Where does Serge come from?

Serge comes from France, Mediterranean, where it dates to the Middle Ages.

Plate No. 045fabric

The uniform and suiting standard.

First documented: Middle Ages
Origin: Mediterranean, France
Fiber: wool
Weave: 2/2 twill
Family: twills

Plate No. 045 · fabric

Serge

Serge is a smooth, hard-wearing 2/2 wool twill with a clear diagonal visible on both faces. It is the great uniform cloth of history: armies, navies, police forces, and school tailors all settled on serge because it holds a press, sheds wear, and dyes to deep solid colors. Blue serge in particular became shorthand for the respectable suit. Denim owes it a debt by name, serge de Nimes clipped to denim, though the two cloths parted ways in fiber and construction.

Illustration: a naval clothing stores, rows of dark blue uniforms on racks, a porthole's round light, folded collars on a counter — A naval clothing stores, rows of dark blue uniforms on racks, a porthole's round light, folded collars on a counter.

Named for

From the Latin serica, silken cloth, by way of Old French sarge; the name traveled from silk to the sturdy wool twill that kept it.

Common questions

What is Serge made of?: Serge is a smooth, hard-wearing 2/2 wool twill with a clear diagonal visible on both faces.
Where does Serge come from?: Serge comes from France, Mediterranean, where it dates to the Middle Ages.
What is Serge named after?: From the Latin serica, silken cloth, by way of Old French sarge; the name traveled from silk to the sturdy wool twill that kept it.