Tag: Argyle

The argyle (occasionally argyll) pattern is made of diamonds in a diagonal checkerboard arrangement. The word is sometimes used to refer to an individual diamond in the design but more commonly refers to the overall pattern. Most argyle layouts contain layers of overlapping motifs, adding a sense of three-dimensionality, movement, and texture. Typically, there is an overlay of intercrossing diagonal lines on solid diamonds.
The argyle pattern is derived from the tartan of Clan Campbell, of Argyll in western Scotland, used for kilts and plaids, and from the patterned socks worn by Scottish Highlanders since at least the 17th century. (See illustrations in History of the kilt) These were generally known as “tartan hose”.
Argyle knitwear became fashionable in England and then the USA after the first world war. Pringle of Scotland popularised the design, helped by its identification with the Duke of Windsor. Pringle’s website says that “the iconic Pringle argyle design was developed” in…