Corduroy: The Cloth of Kings, Workers, and Everyone Since

Corduroy comes back every few years like it's a new idea. It isn't. It's one of the oldest and most democratic cloths we have, and it's been in the Black Bear Brand DNA since the original company was making cord pants on the Seattle frontier a century ago.

What it actually is

Corduroy is a twill with an extra set of yarns woven in and then cut, creating those raised ridges — the wales. Lower wale number, fatter ridge. Its ancestor is fustian, a raised-nap cloth traced to the ancient Egyptian city of Fustat. And that lovely story about corde du roi, the "cord of the king"? Almost certainly a myth — historians can't find it. The word most likely comes from English cloth names.

What is true: as velvet went to the aristocracy, cord became "poor man's velvet" and dressed farmers, workers, schoolmasters, and artists. Then it kept getting cool — the tweedy mid-century, the rebellious '60s and '70s.

Why cord ages so well

Like denim, it fades where you move. The tops of the ridges catch the wear first, so the color lifts along the wales at the knees, the seat, the pockets. A washed cord that's been lived in has depth you cannot manufacture. It's a fabric with a memory.

How to wear it

Treat cords exactly like jeans — boots, a flannel, a chore coat — and they'll never read stuffy. Keep the color earthy. Let them get beat up.

What we build

We make cord the way we make denim. The Double Front OLD MONEY Green Cords, the BLACK Double Front Bleached/Distressed Cords, the IVORY Distressed Bleach Washed Cord, Corduroy Shorts for summer, and the Corduroy ONE IVORY Jacket. For her, the Vintage Rose Boy Friend Cords.

Browse Corduroy. — Josh