dress corduorys?

I saw some dress corduorys on sale at Lands End...but, I am not really certain how they are diffrent from regular corduroys that we have come to known and love.

Although I might be able to get away with it, I cant see myself wearing dress cords with a shirt and tie...but I do like the 10 wale style of them.

Any ideas why they are "dress" cords? What do cotton dress cords have that are different from the regular style cords? They are all 100% cotton.

There is no such thing as "dress cords". Corduroy is an inherently "country" (as opposed to "city" -- see Vox's coherence thread for details) cloth. It is, therefore, by definition, informal. But this means informal in its most traditional sense. You can certainly wear a tie with an ensemble that features corduroy, even a corduroy jacket.

Having said that, I imagine the Land's End people are contrasting "dress" cords with cargo shorts and flip flops. Most people, especially in the States, would look at you like you had grown another head if you tried to explain to them that corduroy pants were actually informal.

samnc said:

I saw some dress corduorys on sale at Lands End...but, I am not really certain how they are diffrent from regular corduroys that we have come to known and love.

Although I might be able to get away with it, I cant see myself wearing dress cords with a shirt and tie...but I do like the 10 wale style of them.

Any ideas why they are "dress" cords? What do cotton dress cords have that are different from the regular style cords? They are all 100% cotton.

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lol @ "dress cords." See above.



VinnyMac said:

lol @ "dress cords." See above.

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compare to jeans, shorts, cargo pants, sweatpants, stone washed khakis, cords are dressy.



chogall said:

compare to jeans, shorts, cargo pants, sweatpants, stone washed khakis, cords are dressy.

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+1

Also, cords with thin wales are considered "dressier" than wide wale corduroy .

samnc said:

I saw some dress corduorys on sale at Lands End...but, I am not really certain how they are diffrent from regular corduroys that we have come to known and love.

Although I might be able to get away with it, I cant see myself wearing dress cords with a shirt and tie...but I do like the 10 wale style of them.

Any ideas why they are "dress" cords? What do cotton dress cords have that are different from the regular style cords? They are all 100% cotton.

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More wales per inch, like 16 and over, is dressier and approaches velvet in look and feel.

chogall said:

compare to jeans, shorts, cargo pants, sweatpants, stone washed khakis, cords are dressy.

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That's not the issue that OP raised. OP suggested that there was a regular cord and a dress cord, which I lol'ed at.



VinnyMac said:

That's not the issue that OP raised. OP suggested that there was a regular cord and a dress cord, which I lol'ed at.

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did you then also lol'ed on the idea of a dress chino vs. casual chino and workwear chino? or the idea of a dress suit vs. casual suit?

chogall said:

did you then also lol'ed on the idea of a dress chino vs. casual chino and workwear chino? or the idea of a dress suit vs. casual suit?

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dress chino: yes. dress suit: no.

I think the idea is to distinguish between the five-pocket (jean style) cords from the ones that are cut like chinos (fancy dress pants!).