Obviously it’s Veteran’s Day, but did you know it’s also National Corduroy Day? Well it is. I mean how can you not take advantage of such a momentous occasion as 11|11|11, which as corduroy enthusiasts realized a few years back, looks a lot like the fabric’s striped pattern.
The golden age of corduroy was in the 1970s, but the holiday originated in 2005, when The Corduroy Appreciation Club (a semi-serious club for those who really love the fabric) held its first meeting in Brooklyn.
For six years, the club has been planning a big event (which is taking place tonight) to mark the occasion. According to The New York Times, “The event will feature prizes for Exemplary Uses of Corduroy, and all attendees must be sporting at least three items made of the blessed fabric. Organizers are also hoping to find a Corduroy Messiah, a child who turns eleven years old on 11/11/11 and whose parents will allow him or her to be worshipped by strangers.” The club chose a Staten Island girl who turns 11 on Friday as their Messiah. Her mom has apparently started calling her the Corduroy Queen. Sounds like it’s going to be a hell of a party.
That guy in the photo above might not be a big fan of corduroy, but there are a lot of others who have embraced it with open arms. Here are some of those people (and one bear) who’ve made corduroy cool:
Woody Allen
New York’s corduroy connoisseur knows how to wear a medium brown corduroy jacket like nobody else. Members of The Corduroy Appreciation Club even invited him to tonight’s celebration in hopes that he’d accept a Lifetime Achievement Award. He politely declined. I guess they forgot that Woody would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like him as a member, especially one that wanted to give him an award.
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
This couple would look good in anything, but they had a penchant for corduroy. Oh to be those pants.
Corduroy Bear
Bears don’t need clothes, but since 1968 this little bear has been wearing a very stylish pair of green overalls. And once he found that missing button, forget it, he was all set. He’s not only wearing corduroy, but is named Corduroy. He’s definitely doing the fabric proud with that double whammy.
Wes Anderson
Giving Woody a run for his money, Wes Anderson has made corduroy a wardrobe staple. The Texas-bred director even fashioned his Fantastic Fox alter ego a killer little corduroy suit to prove his commitment to the style. Maybe he’s the one who really deserves an award.
Gertrude Stein
The Swiss artist Félix Vallotton captured Ms. Stein in all her corduroy glory in this painting. She was known for wearing her long, unbelted corduroy robe to the salons. She accessorized the robe with a stickpin at the neck and a long Chinese chain of lapis and malachite fastened with a coral pin at her waist. The woman clearly had style.
