Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of filled circles, generally equally sized and spaced relatively closely in relation to their diameters.
Polka dots are most commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, and furniture, but they appear in a wide array of contexts. Occasionally, white-on-black small dots appear on more formal clothing.
Polka dots became common on clothing in the late nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. 1950s were the decade of polka dot formal wear, the 1980s were the decade of polka dot accessories. It was the 20th century that truly saw the beginning of the polka dot's lasting role in fashion history.
America's love affair with the polka dot began, perhaps, in 1926, when Miss America was photographed in a polka dot swimsuit. In 1928, Mickey Mouse's female companion, Minnie Mouse, was born in the Walt Disney illustration studio dressed in a polka dot skirt, a trademark of the animated icon. During the 1940's and '50s, the polka dot graced the gowns of female celebrities from Marilyn Monroe to Elizabeth Taylor, during the same time period Christian Dior began to release his notable hourglass dresses in spotted prints. In 1951, Monroe was famously photographed wearing a polka dot bikini.
The pattern shares its name with the dance form, making one suspect there is a connection linking the pattern to the dance. However, the name was likely settled upon merely because of the dance's popularity at the time the pattern became fashionable, just as many other products and fashions of the era also adopted the polka name.
Once upon a time, spotted prints went by a host of other names. Slate’s Jude Stewart provides an overview: In the 19th century, “Dotted-Swiss" referred to raised dots on transparent tulle, and in France, “Quinconce" described the diagonal arrangement of dots seen on the 5-side of dice. Meanwhile, the large coin-sized dots on fabric, called "Thalertupfen" in German, got their name from Thaler, the currency of German-speaking Europe until the late 1800s. But then came the polka dance, the dance so popular that mid-19th century Europe came up with the word “Polkamania” to describe its own excitement. As the polka craze swept west across the continent, enthusiasts claimed the polka jacket, then the polka hat (neither of them spotted), and finally, the polka dot.
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| Dotted Swiss |
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| Quinconce |
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| dress with spotted print |
The word “polka” itself derives from the Polish for “Polish woman”—in Czech, it translates to “little woman or girl". Polka dots are inherently diminutive, automatically feminine. Today, when we wear them, we inherit their complicated legacy from the women that have worn them before us—women who have negotiated the shifting realm of trying to rock a dot and be taken seriously at the same time.
Of course, there aren't just dotty women. In 1962, Marvel Comics unleashed its polka dot-clad superhero—Polka-Dot Man, who used the power of polka dots to defeat baddies. In 1965, Bob Dylan appeared on the cover of the EP in a striking green polka dot shirt. Much later, in an episode of Mad Men (in which nearly all the female characters have worn polka dots), Roger Sterling donned a spotted maroon silk scarf. In recent years, the print has become increasingly popular with men, with celebrities like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lionel Messi, and Mickey Avalon embracing the trend, as well as the (female) designer Rei Kawakubo of the fashion house Comme des Garçons, who has applied polka dots to brogues, shirts, tees and wallets among other men’s fashion items.
Traditionally polka dots are used in the clothing of flamenco dancers and performers. There were many other "polka" items, some of which include polka hats, polka jackets, polka dot skirts, dresses, scarves, tops, watches, shoes, cakes, furniture, interiors, crockery, toys etc.
So.......Do you have any one of it???
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