What cloth pattern has rows of V shapes resembling a fish skeleton?

The cloth pattern with rows of V shapes resembling a fish skeleton is herringbone.

Herringbone, also called broken twill, is made by reversing the direction of a twill weave at regular intervals. That interruption produces a broken zigzag of V shapes, visually recalling the bones of a herring. Wool herringbone is especially common in suits, jackets, coats, and tweed.

The pattern is related to, but not identical with, a simple chevron. A chevron forms a continuous zigzag, whereas herringbone has a visible break where the diagonal twill changes direction. The same visual arrangement also appears in flooring, masonry, wallpaper, shoe soles, and other design fields.

Herringbone is much older than modern tailoring. Archaeological examples include wool textiles from the Alps dating to roughly 800–500 BC, fabric from Pompeii in 79 AD, and an illustrated textile from Antinoöpolis in Greece dated to about 130 AD. In the 20th century, cotton herringbone twill was also used for military fatigue uniforms.