Peruse these stores’ shelves. Browse their websites. What is the common bond that ties all the stores together?
It’s not the clothing styles. It’s not the customer base. It’s a simple fabric pattern. It’s plaid.
Men's Cotton Shirt from Urban Outfitters
The fashion world agrees.
Each week on Vogue magazine’s website, fashion editors compile a “most wanted” list. On the list for the week of November 12? No less than 3 plaid items. A beige and blue plaid shirt dress by Pamela Robbins, a brown plaid hunting cap by Victor Osborne and a blue and red plaid dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs.
In a November 5 posting of her blog, “Slaves to Fashion,” GLAMOUR magazine’s Executive Fashion Editor at Large, Suze Yalof Schwartz posted about “4 Pretty Ways to Wear Plaid.”
Rather than just 4 ways, in actuality there are a plethora of possibilities for wearing plaid.
Try a look that is pulled together, yet still casual, as The Hills star Kristin Cavallari demonstrates.
Kristen Cavalleri shopping on October 20
Her tucked in button up paired with skinny jeans and heels was InStyle magazine’s “Pick of the Day” for October 25.
Or go with a more conservative look, as Ami Shupe, High Point University associate professor of theatre, demonstrates.
Professional Plaid
Her plaid is known as “buffalo plaid,” which is characterized by broad checks and two colors, usually red and black.
Even a black tie event is possible with plaid. In an upscale fabric such as taffeta or silk, plaid is appropriate for a formal event. Actor and style icon Sarah Jessica Parker proves this at a charity event last January.
Sarah Jessica Parker in Plaid Formal Ware
To be exact, Sarah Jessica Parker is proving tartan, not plaid, is doable as a formal ware pattern.
Yes, there is a difference between tartan and plaid. All tartans are plaid, but not all plaids are tartan.
For example, the luxury British fashion house Burberry, has a distinctive plaid pattern as their trademark. This symbol is in fact not authentic tartan plaid. It’s just a plaid, or check.
Why? Because Burberry is a British company, not Scottish.
According to Jeffrey Banks, designer, tartan collector and co-author of the new book, Tartan: Romancing the Plaid, the fabric has to be Scottish in origin in order to be considered a tartan.
Being Scottish is not the only requirement for a plaid to be a tartan.
In a CBS interview with correspondent Erin Moriarty, Banks said of tartan, "You can take it and literally turn it upside down and it will look exactly the same, right side up or upside down."
Anything that does not do this is just a plaid, or a check. Not an authentic tartan.
In photo after photo of Tartan, the book weighs nearly 6 pounds; Banks and co-author Doria de La Chapelle trace the trajectory of plaid. They follow the pattern from its beginnings in the 5th century Ireland, to its current status as choice fashion fabric of the stars.
Tartan originally became most prominent in Scotland, after Irish settled there, bringing tartan with them. The patterned fabric was used to distinguish the many clans who resided in the highlands and the islands of the country. Eventually colored stripes were incorporated into the pattern to signify the rank of the wearer. A high king, for example, would have a tartan with 7 stripes, one of which being purple, the color of royalty.
In the early 1900s, tartan had become popular with men and women of the British aristocracy. With this new found trend came an air of exclusivity to whoever wore the pattern.
In response to this stuffy feel, plaid has become the pattern of choice for rebellious groups throughout the years. It was used for statements from punk rock fans during the days of the Sex Pistols, to grunge fans in Seattle and beyond during Nirvana’s reign.
In more recent years, plaid has been popular with artsy hipsters who use thrift stores as their clothing shops of choice. Walk into any second hand store, and you are certain to find a wide variety of plaid shirts.
But today, it is a wide variety of people who wear plaid. No longer are people wearing it to rebel, or to show off their status.
Simply put, they’re just wearing it.
Spencer Hatcher, an HPU senior from Hagerstown, Md., is one such person. The 21 year old has a history of adventurous dressing. In high school, she once wore a tie dye cat collar, complete with tiny silver bell, as a fashion statement. She doesn’t always know why she thinks something is stylish.
“I don’t know why I like plaid, to be completely honest,” Spencer says, “I like the colors, I guess.”
Showing off everyday plaid
Whatever it is that draws her to the print, she is a loyal follower, owning at least 4 different plaid shirts. One is a typical button down, another has a more western style, another has an empire waist and bell sleeves, and one, which she stole from her mother, has a ruffle down the front.
“I guess I enjoy feeling like a lumberjack,” she jokes, surveying her pile of plaid.
No longer are lumberjacks the sole purchasers of plaid. Whether authentic tartan, plaid or check, it’s a popular pattern that’s attracting the masses.
For More Information on Plaid:
A couple formatting things got messed up...what's in small type is supposed to be captions. Thank you!
ReplyDelete