Alabama's HOUNDSTOOTH HISTORY

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SCOTT BOWMAN Model Tiffany Chapman shows off houndstooth headwear. and it was a hit when the company gave it away to students at the games. “They gave away some in the student section, but there are people standing out there outside the stadium with $100 bills trying to buy hats off of people that Nike was giving away.” But it was the houndstooth beer koozie that really kicked off Starnes’ business. “I was a rookie and really didn’t know what I was doing,” he says. “I’m sitting there hanging out with my friends like a college kid and everybody has got beers in koozies.” So he slapped a houndstooth pattern on one and starting going to stores to sell them. It was the Alabama Bookstore on the Strip that took a chance on him; when Starnes left a dozen on the counter they were sold in 30 minutes. Soon Hibbett Sports, The Trunk and other stores were on board and from there “it was really like a dream come true” for Starnes. A SCOTTISH IMPORT Houndstooth, known in the textile world as a duotone, balanced twill weave, has always been fashionable. If you wanted to avoid a fight with spears, swords and shields in old Scotland, houndstooth would have been a safe wardrobe choice. Clans registered their tartans, and anyone not allowed to wear a particular pattern would be asking for the equivalent of a bar fight today. >> FASHION SCOTT BOWMAN Chris Starnes, a UA undergraduate who started an Internet business selling houndstooth products, is decked out in a houndstooth tie and pants and is holding a houndstooth hat. crimsonmagazine.net 57
FASHION SCOTT BOWMAN Koozies, key chains and headbands are just a few of the items that can be purchased in houndstooth. 58 Not a problem with houndstooth, though. It wasn’t registered, though it did spring from those old Scottish Lowland tartans, says Virginia Wimberley, assistant professor and curator of the Carolyn Thomas Stewart costume collection. “The houndstooth is not registered so anybody could wear it,” Wimberley says. “So you wouldn’t be illegal and it wouldn’t be a fighting incident if you weren’t entitled to wear it. “It looks a bit more complicated than it is. It’s always a two tone, but the original was white and black and it came out of Scotland. It was always done on a wool fabric, eventually, and it’s an easy plaid to do, but it looks fancier and more difficult. A lot of those plaids started to be written down in the 1700s. This one was pretty popular in the early 1800s.” Wimberley says the pattern gained popularity when Edward VIII, then the Prince of Wales, sported it in the early 20th century. The pattern, also known as Glen plaid, seems to peak each year when wool fabrics suit the season. “[President Ronald] Reagan wore it when he made the trip abroad, and people thought that he didn’t look very presidential when he wore that plaid, and they thought he was looking too casual going to Europe in that,” Wimberley says. “I’m sure if he thought the Prince of Wales wore it then the crowd would like it over there.” As for ’Bama’s connection to plaid, no one really thinks Coach Bryant was looking to set fashion trends and grace the cover of Vogue magazine. “I’m not sure he put a lot into what hat he was wearing that day,” Gaddy says. “I’m not sure fashion decision was a big part of his day. I think he had other things on his mind.” crimsonmagazine.net
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Alabama's HOUNDSTOOTH HISTORY

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