Polka dot

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

Polka dots are commonly seen on children's clothing, toys, furniture, ceramics, and Central European folk art, but they appear in a wide context. The pattern rarely appears in formal contexts and is generally confined to more playful attire such as bathing suits and lingerie.

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.

The invention of dotted patterns is believed to have happened in the Middle Ages, but because of a lack of fabric machines and modern medicine, the pattern of irregularly spaced dots made people think of the rashes caused by diseases like leprosy, syphilis, smallpox, bubonic plague, and measles. Hence, the pattern was associated with plague and uncleanliness. The modern version of polka dots is believed to have become widespread during the Industrial Revolution (c. 1760) and the invention of the first sewing machine (in 1790), when perfectly round and evenly spaced dots could be created because of mechanized weaving.

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.

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.

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.

One of the earliest media that showcase the popularity of polka dots is the depiction of Minnie Mouse, the dots were left out in films because they were difficult to animate, but her spotted skirt was drawn in still images. The character started wearing an iconic red dress with white polka dots in the 1928 title card animations of the short film Plane Crazy.