Gingham then, now and forever!

Gingham shirts are not a thing of the past, they are the hottest shirt on the runways of Milan, Paris and New York this year.

The name gingham originates from an adjective in the Malay language, ging-gang, meaning striped and when it was originally imported into Europe in the 17th century it was a striped fabric. It wasn't until the 18th century when it started being produced in the mills of Manchester England that it was woven into checked or plaid patterns, which we recognized as gingham today.

When I was growing up in Havana Cuba in the 1960's my mom - who has been a seamstress since the very young age of 15 - would make me short sleeve gingham shirts. I remember I had yellow, red, green and my favorite one; navy. She would often pair the shirts with short pants, knee high socks and lace up shoes. For the more formal occasions - like my cousin's birthday parties - the gingham shirt would show up with a bow-tie under a suit with short pants. Yes my loyal bog followers, this is way before the Thom Browne short pant suit revolution. So I guess it would be fair to say that my mom and I were ahead of the times!

When I migrated to Miami, and I started to get familiar with the American way of life - watching color TV -  I associated gingham with something the hillbillies wore. Gingham shirts was what most of the cast of Hee Haw was wearing, Maryanne from Gilligan's Island wore a gingham shirt. I grew to abhor the gingham shirt. It was tacky, declasse.  Ugghh!!!

Well I have since changed my mind radically and my love for the gingham shirt has returned. Besides, gingham is what is hot today. Gingham is here to stay and it has become a year round fabric. The Milan and Paris men shows for both Spring/Summer and Fall//Winter 2011 have featured gingham shirts in a multitude of ways.

Commonly used as a very casual shirt, you can it dress it down tucked into a pair of khakis or even a pair of rolled up jeans with a casual shoe and no socks. You can also wear it  un-tucked over a pair of shorts with sandals or sneakers.

During the summer months you can dress it up with a light fabric pastel colored suit with or without a tie.

As a more formal business look during the week, you can feature the gingham shirt with a navy suit and tie.

Wear it under a thick knit sweater or under a cardigan and cashmere sport coat during the winter months. You can also feature the gingham shirt with three piece fall/winter suit.

Most importantly, feel free to wear gingham shirts any time of the year. Buy gingham shirts and make them a part of your wardrobe, they will be here for a long time. Designers from Eton to J.Crew all have a version of the gingham shirt so price points vary making it affordable to all budgets. 

As always, I encourage you to be adventurous when creating your look and always be true to who you are. Have fun with your new - or old - gingham shirt!