Plaid may be an ancient pattern (its actually 3,000 years old), but it’s certainly not out of style. In fact, it is very in style these days. Back in March of this year Women’s Wear Daily wrote that plaid would be trending for Fall/Winter 2020/2021. A month before that Vogue wrote that plaid patterns were being seen all of the streets of Paris. This holiday season plaid is it! So here’s my Holiday Style: Plaid Edition.
A Little Plaid History
In 1978 a 3,000 year old plaid clad mummy was discovered in China. What’s interesting about the mummy (beside the fact that it exists) is that it was a man of Caucasian descent, which is odd considering the location of its discovery was in central China. Anyway, the mummy was wearing plaid and as of today it’s the oldest discovery of the print ever.
Most of us associate plaid with Scotland, which is where today’s fashion plaids get their inspiration. In Scotland the technical word for plaid is tartan. Tartan’s evolved out of the need for warm outer-wear in the bitterly cold winters of Scotland. The first tartans were heavy cloaks fastening with a broach at the shoulder. Back then people could only get their clothing from locally made sources. Weavers would use dyes from plants that they could find locally. So, over time tartan cloaks that had a distinct regional look developed and people were able to identify were others were from by the type of tartan they wore. Eventually, these regional plaids developed into clan plaids, or family plaids. Click here for more info on official Scottish clan tartans.
Plaid for the Holiday Season
Now you know plaid is in “vogue” this holiday season, and you know it’s at least 3,000 years old! I’d say that’s a pretty good assertion that plaid is a classic and isn’t going anywhere in the style world!
I’ve linked some great plaids below for you (and your kids) so you can look fabulous this holiday season!
For more holiday fun click here, to read my Holiday Gift Guide for Her.
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