Pinstripe

Pinstripes are very narrow, parallel stripes on a typically dark ground. The stripe width classically sits around 1/30 inch (about 0.85 mm) and is usually produced by a single contrasting warp yarn spaced 4–10 mm apart. The pattern originates in 19th-century English and Scottish suiting and became the shorthand for banker and business dress during the Wall Street era.

Pinstripes are strictly distinct from chalk stripes (wider, softer edge) and block stripes. The effect comes almost exclusively from the warp; the weft runs a neutral base yarn. Applications: business suits, waistcoats, suit trousers, dress shirts and blouses. A tight stripe pitch reads more formal, a wider pitch more casual.

• Stripe width typically 0.5–1 mm
• Stripe spacing 4–10 mm
• Warp-based pattern, not printed
• Business/formal use