From the Runway to Your Dinner Table, Plaid Is Having a Moment

Versatile patterns like stripes, polka dots, and checks can find a place in virtually any room, at any time of year. But the same hasn’t always been true of plaid. Most often relegated to Christmas tree skirts, shelves of a Ralph Lauren store, or kilts à la Sex and the City’s Trey MacDougal, the design can get boxed in as prep-forward and sometimes stuffy. But we’re sensing a shift this season.

Plaid’s distant cousin, gingham, has been trending since the very moment cottagecore was coined. Just add in a few more lines of varying thickness and you’ve got plaid—so there’s no wonder we’re seeing it around as some shoppers look to layer in something new at home. Plus, of-the-moment fashion and home brands—from Marni to Morrow Soft Goods—are incorporating it into their Fall collections with playful twists on tradition.

Stephanie Cleary, cofounder of Morrow Soft Goods, sees plaid as a natural progression of gingham fandom. “It’s so versatile, especially when you play with color and size. It’s a classic for a reason, making it a good year-round pick,” she says. Cleary designed the brand’s Fall collection around her first-ever plaid, complete with dusty blue and brown table linens that could fit into a Thanksgiving table spread just as easily as they could a summer barbecue. There’s more where that came from, too. Below, you’ll find 29 plaid products, like a magenta mohair throw and a bold handbag, to keep out on display past Christmas. 

For Setting the Table

If there were ever a safe space to play around with mixed patterns, it would be a table setting. Whether you’re keeping it all in the plaid family or layering with, say, a wide cabana stripe napkin over Heather Taylor Home’s Harvest Plaid tablecloth, these pieces can fit right in with the rest of your linens. 

For Warming Up

From traditional tartans to magenta mohairs, the plaid blanket market offers quite a range. New from Ezcaray and featured in our gift guide, the subtle pop of electric blue in its Shetland throw is just the unexpected touch to make a classic modern. 

For Tying a Room Together

Like nailing down wallpaper, picking a patterned rug is a big decision. It’s always best to keep it classic. From rainbow colors to black and white, choose your own pattern-party adventure.

For Hanging in Your Closet 

Plaid was all over the Fall 2023 runways, from Collina Strada to Stella McCartney. Home trends often trickle down from the fashion world, so we’d be doing you a disservice not to include some wearable goods in our roundup.