Corduroy is a soft, durable fabric with distinctive parallel ridges running along its surface. If you run your hand across corduroy, you'll feel raised lines, almost like tiny speed bumps going in one direction. These ridges are called wales, and they're created by weaving extra threads into the fabric so they stand up from the surface.

Corduroy became popular for pants, jackets, and shirts because it's both comfortable and tough. The ridges trap air, making corduroy warmer than smooth fabrics, which is why you often see corduroy pants in fall and winter. The fabric also wears well: corduroy pants can last for years, even with hard use.

Corduroy has been a practical choice for working people and students for over two hundred years. You can find corduroy in different wales (ridge widths): wide-wale corduroy has thick, noticeable ridges, while fine-wale or pinwale corduroy has thin, delicate ones.

People sometimes call the fabric cords for short, as in “I'm wearing my brown cords today.”