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As 11/11/11 looms, fabric fanatics go overboard for cord

By Chiara AtikYou may know it as Veteran’s Day, but November 11th has a different, more celebratory holiday associated with it: for the past few years, it’s been celebrated as Corduroy Appreciation Day. Why November 11th? Corduroy enthusiasts (of which there are many) claim that 11/11 is the date which most resembles the lines of corduroy fabric. As this year is 11/11/11, fans of the textile a
Close up of corduroy pants pocket detail.
Close up of corduroy pants pocket detail.Featurepics stock

By Chiara Atik

You may know it as Veteran’s Day, but November 11th has a different, more celebratory holiday associated with it: for the past few years, it’s been celebrated as Corduroy Appreciation Day. Why November 11th? Corduroy enthusiasts (of which there are many) claim that 11/11 is the date which most resembles the lines of corduroy fabric. As this year is 11/11/11, fans of the textile are planning an especially big celebration.

Lily Pad, a popular performance space in Cambridge, Mass, is offering a discount to anyone who wears the fabric. A corduroy Tweet-Up is happening in Frederick, Maryland, where corduroy aficionados have been instructed to don their favorite cords and meet up for “coffee and camraderie”. In Chicago, the inaugural Chicagoland Corduroy Appreciation Ball will take place, and in Fromberg, Montana, enthusiasts will be celebrating with music and, (you guessed it) corduroy. And in Washington DC, those wishing to pay their respects to the ‘fabric of kings’ can head to Room 11 on 11th Street to meet with like-minded fabric enthusiasts.

But the biggest celebration of all -- and it’s probably safe to say, the biggest celebration of corduroy ever -- will take place in New York City for the Annual Grand 111111 Meeting. The sold-out event, hosted by the Corduroy Appreciation Club, is the culmination of six years of fabric near-worship. The club was founded by Miles Rohan as a tongue-in-cheek homage to secret societies, but has now grown into a semi-serious group, with chapters across the country.

The 11/11/11 event is scheduled to be “probably, likely the last” such celebration, but the cord-lovers are going out with a bang. Guests will only be admitted if they adhere to what the club calls The Three Item Rule: that is, attendees must be wearing three separate items of corduroy. The event will feature an 11 person band, an Award Ceremony for Exemplary Uses of Corduroy, a keynote address, and, most startlingly, the presentation of the Corduroy Messiah -- that is, a yet-to-be-found kid who turns 11 on that day. And then, promptly at 11:11 pm, it will be all over -- at least, until 100 years from now, when the next 11/11/11 comes around.

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