Style the Trend: Tartan + Statement Sleeves

Tartans and Checks are a pattern that have been part of my life; I have a Scottish background and having grown up in a predominately Irish area, I’m familiar with this trend and have seen it styled in more ways than one.

On my recent trip to Newfoundland, I was inspired by the Autumn foliage and the Thanksgiving holiday traditions of family to create this post. Instead of the typical plaid trend for Autumn, check blazers and tartan patterns have been popping up on the runways, each with a different take on the trend.

Tartans are bold patterns to begin with, and during the A/W ’17 collections, tartan was seen in accessories or as pieces that can be muted down such as skirts and blazers. I wanted to take this trend, and make it personalized by adding my family’s tartan pattern- I purchased this tartan from a local store in Niagara-On-The-Lake, The Scottish Loft, two years ago for a Christmas gift for my mother. If you’re not familiar with tartans, they are a part of Scottish culture to signify which family clan you belonged to, with each family having a different pattern and colour scheme.

What I love most about this look, is that I’m able to incorporate a bold pattern with a statement sleeve sweater without it being too much for either piece, resulting in an overall look that dresses up the otherwise basic sweater and scarf look.