Checked Patterns

Here at Maier Sports, we have a good nose for fashion, and we love to adapt current trends for our nature-loving customers, whenever possible. People who enjoy the outdoors also love to let their thoughts fly and their gaze wander into the distance. This might be why we often use wide checked patterns, though more intricate patterns are also available. Of course, all of these are colour-coordinated, combining multiple colours in often surprising compositions. We take inspiration from mother nature’s ability to combine so many colours with countless distinct hues perfectly.

We love checked patterns. That’s because checks come in a thousand different flavours, offering a million ways to combine them with your favourite outdoor look. And a plaid blouse or plaid shirt is a welcome addition to any outfit. The large number of available colour combinations allows them to be combined with any of the other colourful clothes available from Maier Sports. And it’s always good to have a variety of clothes with checked patterns in your wardrobe to choose from. You won’t get bored of them, especially not with the amazing, checked pattern selection available from Maier Sports this summer.

Fashion journalists argue that checked patterns are “stylish” and “unbeatable” when combined with the right clothes. And we agree. However, we don’t believe that checked patterns are “timeless”. We believe that every season has its own perfect type of checked pattern. That’s why we’re so sure: bold checks are out of fashion this season.

This summer, it’s all about large patterns with more raw and restrained designs and colours ranging from fresh and bold to pastel tones.

Our Maier Sports designers can promise you one thing: Our plaid blouses and shirts will be the height of fashion this season. We’re also sure you can take the following advice from a number of fashion journalists to heart: “It’s easy to be fashionable when wearing checked patterns. That’s because checked patterns and plain styles are always a stylish combination.”

Naturally, our checked pattern clothes aren’t just fashionable. We aim to provide highly functional outfits for hikers, trekking fans and all manner of outdoor enthusiasts, after all. That’s why you can rely on your upturned double collar to protect your neck against the sun, for example.

Thanks to dryprotec, our shirts and blouses also dry very quickly after getting wet, which is a real plus when hiking in the great outdoors and travelling in general. And of course, we can’t forget our double-action anti-microbial SILVERPLUS® technology which will make you feel fresh and ready for anything, even after a particularly sweaty hike.

Our long sleeve and short sleeve shirts as well as our blouses also benefit from highly elasticated fabrics which give you the freedom of movement you need when you’re using your arms to clear the path or provide assistance to the person hiking in front. Another useful accessory is the goggle cloth which is integrated into the interior of many of our shirts and blouses, allowing you to clean your glasses or sunglasses in a matter of seconds.

Checked patterns and the great outdoors go together like clear skies and sunshine. We wish you an exciting and safe hiking and outdoor season.

Checked patterns have a long history.

Who invented checked fabrics?
No, it wasn’t the Czechs – and it wasn’t the Scots either. Checked patterns were invented by the Chinese.
So, it’s not only paper, fireworks and porcelain that can be attributed to these resourceful people. Checked patterns, beloved by Scots and outdoor enthusiasts alike, were first created in China. Scientists have found jade figurines with hats made of checked plaid material, dating to 3.500 BC.

Though after the invention of the pattern, the Scots do come into play: the specific pattern used in most modern plaid clothes is said to be directly related to the tartan, after all – every Scotsman’s favourite piece of clothing, if traditionalists are to be believed.
The first Scottish checks were black and white. No, it’s not a misinterpretation of old photographs, it’s for a much more mundane reason: The Scots originally used the wool of black and white sheep to make their tartans.
When the Scots started developing ways to dye wool, their tartans also started to get more diverse to draw a clearer distinction between the many different Scottish clans.
But checked patterns weren’t just important for Scottish tartans. Thanks to increasingly sophisticated looms, which allowed for much more complex patterns, checks quickly entered the world of fashion. Today, they’re most well-known as the pattern of choice for cowboys and lumberjacks, though even designer suits sometimes use checked patterns. Even high-profile models on the catwalks of the worlds are known to wear checked clothes from time to time. No wonder then that checked patterns fit outdoor enthusiasts equally well.