17 Buy-Now-Wear-Forever Houndstooth Blazers and Coats

Invest in timeless checks this fall.

Christian Dior is responsible for making a canine-inspired textile chic. The black-and-white abstract checkerboard pattern, known as houndstooth, first appeared in the 1800s as a woven-wool fabric worn by shepherds as outer garments in the Scottish lowlands. Over a century later, the notorious "New Look" designer turned the duo-tone print into a rich-looking fashion statement by putting it in his Spring 1948 Haute Couture show. And like many of Dior's iconic designs, it stuck.

Houndstooth cropped up in the French fashion house's most recent collection on several warm-weather suits. To make the traditional mosaic feel more fresh, though, Maria Grazia Chiuri played with its color and scale — a tactic many modern-day designers employ when working with the pattern.

This fall, for instance, numerous brands remixed the print to captivate the eye, while still paying tribute to the past. Stine Goya created a zesty lime-green and white mock-neck wool coat version, while Rebecca Taylor brought newness to a classic check topper with contrasting pale blue piping and brushed metallic buttons.

From an ultra-warm puffer to a prep school tweed, we've rounded up 17 buy-now-wear-forever houndstooth blazers and coats in the gallery below.

View the 17 images of this gallery on the original article

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