Trend Alert: Black Watch Plaid Outfits

Plaid has been a big part of the fall and winter fashion scene, and black watch plaid is especially popular. You can find this pattern in anything from scarves to socks to sweaters to dresses to blazers–the list goes on. It’s a lovely dark plaid that you can wear in many ways. Better yet, it pairs beautifully with lots of pieces in your closet. Just like these two black watch plaid outfits I’m styling today.

Actually, the piece I’m styling is a sweater blazer, a version of the blazer that is a bit lighter as it is made with a knit fabric. For my climate, this is a good alternative to the wool blazer. I first chose a wool blazer that was beautifully made but a bit too wooly for me and quite heavy. The knit sweater is called Highland Plaid and is a version of the black watch pattern. But, honestly, almost any black watch plaid sweater or blazer is a great piece to add to your wardrobe.

Black Watch Plaid

The History of Black Watch Plaid

In the post, Plaid Midi Dress and Booties for Fall, I wrote a short piece about the history of plaid. I briefly mentioned black watch plaid. To revisit, this plaid was named after the Black Watch regiment of the British Army. Known as the “Black Watch,” they were employed following the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 to rid the Scottish Highlands of criminals and rebels as well as to quash the clans. Any fans of Outlander are well aware of the Black Watch! They wore tartan of the same name.

Black Watch Plaid Outfits

The plaid sweater I’m featuring was on sale at Talbots and is part of a very large selection of pieces in black watch plaid. They are clearing out their winter pieces, like almost every other store, and gearing up for spring, so most of these items are going fast.

Black Watch Plaid Sweater | Bootcut Jeans | Wedge Booties (on sale!) | White Tee

Here are a few bargains in black watch plaid you can still pick up if you act fast:

For this first outfit, I’m styling the sweater simply with bootcut jeans and a white tee. Really, is there anything simpler? And more stylish. The colors in this plaid are easy to wear with black, navy, and many shades of green and or all look amazing with denim. It would be a great sweater jacket for work, too, with a pair of slacks or a skirt.

If you want to just dip your toe in the black watch plaid wave, try a scarf. How many of you already have a tartan plaid scarf? I’ll bet many of you.

Sweater Dress (on Clearance!)

For the second outfit, I’m styling this soft scarf with a basic black sweater dress. You may recall it from the post, Easy-to-Style Sweater Dress with Sneakers and Boots.  You can see how just adding a scarf to this basic black dress winterizes the look.  And makes it so much warmer! The marbled green earrings are sold out, but I’ve linked to some cute marbled green hoops.

If it seems like I’ve gone whole hog (what an expression–yikes!) over plaid, it’s true. Maybe I should say, I’ve gone mad about plaid? There are so many cute patterns and colors to choose from. And the many pieces available make adding plaid to any outfit so easy. If for some reason you don’t yet have a black watch plaid piece, be sure to give it a try.