Glenurquhart Cloth

[pejsek]

I've long been a fan of the Glenurquhart plaid. It's a very hard thing to get right and there seem to be just a few too many uninspired renditions out there to sift through. When it works, though, the effect can really be sublime. Looking back at the PoW's wardrobe, the Glenurquhart checks are notable not only for a pleasing large scale but also for a nearly (but not quite) tweedy texture which softens everything and really enhances the coloring (especially the overcheck). It's not the sort of thing one sees too much of these days. This morning while I was out thrifting I was lucky enough to find a very interesting pair of old Daks pants made up in a very nice check. (Alas, I believe from the label that they are now and have always been a pair of odd trousers; a full suit would have been too much to hope for.)

It's hard to see, perhaps, but this isn't a hard-finished worsted. It's more like what I (not the cloth maven I would like to be) might describe as a heavy fresco--which gives it a marvelous texture and dimensionality. Compare it with the more typically seen worsted (also from Daks):

While I like this second pair of pants (part of a suit) quite a bit, the cloth really isn't even in the same league as that from which the first pair was made. So now I'm curious. Is it still possible these days to find new cloth made in this 1930s style? Has anybody been out beating th Glenurquhart bushes lately?

 

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by pejsek

I've long been a fan of the Glenurquhart plaid. It's a very hard thing to get right and there seem to be just a few too many uninspired renditions out there to sift through. When it works, though, the effect can really be sublime. Looking back at the PoW's wardrobe, the Glenurquhart checks are notable not only for a pleasing large scale but also for a nearly (but not quite) tweedy texture which softens everything and really enhances the coloring (especially the overcheck). It's not the sort of thing one sees too much of these days. This morning while I was out thrifting I was lucky enough to find a very interesting pair of old Daks pants made up in a very nice check. (Alas, I believe from the label that they are now and have always been a pair of odd trousers; a full suit would have been too much to hope for.)

It's hard to see, perhaps, but this isn't a hard-finished worsted. It's more like what I (not the cloth maven I would like to be) might describe as a heavy fresco--which gives it a marvelous texture and dimensionality. Compare it with the more typically seen worsted (also from Daks):

While I like this second pair of pants (part of a suit) quite a bit, the cloth really isn't even in the same league as that from which the first pair was made. So now I'm curious. Is it still possible these days to find new cloth made in this 1930s style? Has anybody been out beating th Glenurquhart bushes lately?

Well, plenty of merchants make "1930's style" cloth. Lesser, Dormeuil, H&S (to an extent) and NHTC all make cloth inspired by '30's style.

 

[countdemoney]

The Glens are always beautiful. Ahh for the days when men wore cloth of sufficient weight, and not the jumped up shirting fabric seen so prominently today.

 

[Master Shake]

Great cloth. I think it would make an excellent addition to the London Lounge Cloth Club projects.

 

[dopey]

Interesting front pockets.
The cloth is beautiful. I was going to say that I am not sure it is a Glenurqhart, but it is hard to tell. I don't know how precise the naming rules are, but I doubt the double windowpane would matter. It is really just that the small patterns are more like a birdseye or barleycorn than a houndstooths.

Great find. Do they fit you?

 

[luk-cha]

i have just got a harris tweed in a oversized glenurquhart check and i can wait to get made into a coat for fall! it must me around 16oz and it is pretty open weaved so it will be great for HK weather

 

[pejsek]

A barleycorn! I like that. I also wondered, dopey, if this could properly be called a glenurquhart. And what's a thread without a little skirmishing about terminology and ground rules? I guess to me the optical effect of the barleycorn(!)--if that's the term for those round dots--is to give the impression of a houndstooth where none actually exists. Plus it seems to fit well with the PoW aesthetic and I wasn't sure what else to call it. The front pockets would probably be the key to dating the pants. My guess would be the early to mid 1960s.
The pants do basically fit--just a tad too long, actually. I must admit, Master Shake, that when I saw these pants one of my first thoughts was that it would be great to see the cloth made up again. I'm not a LL member, but since the pants are a bit long I'd be happy to send you or anybody else a small swatch to begin pursuit of the idea.
luk-cha, I'd really be interested in seeing that Harris tweed glenurquhart if possible. Sounds like a really wonderful cloth. Where have all the large-scale patterns gone?

 

[luk-cha]

ok when i get home i will snap a few pic's if i can find the samples

 

[montecristo#4]

Originally Posted by Connemara

Well, plenty of merchants make "1930's style" cloth. Lesser, Dormeuil, H&S (to an extent) and NHTC all make cloth inspired by '30's style.

I have a suit in a "large" glen check from Dormeuil. It's a brilliant fabric. 13 or 14 oz if I remember correctly.

I don't like the small. light, summer glen plaids at all.

 

[luk-cha]

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here you go!