Houndstooth (also called dogstooth) is a two-color broken-check pattern of jagged, abstract shapes said to resemble a hound's tooth. It is woven as a 2/2 twill with alternating bands of color in warp and weft - typically black and white or brown and tan - so the pattern emerges from the weave itself rather than being printed on.
What Makes Houndstooth
The magic is in the color-and-weave effect: warp threads alternate in blocks of (usually) four dark and four light, the weft does the same, and the 2/2 twill interlacing turns the overlapping blocks into the signature star-like, toothy shapes. Scale matters enormously - puppytooth is the same pattern woven small for a subtle texture, while oversized houndstooth is a bold graphic statement.
Houndstooth Through History
Houndstooth began as a practical Scottish woven check for outerwear, where its busy pattern hid wear. Christian Dior put it on the fashion map in the late 1940s, using it for suits and packaging it as a house signature. The 1960s made it mod - houndstooth minis and coats were everywhere - and it has been a fashion perennial ever since, adopted by everyone from punk designers to the University of Alabama, whose legendary coach Bear Bryant made the houndstooth hat iconic.
Houndstooth Today
Houndstooth coats, blazers, trousers, and accessories cycle through fashion regularly, in classic black-and-white and in every color combination imaginable. Printed houndstooth (rather than woven) appears on everything from phone cases to dog collars. When buying woven houndstooth suiting, check the scale against your frame - smaller checks flatter smaller frames.
FAQs
- What is the difference between houndstooth, dogstooth, and puppytooth?
- They are the same pattern at different scales: dogstooth is a larger version, puppytooth is a small-scale version, and houndstooth is the standard middle scale.
- Who made houndstooth famous?
- Christian Dior adopted it as a house check in the late 1940s, and 1960s fashion made it a mod staple. In the US, football coach Bear Bryant's houndstooth hat made it a cultural icon.
- Is houndstooth always black and white?
- Traditionally yes, but modern houndstooth comes in every color pairing - brown and cream, red and black, pastels, and neons all appear.
- Is houndstooth woven or printed?
- Classic houndstooth is woven (a color-and-weave twill effect). Cheaper versions are printed, which looks similar at a glance but lacks the woven texture.
Glossary: see the full fashion glossary for more apparel industry terms.