INTRODUCTION

As much as I love plaid and check patterns, polka dots patterns will always bring great joy to my heart. For example, I will smile or even laugh whenever I see them or think about them. Therefore when I see clothes or home decor in polka dots, I find it irresistible to buy them.

APPEAL

I was very curious to learn about the history of my beloved pattern since the only thing I knew about polka was a dance named the polka.

As a matter of fact, I wondered if there was any correlation between the two, the dance and the pattern.

Therefore, an online search should answer my question. But even before an answer to its history, I got side tracked.

It is undeniable that it has been very popular. Although one critic insisted that the pattern was childish, polka dots clearly have a much wider appeal than just to children.

The pose of Marilyn Monroe above in a two piece polka dots pattern bathing suit attests to the most outstanding quality of this pattern. That is its appeal to adults not just children. Similar to it is the appeal of the photo below of Victoria Silvstedt. Even more so, her polka dots bikini barely covers her.

MORE (OR LESS)

“Strutting her stuff: Victoria Silvstedt, who has worked with top designers including Chanel, Christian Dior and Valentino, looked incredible in the bandeau bikini which did little to contain her assets.”

Quote from The Daily Mail

MUSIC

Let’s Have A Party Polka – Walter Ostanek, Brian Sklar and Western Senators – Polkarama! from Youtube.

HISTORY OF THE POLKA DOT PATTERN

From PBS NewsHour: “At the Hirshhorn Museum, visitors are lining up to experience Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s world of whimsy, color, shapes and a peek into the beyond. Jeffrey Brown tells us why this new exhibit is currently the toughest ticket in Washington, D.C.”

 

CONCLUSION

Designs with Polka dots range from the most simple like a pattern of dots to the sublime and complex such as Yayoi Kusama – Obsessed with Polka Dots | Tate

“The nine decades of artist Yayoi Kusama’s life have taken her from rural Japan to the New York art scene to contemporary Tokyo, in a career in which she has continuously innovated and re-invented her style.” YouTube

 

SOURCES & RESOURCES

Art and Life in Africa – An exhibit at the U of IOWA

SEEING SPOTS: From lepers to paranoia: The twisted history of the polka dot from Slate.

Busty Victoria Silvstedt shows off her ample cleavage and pert derrière in polka-dot bikini as she makes a splash in St Barts

Where did the polka dots get their name and why: a brief history from legit.ng

History of polka Dots from Suzy Quilts

The Polka Dot History from South Sound Magazine

The history of the Polka dot from 425 Magazine

Polka Dot History from Cosmopolitan

Yayoi Kusama – Obsessed with Polka Dots | Tate

Priestess of Polka Dots – Yayoi Kusama