# Why Are Flannel Shirts Most Often Plaid? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639 "2011-01-06T19:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/21 "2011-01-07T17:25:17Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > Ah, but the OP did ask why **MOST** Flannel Shirts are plaid, acknowledging that in fact there are non-plaid flannel shirts to be had. > So far, research on the web indicating that a) ‘Yes, most flannel shirts are plaid’ (Caveat - this applies to the US only) and b) Nobody seems to know why besides tradition and rugged fashion and all that. > Were the majority of flannel shirts prior to, say the late 1960s not plaid? (a work-like blue, perhaps). Ah, but as threads evolve people take interest in other facets of it, such as where to find said rare thing (non-plaid shirt in this case). I can follow the thread nicely. In this case, the thread was plaid and people wanted to know where the plain thread was, so I provided an obligatory link to some plain flannel threads. Don’t get all plaid on me. . ---
**Author:** ![The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@The\_Conqueror\_Worm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Conqueror_Worm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/22 "2011-01-07T19:37:31Z")
I can not say that this is the real reason, but by breaking up a large area of a single color, plaids make a somewhat effective camouflage especially towards animals that do not perceive color particularly well. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/23 "2011-01-07T19:53:29Z")
I think the main reason that flannel shirts are usually plaid is that it breaks up the visual field. Most flannel, especially the inexpensive variety, does not wear very attractively. And when you have a solid field all you see is the uneven wear. You can get very expensive flannel that will keep looking good as a solid field, but it is very expensive, and assumes one will care for it very carefully. FYI: it was Portugal that came up with combing the cloth to create the flannel nap. The Germans had made great advancement in the area of textile manufacturing and they realized they could no longer compete head-to-head. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/24 "2011-01-10T21:58:39Z")
**Lamia** , I have no evidence to support this, but it is my presumption that school uniforms were derived from Catholic school uniforms, and Japanese school uniforms were patterned to match Western styles, which were already established tradition. Of course anyone with actual knowledge would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/25 "2011-01-10T22:52:17Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I think the main reason that flannel shirts are usually plaid is that it breaks up the visual field. Most flannel, especially the inexpensive variety, does not wear very attractively. And when you have a solid field all you see is the uneven wear. Flannels were also often outdoor work shirts, and the plaid makes pine tar dirt and other stains harder to see. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/26 "2011-01-10T23:16:51Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > To distinguish shirts from pyjamas made of the same material? [http://www.rivers.com.au/catalogdb/blowuppage.asp?SP=22595&PS=14](http://www.rivers.com.au/catalogdb/blowuppage.asp?SP=22595&PS=14) is my favourite flannie of all time and I have loved hundreds over the years. Brilliant! I must have this! ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/27 "2011-01-10T23:35:13Z")
I always presumed that it was because wild flanns are usually plaid, and so are the shirts made from their skins. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/28 "2011-01-11T19:32:37Z")
I was surfing earlier today, and I found a [site](http://www.hartsfabric.com/flannelfabric.html) with a lot of flannel prints. Naturally I thought of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/29 "2011-01-11T21:17:37Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Proof that if you _love too much_, you’ll go blind. > > WHY did I click on that link? Wow - four tartans for the price of one! ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/30 "2011-01-12T05:39:54Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I was surfing earlier today, and I found a [site](http://www.hartsfabric.com/flannelfabric.html) with a lot of flannel prints. Naturally I thought of this thread. I really, really want a shirt made of the little pink pigs material. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639/31 "2011-01-12T22:25:15Z")
Plaid is a relatively interesting pattern which can relatively easily be made by weaving pre-dyed thread. In fact, stripes or plaid (which is just what you get when you have stripes in both directions) are the only patterns at all that you can get out of the simplest weaving processes. The relevant questions then become, first, why is it desired for flannels to be patterned at all, and second, why woven patterns, rather than printed ones, are desired for flannels specifically. To the first, it’s probably a combination of identifiabilty and not showing stains, as others have mentioned, and to the second, flannels tend to get more wear than (say) dress shirts, and a pattern printed on the surface will wear out quicker than one woven in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-flannel-shirts-most-often-plaid/566639.md?page=1)