To stripe a surface serves to distinguish it, to point it out, to oppose it or associate it with another surface, & thus to classify it, to verify it, even to censor it. Throughout the ages, the stripe has made its mark in mysterious ways. From prisoners' uniforms to tailored suits, a street sign to a set of sheets, Pablo Picasso to St. Joseph, stripes have always made a bold statement. But the boundary that separates the good stripe from the bad is often blurred. Why, for instance, were stripes associated with the devil during the Middle Ages? How did stripes come to symbolize freedom & unity after the Amer. & French revolutions? When did the stripe become a standard in men's fashion? Here is a colorful history of the stripe in all its variety, controversy, & connotation.