An apparatus for optically characterizing a textile sample, the apparatus comprising: a presentation subsystem comprising a viewing window, a radiation subsystem comprising a radiation source for directing a desired first radiation in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum and a desired second radiation in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum through the viewing window toward the sample, and causing the sample to produce a fluorescent radiation and a reflected radiation, a sensing subsystem comprising an imager for capturing the fluorescent radiation and the reflected radiation in an array of pixels, where each pixel records an intensity of both the fluorescent radiation and the reflected radiation at the pixel location, and a control subsystem comprising a processor for controlling the presentation subsystem, the radiation subsystem, and the sensing subsystem, and for creating a brightness image corresponding to a fluorescent and reflected radiation image containing both spectral information and spatial information in regard to the fluorescent radiation and the reflected radiation of the sample, characterized in that the control subsystem is configured to perform a pattern analysis with the fluorescent and reflected radiation image, which pattern analysis includes (a) the number of patterns found in the brightness image, (b) the total area of all patterns in the brightness image, (c) the average size of all patterns, (d) the percentage of patterns with a horizontal orientation, (e) the percentage of patterns with a vertical orientation, and/or (f) the percentage of patterns with a non-ordinal, or random, orientation. a presentation subsystem comprising a viewing window, a radiation subsystem comprising a radiation source for directing a desired first radiation in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum and a desired second radiation in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum through the viewing window toward the sample, and causing the sample to produce a fluorescent radiation and a reflected radiation, a sensing subsystem comprising an imager for capturing the fluorescent radiation and the reflected radiation in an array of pixels, where each pixel records an intensity of both the fluorescent radiation and the reflected radiation at the pixel location, and a control subsystem comprising a processor for controlling the presentation subsystem, the radiation subsystem, and the sensing subsystem, and for creating a brightness image corresponding to a fluorescent and reflected radiation image containing both spectral information and spatial information in regard to the fluorescent radiation and the reflected radiation of the sample, characterized in that the control subsystem is configured to perform a pattern analysis with the fluorescent and reflected radiation image, which pattern analysis includes (a) the number of patterns found in the brightness image, (b) the total area of all patterns in the brightness image, (c) the average size of all patterns, (d) the percentage of patterns with a horizontal orientation, (e) the percentage of patterns with a vertical orientation, and/or (f) the percentage of patterns with a non-ordinal, or random, orientation.