Corduroy fabric is believed to have originated in Manchester, England during the Industrial Revolution. Corduroy fabric can be easily identified by the telltale parallel "cords' that run up and down the material and exhibit the softness that some describe as velvet with ridges. Corduroy is extremely strong and durable, and has a distinct "English" look to it.
Corduroy is typically used to make sport coats and pants, and is considered a casual fabric. Corduroy jackets can confer a sense of "dressed up" while retaining the durability and warmth of a heavy material garment. Corduroy is categorized by the number of cords, or "wales", per inch, in a range from 1.5 to 21. Lower-numbered wales are thicker and usually more rugged than the higher-numbered varieties. Wide wale material is typically found on pants, while narrower wales are used for sport coats. The standard corduroy fabric has 11 wales per inch, while pincord, the finest of the corduroy family of fabrics, has a wale count of 16 or above and rivals velvet for smoothness and luxury.
The material is machine washable, although special care should be used: turn garments inside out before washing, dry on permanent press and remove while still damp, hang to fully dry and iron on the inside face of the fabric. Any flattening of the corded piles can be reversed by gentle brushing.
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