Corduroy is a piled cotton fabric used for manufacture of everyday clothes. The piles
are created when piled weft is divided. According to its structure two types of corduroy
fabric can be distinguished: corduroy made from 100% cotton and cotton corduroy with 3% of
elastane. According to the size of ridges corduroy fabric can be divided into microcorduroy
(14-16 W), corduroy with medium ridge size (6-8 W), corduroy with wide ridge (2,5-4 W),
corduroy with complex ridge. There is another variation of corduroy called frost corduroy
which represents fabric with characteristic dyed piles imitating frosting. The size of
ridge is denoted by W number which indicates the number of piles in an inch.
The density of corduroy varies between 260g/m2 and 450 g/m2. The solid structure of corduroy
fabric is reached by the stability of pile fixing. The main characteristic of this cloth is
thread separation – cotton corduroy has smaller thread separation compared to corduroy with
elastane additive.
Corduroy is used in manufacture of men’s, women’s and children’s clothes – trousers, coats,
overalls, skirts, as well as headdresses, shoes, bags and furniture. Corduroy with elastane
is used mostly for manufacture of women’s and children’s clothes which gives more comfort while
wearing thanks to the good figure-fitting qualities of fabric.
The first customized jeans made from corduroy were presented in 1955 by Mustang brand. Since
then corduroy jeans are considered to be a universal piece of clothes and never come out of
fashion. They are always popular. Today black skinny corduroy jeans experience a new wave of
popularity thanks to “Twilight” blockbuster. BB Dakota brand plans to present its new “Twilight”
collection inspired by the film which apart from black corduroy skinny jeans will include smocks,
leather jackets and coats worn by Bella featuring Kristen Stewart.
Made to measure jeans from corduroy fabric can be of different colors, however most often they
come in classical black, brown and beige shades. These colors are very practical which makes
corduroy jeans very neutral and thus they can be combined with nearly everything. However the
best combination for corduroy jeans would probably be a shirt and a sweater.
Medium ridge is perhaps the best type of corduroy you can find. Superthin ridge on tailor made
jeans makes them look old-fashioned and too wide ridge can make your figure visually full-blown,
so be careful. Also when buying corduroy jeans take into account the fact corduroy fabric tends
to stretch exactly like denim, so be sure to find the model which fits you perfectly and is not
too baggy.
Corduroy jeans are ideal for winter, because the material they are made of is quite thick and
would probably be too hot for summer.
The right way to wash corduroy jeans is to use washing regime without spin, let the water flow
down and smooth out moist jeans with your hand in the direction of the piles, then hang out to dry.
