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"Planning on flexing your sartorial muscles in the blog arena? You'll need to come packing. And no, we're not referring to your pocket square game. Every week on The Eye, we'll cover a basic term you need to know right now... before you get laughed off the internet.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nIf you want the short version, herringbone gets its name from the way the pattern sort of resembles a fish skeleton. Sure, they could've called it \"fishbone,\" but then the seminal '80s ska band might've had to rethink their personal style. Think about it: If you named your band \"gingham,\" wouldn't people expect to see you all dressed like walking picnic tables? To get to the origins of herringbone as we know it, we'll have to hit the road\u2014the \"Viae Publicae,\" to be exact, which was a road system developed by the Roman Empire around 500 B.C.\n\nThat system literally paved the way for how we make roads today. Herringbone's ancestor was a pattern known as \"Opus spicatum,\" which means \"spiked work,\" but also sounds like a pretty gnarly Harry Potter spell. Why it works is because the interlocking pattern relies on criss-crossing chevrons creates the ability for the road to absorb the compression of movement. In fabric, it can be traced back to Egyptian textiles, but is generally defined as a variant of twill. While the cloth is made, the twilling is reversed periodically, changing the diagonal wale, resulting in the pointy chevrons. The oldest known examples of the fabric have been found in Northern Italy, and perhaps the most famous piece of herringbone is the freaking Shroud of Turin.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nThe fact that herringbone's roots are in Rome make it a no-brainer that plenty of suits, sportcoats, and blazers have been done up in the pattern. It's got Celtic history too: horsehair herringbone cloth has been found in Ireland from around 600 B.C., which explains why it's also a traditional choice for tweed.\n\nFast forward a couple of centuries, and herringbone is probably one of the easiest patterns men can wear. Clark Gable and Ronald Reagan demonstrate its most popular combination: Black on gray. It's one subtle step above your basic charcoal suit, and the sportcoat alone can be worn with a classic oord button-down and a tie. Reagan looks just about ready to go to an audition in that photo\u2014or maybe a Young Republicans convention?\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nThese days, herringbone is as popular as ever, usually cropping up when fall collections drop. This season in particular, we're seeing a lot of bolder takes on the fabric, like the brown slubby suit on actor Eddie Redmayne, or the exploded herringbone/stripe topcoat worn by Dazed &amp;amp; Confused co-founder Jefferson Hack. Both men exhibit a decidedly modern way to wear herringbone\u2014suited up with a twist, or like a punk rocker (the black graphic T-shirt and creepers add to Hack's street cred). Neither one is a wrong choice.\n\nSpeaking of choices, there's a bunch of them on the market right now. From a cozy shirt jacket collaboration by Mark McNairy New Amsterdam and Crescent Down Works, brown suit by Richard James, and even a blanket by Faribault Woolen Mills, we rounded up some of the coolest herringbone stuff right now. Perfect, we made it all the way to the end without saying one \"pop a herring-boner\" joke\u2014well, almost.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n$298, available at clubmonaco.com\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n$1,810, available at mrporter.com\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n$80, available at jcrew.com\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n$524, available at eastdane.com\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n$575, available at gant.com\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n$190-$290, available at faribaultmill.com\n\nRead more Dropping Knowledge\n\nDropping Knowledge: Windowpane Check\n\nDropping Knowledge: Gun Check\n\nDropping Knowledge: Glen Plaid\n\nDropping Knowledge: The Crewneck Sweatshirt"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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