polka dot | LittleRetronome

Many Estonians remember those characteristically orange-red color polka dot dishes from their childhood and these dishes have become extremely popular recently. Nothing surprising in that, polka dot dishes are really eye-catching and cute.

Polka dot dishes were manufactured by several Soviet and Russian faience factories (Riga Porcelain Factory, Borislavsky Porcelain Factory, Poltava Porcelain Factory etc), starting from 1960s.

But polka dot pattern first appeared in the clothing fashion around 1750s on Switzerland where the sheer cotton fabric embellished with small dots was created. This fabric is known as Dotted Swiss or Swiss Dot. Switzerland emerged as a textile center already in the 15th century.
At the end of the 18th century polka dot fabric won the ladies’ hearts in France, as the light speckled fabric was perfect for creation of airy Empire styled dresses, in which the dress had a fitted bodice ending just below the bust, giving a high-waisted appearance, and a gathered long skirt.
Polka dots became common on clothing in the late nineteenth century in the United Kingdom.

The triumph of the polka dots continued also on the 20th century when the famous fashion designers offered their dots-inspired creations to the rich and well- knowns. On the 1930s, the dotted pattern´s popularity was contributed by Minnie Mouse character and her charming red polka dot dress and matching bow. Also, Shirley Temple’s white dress with red dots from the “Stand Up and Cheer” became every girl´s dream. Throughout the 1930s, polka dot dresses appeared in stores, the fabric suddenly subversive, nipped in by ribbons and accentuated with bows. Marilyn Monroe was famously photographed wearing a polka dot bikini, in 1951. In 1962, DC Comics introduced Polka-Dot Man with irregularly-sized and differently coloured dots. In 1965, Bob Dylan wore a large print green polka dot shirt on the EP “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”. There are plenty of examples of how famous the dotted pattern had became.

On the 1950s and 1960s the “polka dot mania” had spread everywhere and apart in clothing were found in different sizes and colors on interior decorations and houseware
utensils. Also, the Soviet Union kept up with the rest of the world in this matter and some of the progressive ceramic artist`s polka dot ornamented designs became a major sales hit all over the USSR. Wide range of dotted dish sets were produced on the 1960s and 1970s by such Soviet faience factories as Riga
Porcelain Factory, Borislavsky Porcelain Factory, Poltava Porcelain Factory and others. There were white dishes with red, orange and green dots, also a red and green
items with white dots. Polka dot dishes, tins and pots were very popular and almost every Soviet family had some of these designs in their homes. And many still do.