If It's Not Scottish, It's Crap! (Or, Still a Tad Mad for Plaid)

 

Guinness is celebrating its 250 anniversary with a special Anniversary Stout. However, an even better way to party, we think, is of course with fashion - especially anything plaid. The fact is, the Irish aren't only responsible for one of the most beloved beers in the world, but tartan too. It was the early Celts who donned the original tartan, wearing the woven checkered or striped cloth which arrived in Britain along with the Iron Age - the 5th to 6th C. BC - and the Celtic Scoti, or Scots from Ireland.

The earliest example actually dates back to the 3rd C. AD, where a swathe of the Falkirk tartan, an undyed brown and white woolen check, was used to protect a buried pot of silver coins. As for the word itself, there is speculation that it variously derives from tarsna (Irish for "crosswise"), tarsuinn ("across" in Scottish Gaelic), or, most likely, tiretaine - a French word for a wool/linen blend. Although Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) and his band of ragtag Highlanders (Jacobites) lost their rebellion against the English in the 1746 Battle of Culloden, by wearing tartans into battle, Charlie and his troops were instrumental in creating the enduring modern myth of the great Clan Tartans. 

And the difference between tartan and plaid? 

Effectively, there really is none at this point; technically, however (and there's always a technically), tartan refers to the design, while the material itself is plaid.

WHERE TO SNAG THE CUTE, AFFORDABLE PIECES AT TOP:

1. Corey Lynn Calter zipper-front dress
2. Bettye Muller pumps
3. wool duffle
4. lightweight men's scarf
5. GapKids Buffalo plaid cap
6. red plaid doggie coat
7. DKNY Jeans jacket

- Lesley Scott

(images: Falkirk tartan photo; illustration)

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