FABRIC NAMES

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 26, 30 July 1927, Page 20

FABRIC NAMES

HOW THEY HAVE BEEN DERIVED

Some of our ordinary fabrics and garments have interesting facts in connection with tho origin of their names. Often these words havo geographical significance, as they are derived from the name of the town in which a certain fabric was first made, the county in which tho town was located, or some adjacent river. Take the familiar word cambric, for instance, says tho "Christian Science Monitor." It was first made in the town of Cambrai, France. Its name perpetuates this fact. Then there is the lighter-weight cotton known as lawn. This was first woven in Laon, another small French town. Gingham is supposed to have taken its name from a little town in Brittany called Guingamp, where this fabric of cotton coloured in the thread is said to have been first manufactured. The rather inclusive word "worsted" comes from the name of a town, Worstead, in Norfolk. The peculiarly woven material known as "Jersey" came originally from the Channel Island of that name. Even such an everyday word as "millinery" is a variation of the name of the Italian city, Milan, which has long been noted for beautifully woven straws and other millinery materials. When it comes to associating the names of garments with the persons who invented them, one. has the convenient raincoat, still sometimes called a "mackintosh" because Charles Mackintosh, so far as known, was the first person to perfect a waterproof cloth suitable for a woman's garment. The knickers now so much worn and sometimes called "bloomers," derived their name from tho name of the American woman who first designed a divided skirt, and had the courage to wear her own invention. Her name was Mrs. Amelia Jenks Bloomer. The loose "dolman" sleeves are reminiscent of the Turkish dolama, a long, loose robe with full sleeve 3. The peculiarly shaped "raglan" garment was named after Lord Raglan, an English general, who made popular the wearing of a long coat with large armhole and ample sleeve.