The History of Houndstooth

Houndstooth is a duotone pattern that originated in Scotland in the 1800s. This simple but interesting print is made with alternating bands of four dark and four light threads in both warp and welt; two over and two under the warp. It was originally made on wool outer-garnments worn by shepards. When it was first made it was nicknamed "shepard's check" and later "dogtooth". When a smaller version was made, it was frequently called "puppytooth". These names lasted until the 1930s when the current name "houndstooth" was coined. This was around the time that the pattern was adopted by the upperclass as a symbol of weath.

This pattern was shown in a Christian Dior  line as a pointed, court-like shoe in 1959 and Geoffrey Beene even paired it with lace in the 1960s. Ann Klein also designed with this pattern in a line of menswear.
Although houndstooth is commonly shown in black and white, it is displayed in many other colors as well. Houndstooth also comes back into style every 20-30 years.
All in all, houndstooth is a classic pattern that never goes out of style.

Ferragamo's Houndstooth Dress

Je Ne Sais Quoi

After spending the past year reading every article on being a successful businesswomen, you'd think I'd want to spend the rest of my life in a fancy office, talking money, saving money, and spending money. One could look at me and say, "There's a girl who knows how to make money and run a business". But after two years of whining over the fact that I wanted to own the whole gossip girl closet, Jenny Humphrey's sewing skills, and Elenor Waldorf's eye for design, I realized that I'm into fashion more than I thought.

I have spent hours watching sewing videos, trying to sew, watching the lates fashion shows, and even rereading old magazines to identify changes in trends and styles. I even joined fashion club and even started saving up for a body form. Yet, there's one problem.

As a high schooler, life is kinda tough. I'm spending alot of time doing proofs and watching videos about the cell theory and not enough time doing the things I love.

As many of my friends know, I aspire to major at Harvard Business and study fashion later at FIT in New York. I aspire to designing my own line of readywear and high fashion women's wear. But yet, I can't help but wonder if fashion is really for me. I don't even have the eye or time to pick out fashionable outfits for school, let alone a runway.

And along with that, many people do not see me as someone who is capable of it. And that bothers me.

All in all, I feel like I would be a good businesswomen/designer in the long run but I've got a long way to go.