A Very Scottish Autumn

I'm going to openly admit that by saying tartan I mean plaid. But the fashion community likes to make even the most approachable pattern inaccessible and thus we have tartan.  But this grandiose vocabulary harkens back to the knitted cloth highlander clans claimed, and these patterns were called setts. All I'm really waiting for is the day when Sarah Burton or Nicholas Ghesquiere coins this term as the new plaid. Naturally, I'm going to try to claim royalties. 

But enough from this pseudo-Historian. Today, we're seeing this pattern everywhere, and it has been especially prominent in the collections of both fall 2013 and 2014. As illustrated above, every echelon of branding has their own take on the cold-weather classic. Stella McCartney is very obviously on board with a first-class ticket - don't mind me, I'm just pining away for the earlier picture of that mohair pull-over. 

And don't think for a second that tartan hasn't taken over the accessories market as well. I'm sure we've all seen Céline's contributions, the tartan slip-ons and the leather-combination luggage tote. But above are some other options from the likes of Mango to more Stella McCartney. 

Shown are the Fall 2013 collections from the following designers, each with their own take on the beloved pattern (clockwise); Creatures of the Wind, Creatures of the Wind, Phillip Lim, Karen Walker, Emerson, and Gryphon. 

I cannot wait to pull ideas from these collections and make plaid- ahem, excuse me, tartan my own. And I've already seen even the most artless attempts at this fall trend - I'm looking at you mock-grunge teens with your boyfriends flannels wrapped around your American Apparel cut-offs. 

Going Incognito

There was a sunny day this weekend! I knew this days in advance, due to my constant checking of the weather app, so I already planned on spending it outdoors, soaking up the rays (through layers upon layers of clothing, mind you) and the dirty New York air. We headed to Washington Square park, which was swarming with people, and their happy looking dogs who were probably just excited to be outside free of their sweaters, raincoats, and little snowshoes. I wore my rubber-soled wedges just in case I found myself having to traipse through melting slush, but happily there ended up being little trace of the snowstorm from the day before. 

I was really feeling the theme of leather accents, with the paneling on the sides of the leggings, the sleeves of my coat, and the brim of the hat. If I didn't look enough like a boy already, I layered a flannel over a plain black long sleeve t-shirt for extra warmth and dimension to the outfit.

This (relatively) warm day proved to be a teaser for the hopefully fast approaching sunny days that will have us shedding our wool coats and 5-layer ensembles in favor of short shorts and open-toed shoes.

Hat: Sandro// Sunglasses: H&M// Coat: Zara// Flannel: Vintage// Shirt: J.Crew// Leggings: H&M// Shoes: Cheap Monday