Tartan - The Story of a Pattern

For Ralph Lauren, tartan is not just a fabric. It is a way of life." So wrote The New York Times in 1991, a year which saw Mr. Lauren unveil a mahogany highboy with plaid drawers part of a nine-piece furniture collection inspired by his personal 19th-century Scottish trinkets. The statement was equally apt in 1971, when Mr. Lauren introduced his first suit for women, in a stunning Fraser Hunting pattern, and in 1993, when he unveiled a line of luggage and leather goods in a delectable Black Watch tartan.Not to mention 2015, when plaid throw pillows dotted the banquettes of The Polo Bar on opening night, or 2022, with plaid shirts featuring in Polo's Holiday 2022 collection.

 

 

Not to mention 2015, when plaid throw pillows dotted the banquettes of The Polo Bar on opening night, or 2022, with plaid shirts featuring in Polo's Holiday 2022 collection.

 

Ralph Lauren Home Collection 1992 

 

Forever at the intersection of irreverent rebellion and buttoned-up nobility, this interwoven print remains unwaveringly stylish it' coincidence that both Johnny Rotten and King Charles III consider it a

closet staple. It has captivated Scotland since clans in the Highlands began dyeing wool fabrics to mark their identities 500 years ago.

Banned by the government after the clan system was blamed for the Jacobite rising of 1745, it wasn't until the 19th century that tartan began to reappear (thanks in large part to King George IV, who became the first monarch to visit Edinburgh in two centuries and requested the Scots wear tartan for the occasion). Today, there are some 3,000 distinct patterns, called setts, on the Scottish Register of Tartans.

 

king George IV

 

And though the term itself has a disputed origin the most popular theory is that it hails from the Scots-Irish words tuar and tan, meaning color and district respectively -one thing about tartan remains undisputed: Both rakish and versatile, it's a cornerstone of timeless style.

 

A SHORTGUIDE TO THE(LONG) HISTORY OF TARTAN

STEWART

The best known among them, this is famously the personal tartan of Queen Elizabeth II. In theory, it could only be worn with express permission from Her Majesty.

 

MACWILLIAM

A relative newcomer, MacWilliam was first recorded in 1880 in a French pattern book -a variation of the MacKay tartan from 1813, itself a variation on the Gunn.

 

GORDON

There is a range of tartans that go by Gordon, but all share a navy, green, and yellow colorway, and virtually all honor the 92nd Regiment of the British Army a unit first raised in response to the French Revolution.

 

BLACK WATCH

Among the oldest tartans, Black Watch is a dark blue and-green sett named for the Highlanders' nickname for the local police force.

 

FARQUHARSON

Dating to the 1770s, this Black Watch variant adds subtle red-and-yellow stripes to the familiar black-and-green pattern.

 

 

*(highboy is a piece of furniture including a chest of drawers and a wardrobe on top. It consists of a double chest of drawers, with the lower part usually wider than the upper)

 

Which and your favorite tartan pattern?

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