Generally, we think of tartan as the name for the cloth and plaid as the name for the particular pattern, but the words are often used interchangeably so that tartan can mean any checkered pattern and plaid can mean any checkered fabric. Plaid's original definition is 'as a woolen cloth having a checkered or tartan pattern'. It evolved to mean any such checkered or tartan pattern. Tartan's first definition is a 'woolen cloth woven in stripes of various colors at right angles to form a rectangular pattern; also, the pattern and design of such a cloth. Both words were first recored around the same, c.1500.
Plaid
Tartan is referred to as plaid in North America incorrectly. A plaid in Scotland (the country where the pattern originated) is an accessory to the kilt (traditional Scottish dress). The woven pattern is called "Tartan" everywhere outside North America
A word for a tartan skirt is plaid.
Tartan is a regular plaid pattern in a fabric, usually applied to Scottish kilts.
Tartan plaid.
plaid
According to a tartan web site the Thain tartan is a variation of the McDonald. The one pictured was with a yellow/black plaid.
A plaid
The burberry "plaid" is a tartan recognized by the Scottish Tartan Authority (WR1239). But most people confuse the terms tartan and plaid. In modern terms, a tartan is a weave of coloured threads registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority as a clan or district tartan, a national or corporate tartan, designed to denote a group of people. For example, the Scottish Parliament recently authorized the use of a new tartan to commemorate its 10th anniversary. Canada and its provinces have official and unofficial tartans to represent their populations. The tartan recognized widely as that of the province of Quebec is, in fact, a corporate tartan designed by a clothing manufacturer. Similarly, the burberry plaid was designed by the Thomas Burberry company, first for use as lining for its trenchcoats in the 1920s. It is a corporate design used in clothing manufacture but has become so popular that it is one of the most copied trademarked designs in existence. Historically a plaid had very little to do with tartans, as it was the term for a large piece of cloth worn draped by Highland men and women. Clans began to weave these cloths in patterns that came to represent membership in that group and eventually the terms became synonymous. So, the Burberry plaid is a tartan. Only in North America, though, are the terms plaid and tartan mistakenly interchanged.
Checkered of checked is an alternating pattern of solid (usually 2) colors. Plaid is a pattern of at least two colors that cross over one another. Some plaids, such as tartan plaid can have several colors. Houndstooth is a variation on the checked or checkered pattern and is considered a classic. Houndstooth is traditionally black and white.
no but cute kilts are plaid i hope you fin a cute unplaid one but i guess you will. Traditionally kilts are of a tartan (plaid) pattern, but they need not be.
If singular, "plaid." If plural, "kilts."