Thursday, 4 August 2011

Testing the Tartan Trousers


Despite being a quarter Scottish and loving Vivienne Westwood, I've always had an issue with anything checked. My bestfriend wears his plaid like a true lumberjack but I was just a little apprehensive to see the abundance of tartan on the Autumn/ Winter runways.


Burberry Prorsum

House of Holland

























However, today I have attempted to embrace checks AND not just any checks, checked trousers-possibly my biggest fear after wasps, clowns and monobrows (I apologise to anyone sporting a single brow by the way, it really is an irrational fear).

I know exactly where my tartan trouser phobia comes from though...my mother’s wardrobe. She happens to own a pair of checked trousers, which were probably her pride and joy in the eighties but really should have stayed in that decade. The woman still chooses to wear them to walk the dog though; good on misty days when we can still see the purple and pink checks a mile off but, in ordinary light, an insult to the eyes.

Mistakenly, I allowed my mum to leave the house looking like a Scottish clown because we live in a very rural village and assumed only sheep would have to see her. I didn’t foresee the entire school Duke of Edinburgh team trekking the fields on their camping weekend! It was probably only the rucksacks full of baked beans and tent equipment which kept them from running a mile. Suffice to say she had been spotted and the purple checked trousers were noted, complete with mustard yellow jumper (from the last time around that mustard yellow was in fashion...sometime in the seventies).

I shall end this post before I get too settled in the psychiatrist’s chair and move onto the frequent waves of anxiety I have about tights sagging at the ankles.

Let me know what you think of this look. Bright colours were often paired with checks on the catwalk (take a look at House of Holland and Burberry Prorsum) but I can’t help feeling a little bit like the rejected band member of Slade.





Can you tell the difference?





Jacket-H&M-£29.99
Lace Blouse-H&M-£14.99
Trousers-River Island-£30
Pumps-Primark

You can find my latest article on checks at http://www.handbagfairy.co.uk/blog/fashion/the-plaid-parade-2/ xx
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5 comments:

  1. Gray Lavender4 August 2011 at 20:31

    Those pants are amazing!!

    http://www.sentidodelamoda.com/

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  2. Fi6 August 2011 at 06:36

    Thanks, I hardly ever wear trousers, let alone checks! I loved your Oysho polka dot crop top by the way xx

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  3. Anonymous7 August 2011 at 11:49

    Your rendition of these styles is very inspiring.

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  4. notanymore7 August 2011 at 22:42

    I like the pattern, but I think the cut is wrong. It's also obvious that care wasn't taken to match the pattern at the seams. That's usually the sign of a lower quality garment.

    In America, WASPs* often wear tartan trousers (we call them pants) and during the summer they may be in bright colors that resemble a clown costume. All of your fears at the same time!

    *WASP = White Anglo Saxon Protestant

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  5. Fi8 August 2011 at 05:46

    Absolutely! It's interesting how a uniform of sorts develops and you learn something new everyday!

    You certainly have an eye for detail too, it's a shame I cannot afford the Etro version!

    ReplyDelete

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