Gingham Vs Plaid

Let’s clear up the confusion about gingham and plaid. Although they have similarities,

there are some contrasting characteristics that can help us identify the difference between the two.

Gingham is easily confused with buffalo plaid. When you think of buffalo

plaid you may think of the red and black checkered

pattern that reminds you of a lumberjack,

or the pajamas everyone wears around Christmas time. 

What differentiates buffalo plaid from other plaids?

The most obvious difference is the varying size and colors of the lines.

More than two colors are used in plaids and they are not identified as

buffalo. A lot of the time, the lines of the plaid pattern are not consistently thick.

This is untrue about buffalo plaid.

 Buffalo plaid is a larger gingham pattern, meaning the checks have larger squares.

It was originally known as an alternating red and black pattern,

but nowadays, black is complemented by an assortment of colors. 

The size of a gingham stripe ranges from 1/6th of an inch to 1 full inch. 

To be classified as gingham, one of two colors in the pattern must be white.

Often the alternate color is a pastel or bright color that coincides with the warmer seasons.

Gingham has been a consistent fashion trend for decades.

In the past gingham has been popular in spring and summer fashion,

but has not been constricted to those seasons.