Wearing Tartan Shirts with Suiting

Each holiday season presents the perfect opportunity to don tartan, that traditional pattern with Scottish origins and a distinctly cozy vibe. While it’s easy enough to don a thick tartan shirt under a solid-colored sweater, it gets a little trickier when considering how to make it live in harmony with a suit or sportcoat.

Or is it? For starters, apply the same rule to suits and sportcoats as you would with a sweater: balance the loud, striking pattern with a solid, neutral color such as navy or grey.  

When you consider accessories, try for ties and pocket squares that will compliment, rather than clash with, the pattern. For instance, a solid green tie paired with a blackwatch tartan will harmonize with and highlight the green of the tartan. A white pocket square will do the job (as always), but for that extra 10% try wearing a pocket square tipped with a color found somewhere in the tartan.