Couldn't very well return from a beautiful trip to Scotland without writing about tartan and plaid . . .
Tartan is associated the world over with the kilt, the national dress of Scotland, and the history of both goes hand in hand.
Tartan is a material that can be woven from many colours and was originally a sort of uniform for distinguishing the many clans in the Highlands and islands of Scotland and can be traced as far back as the middle of the 5th Century to Ireland, where the Scots originated.
The very first form of tartan is nothing like its modern day counterpart, being a type of shirt that ended just above the knee, known as léine in Irish Gaelic. It is generally accepted that it was made of linen, and although the earliest references to this garment describe it as light-coloured, it may have been of a darker yellow shade which led to the English describing it as a saffron shirt.
In later times, coloured stripes were incorporated into the léine to indicate the rank of the wearer--the first attempts at what is now known as tartan. For instance, a High King wore seven stripes, one of these being purple, the colour of royalty.
With the new abundance of a growing number of sheep herds in the land, the plaid grew from being little better than a rug to a long piece of material between 12 and 15 feet in length, which the Highlanders would pleat round their waists in folds and pull over their heads like a hood and use as a blanket at night.
By 1730 the patterns had evolved from simple stripes and patterns into what today would be called tartan, from the French word tartaine.
After the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, the English Army routed the Highlands, destroying the Highlanders' way of life, banning clan tartans and destroying cloth-making equipment, including sett-sticks. Yet even at their lowest ebb, the Highlanders rebelled, wearing trousers of their tartan, subtly woven.
Football (soccer) teams, even countries have commissioned their own tartan, emphasising the importance and emotion that the people of Scotland attach to tartan and the sense of kinship that has been an integral part of Scottish culture. 
{images: 1+2: Holt's Women's Fall 2007; rest: Dolche & Gabbana Fall 2008 RTW via Style.com; bottom, Burrberry; copy: special thanks to the BBC}
. . . have begun the momentous task of spring cleaning the closet {a little late, it's true, but where has the time gone?}, in hopes of finding a mysteriously missing pair of favourite summer wedges, but hopelessly sidetracked by christopher bailey's resort 2011 collection, with its trademark ruching and always elegant details, beautifully paired with clean lines and cinched waists and a perfect mix of rock and refined . . .
{just for fun:} access agency takes packaging design to a new level and mixes up the things we know by combining fast food + fashion . . .
. . . he has sat through countless romantic comedies and doesn't mind it when you wake him up just to tell him you can't sleep, takes beautiful photographs and makes every day feel like an adventure:
. . . ending London Fashion Week with softly falling metallic confetti, Burberry Prorsum's reinvention of the trench coat in shades of camel and nude was luxurious, short, and draped loveliness . . .
. . . and for a last look at New York, more draping at Reem Acra, mixed with soft, floaty silks and satins and handfuls of princess jewels . . .
One of my favourite things about Spring is running out the door in a light trench -- whether paired with a favourite pair of jeans or a cocktail dress, it is one item that always makes me feel hopelessly stylish and effortlessly put together . . .
{top: françoise hardy; above: kate moss}
Using his own designs for officers' coats made 13 years earlier for the War Office, Burberry added shoulder straps and metal rings to his gabardine coat, and the trench coat was created. Today the Burberry trench coat remains one of fashion's most coveted pieces.
{above: jackie, audrey, kate}
{united bamboo trench with current / elliott 70's style bell-bottoms in distressed denim at la garçonne}
{cotton A.P.C. trench paired with paul smith striped shirt and just cavalli wide-legged jeans from harrods for an elegantly cool british look}
{a gryphon trench paired with acne skinnies and a proenza schouler striped tee for a perfect parisian vibe}
A pretty, pretty chiffon camisole in the softest hue and heart-shaped cookies . . . While not everyone may be fussed about Valentine's Day, I quite adore it . . .
Buried under work and engagements, an impressive 'to-do' list, and running seriously low on beauty sleep.
Couldn't very well return from a beautiful trip to Scotland without writing about tartan and plaid . . .
{images: 1+2: Holt's Women's Fall 2007; rest: Dolche & Gabbana Fall 2008 RTW via Style.com; bottom, Burrberry; copy: special thanks to the BBC}
