Polka dot

The polka dot, also written polkadot, and also called spot printed and spot print[1]^[2][3][4] in the United Kingdom and pois in France, is a pattern consisting of an array of large filled circles of the same size,^[5] with varying scale, distance, and foreground-background ratio (big/small dots).

Polka dots are commonly seen on

The term likely originated because of the popularity of the polka dance around the same time the pattern became fashionable, just as many other products and fashions of the era also adopted the "polka" name.^[5]

The invention of dotted patterns is believed to have happened in the

In the 19th century, European immigrants brought the Polka dance to the United States, where it exploded in popularity between 1840 and 1890. Polka clubs formed in towns across America, and their members—especially women—began wearing dotted garments as a form of identification. The color of the dots even indicated club affiliation. This was the beginning of the polka dot as a social signature, dancing its way from ballroom floors into everyday wardrobes.[9]

However, starting in middle of the 19th century, the pattern started to spread among the lower classes of society at that time, who were looking for more interesting colors and patterns but could not afford the silks of the upper classes. It was also at this time, the name “polka dots" is believed to be connected to an Eastern European dance called the polka, though the reasons behind this association are varied and mostly discredited. Before the name “polka dots” was ingrained, the dotted fabric went by various monikers, including dotted-Swiss (which possibly alludes to the holes in Swiss cheese), the Spanish name lunares, the French term quinconce, and the German word thalertupfen.^[10]

Polka dots gained popularity in the United States around the time of the Roaring Twenties, when Norma Smallwood, Miss America of 1926, wore a polka dot swimsuit, influencing the general public about the latest fad of that time. ^[11]

One of the earliest media that showcase the popularity of polka dots is the depiction of

Later in 1962, DC Comics introduced Polka-Dot Man with irregularly-sized and differently coloured dots. Polka-Dot Man made his first theatrical debut in the film The Suicide Squad directed by James Gunn. He was played by actor David Dastmalchian.

Since 1975, a red-on-white polka-dotted jersey has been awarded to the leader in the mountain classification of the annual Tour de France cycling race.^[13]

Some people associate polka dots with Venezuelan fashion designer

Much of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's work features a polka dot motif.^[15][16]

The

• 
  Frédéric Bazille's 1867 painting Family Reunion, containing two women in blue polka dot dresses
• 
  Norma Smallwood (winner of 1926 Miss America) popularized polka dots design in this publicity handsout^[21]
• 
  Title card of Plane Crazy animation which introduces Minnie Mouse wearing polka dots dress
• 
  Smiling woman wearing white dress with black polka dots
• 
  Polka dots shoes
• 
  Polish Bolesławiec ceramics
• 
  German ceramics
• 
  A plate patterned with multicoloured polka dots
• 
  Woman in red dress with white polka dots

Look up polka dot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Polka dots.

• Ben-Day dots
• Hypoestes phyllostachya
• Pardopsis punctatissima
• Polka Dot Door
• Polka-dot paint
• Stripe pattern

• Peacock, John (2007). Fashion Since 1900: The Complete Sourcebook. Thames & Hudson.
  ISBN 0-500-51345-7
• Stewart, Jude (2010). "Seeing Spots: From lepers to paranoia, the twisted history of the polka dot" Slate
• Welters, Linda and Cunningham, Patricia A. (eds.) (2005). Twentieth-century American Fashion. Berg.
  ISBN 1-84520-072-1