tattersall et al?

**MacLowlife** · 13th August 10, 08:15 PM

One theory has it that you can mix patterns, especially several different plaid/check/ tartan patterns as long as you vary the scale. Following this, you can certainly wear a tattersall shirt with a tartan kilt and, should you choose, you might easily wear a houndstooth or shepherd's check jacket as well. Of course, much depends on the size of the teeth, and the level of contrast. Mellow is generally better than garish, I believe.

As for the herringbone, I think you can wear it with a tartan kilt, so long as the contrast is fairly mild between the two shades. Many fine kilt jackets are made up in windowpane tweeds, too.

All of the above items are central to the shootin and fishin and huntin country gentleman look, as is the fair isles sweater. When wearing these in seeming random combinations, it helps to be either foggy or inbred or rich as the devil. The addition of a tartan kilt is not likely to make things much worse.

You will find discussion elsewhere of the advisability of wearing more than one tartan at the same time. Objections fall into two camps, either heraldo-tartanic ( you can only wear different tartans belonging to the same clan, not two complimentary tartans belonging to different families, even if they are all your own) or aesthetic (two plaids by definition can not "match") but there are plenty of examples of great looking outfits that break either or both of these rules.

You might finally consider the distance from which your outfit will be observed. If you are going to be on a stage or a football field, you can wear a lot of things that would make people's eyes hurt if they were across the train compartment from you. Many intricate patterns appear solid at ten feet.

Again, it helps to be rich. Or famous.