Tartan is a beautiful fabric that's there to be embraced - but less is always more.
I once saw a bride having her photograph taken in the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow. One half of her dress – the “skirt” part – was beautiful: off-white, diaphanous layers of silk. But the top half, oh, the top half … well, it was a cherry-red tartan bodice. And when she turned round, I discovered it had a huge green tartan bow at the back.
Yikes. Don’t get me wrong, she was beautiful – all brides are beautiful, are they not? – but, in my opinion, this dress was the epitome of what not to wear.
That said, tartan does appear on the fashion catwalks from time to time, and it usually looks rather cool. But, as ever, moderation must be borne in mind when translating this to reality because, simply put, an overuse of tartan is plain wrong.
Most often, this is seen in twee country house-type Highland hotels aiming to appeal to foreigners expecting the whole shebang – tartan curtains, cushions and carpets.
For years this turned me off tartan in my own home. But perhaps it was the gentle filtering down of the catwalk tartan trend to the home interiors market, the subtle reinvention it’s had from savvy designers and craftspeople, or the chic, modern reworking knowledgeable interior designers have given it in stylish venues – but now I love it.
The blend of colours it offers is widespread, the texture unparalleled and the contrast it provides against other fabrics is rich and quirky as well as comfortable and homely.
My favourite forms for tartan are accessories, and when design-conscious shops such as BoConcept are doing tartan – in the form of a brilliant pink, lime and black cushion – you know it’s a green light for go. Just remember, tartan is a beautiful fabric that’s there to be embraced – but less is always more.
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