The Plaid Pattern

I’ve always loved a plaid. I like the way it can read as preppy or grungy, sweet or tough, depending on the styling and context. I had to include a versatile plaid in House of Caswell’s first pattern collection for that reason. Some people (like me) don’t want to feel like the same person day in and day out for our entire lives, and a plaid is always there for us, ready to be styled like whatever person we’re choosing to be next.

My own personal style has been a moving target for all of my life and I’m okay with it. I can pinpoint several distinct phases where I was doing certain activities and dressing in a certain way because that’s how I felt at the time, only to switch it all up later on when I felt differently. Some people look down on those of us who live our lives in phases, like if we don’t stay the same forever we’re not being authentic or like we’ve lost ourselves, but it isn’t like that at all. When I enter a new phase it’s because I’m allowing myself to be authentic to the moment.

That’s why a plaid print is so handy. Just because we’ve entered a new phase in life, that doesn’t mean we can afford to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe, throw out the old pieces and replace them with the new. This is where true creativity comes in, because now we have to learn how to style the old pieces in new ways to suit the new person we’re becoming. And a plaid, with it’s inherent ability to go from, say, ‘90s grunge hipster to prep school dropout, or even a sweet Southern cowgirl, if the mood strikes, allows for that type of style play.

So a plaid garment is something that, once it’s part of the wardrobe, is going to be there for a long time. It can withstand all the seasons of life with it’s versatility and ability to mix with other clothing pieces to form a new uniform, an entirely new suit of armor. A plaid garment is something that can be so old but still feel so new, over and over again.