Through fall and winter, we often see clothes that are made of corduroy material. And that’s because clothes with corduroy material are an absolute classic for colder season. Although most of you probably have no idea what “Corduroy” is.
And i assume some of you have questions like “What kind of material is corduroy?” or “how many different types of corduroy are there?” because you’ve heard of the material but you don’t know much about them.
For those of you who are interested in this specific material, i’m going to breakdown the material and answer some of the common questions people may have. Let’s know more about Corduroy and enjoy the clothes made by corduroy even more!
First of all, what kind of material is corduroy?
Corduroy is a type of pile fabric. Also known as “Cord” or “Corded Velveteen”
Corduroy have uneven surfaces right? This surface is called “Wale” or “Furrow” and it becomes like that after rubbing the material in water.
Characteristic of the corduroy
Clothes that are made of corduroy becomes popular during fall and winter, and clothing stores tend to carry more of them in the store during that time. Some people may have habits of buying them each and every year.
But why do they become popular during fall and winter? Let’s talk about the characteristic aspects of this material.
I’m going to explain the pros and cons of corduroy
Pros of using corduroy
The biggest pros of corduroy is “High moisture retention”. Like I explained it in a previous sentence, corduroy have got an uneven surface and they won’t let the warm air go away from inside of the clothes.
That’s why corduroy is a perfect material to keep yourself warm during fall and winter. Also corduroy have glossiness and that’s one of the pros of this material.
The glossiness will give outfit “the casual yet elegant” look. They don’t make clothes look cheap either so it’s worth it.
And lastly, people say the corduroy made clothes goes well with knitted clothes. A lot of people wear knitted sweater with corduroy pants.
Corduroy goes well with knitted clothes and it’s also a super warm material. That’s why this material is popular during fall and winter.
Cons of using corduroy
Corduroy becomes super popular during fall and winter but it has cons of “easy to get dusty”
This is because the wale part of the clothes gets dusty easily. And if you try to take the dust off by force, furs would come off as well. So when the corduroy clothes get dusty, use something like a brush and brush them off gently.
Also the corduroy’s colour comes off easily as well during laundry. The corduroy is a material that could cause discolouration quite easily. When you wash them in a laundry machine, make sure the colour does not get on to other clothes.
High moisture retention is a pros of this material yet also a cons of it. They become too hot to wear during summer.
Types of corduroy
I assume you’d purchase corduroy items without thinking too much. But if you look closely, the thickness of surface is different, depends on the product.
Did you know there are many different types of corduroy out there? Mainly they differentiate the types of corduroy by the thickness of the wale. Usually the thickness of the wale is give or take around 3mm.
Depends on the thickness of the wale, the look becomes different. Finding your favourite type of corduroy would make you enjoy the material even more!
Well what kind of corduroy are out there? Let me explain the difference between all the types of corduroy.
Demon cord
Demon cord is a nickname for “super thick cord”. It’s the name for the thickest corduroy. The reason why they used the word “demon” is to emphasise the fact that this cord is the thickest kind of corduroy.
This cord usually has a thickness of 8mm or thicker. The wale is thick and rough. If you buy pants that uses the demon cord, most of the time they would give your outfit a casual look.
If you’d prefer a casual look, i recommend you the demon cord. Demon cord is usually used on pants or coats.
Medium cord
Medium cord has a standard size thickness. Thickness of wale is around 3~4mm.
Wales thickness is standard so compared to the demon cord or other thicker cords, it gives the outfit “mildly casual look”
If you find the demon cord too casual, medium cord is the way to go. Medium cord is used for pants or outerwear.
Slim cord
Slim cord is a corduroy that has got thinner wale. Thickness of the slim cord is 1~2mm.
When the wale is thinner, the uneven spacing are harder to notice compared to the other cords. They give you an elegant look instead of looking too casual.
If you are thinking like “I want to elegantly style corduroy clothing items”, I recommend you the slim cord. Slim cord is often used for skirts or pants.
Extra slim cord
Extra slim cord is a name for the cord that has got the thinnest wale of all. The thickness of cord is less than 1mm.
When the wale is less than 1mm, you wouldn’t be able to find the wale on the clothes at all. So the extra slim cord would give you the super classy look.
Filioparental cord
Filioparental cord is a name for a corduroy that uses a mixture of a thick cord and a slim cord.
If you find the thicker cord too puffy but thinks that the slimmer cord doesn’t have that typical corduroy look, the Filioparental cord is the one for you.
The Filioparental cord is mostly used for skirts or pants, but could be used in a lot of other items. If you got bored of normal corduroy,
male sure to check out the filioparental cord!
On this article, I showed you a few different types of corduroy and their characteristics. Corduroy is a material that has a characteristic of high moisture retention, and could be used for casual or classy outfits. It truly is an omnipotent material.
If you have more knowledge about the corduroy, you’d be able to enjoy the fashion during fall and winter!
Depends on the thickness of the wale, they could give you a bunch of different impressions to others.
Enjoy picking out your outfits during fall and winter with corduroy!
