture by Florsheim called Florsheim Limited; the model is the Veblen. They’re Goodyear welted and unlike Florsheim’s regular longwings, they’re made with full-grain leather, not corrected grain. The particularly nice bit is that they’re only $160. They’re made in India, so don’t expect the world’s finest craftsmen to be working on these, but on paper they look like a superb value. They’re available from Endless and Zappos among other places, so you should be able to find a coupon to bring the price down even further. Well done, Florsheim!
Britain’s Prince Charles dances with villagers at Tolasar village near Jodhpur in India’s state of Rajasthan October 5, 2010. REUTERS/Sunil Verma
(via Kempt)
On the left is Jawaharlal Nehru, the legendary Indian leader, wearing his namesake collar. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, on the right, was the founder of Pakistan. They look wonderfully, elegant, don’t they?
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