Navigating the intricate world of tartan can feel like deciphering an ancient code. With its rich history and vibrant patterns, tartan offers a unique opportunity to express personal style and heritage. However, the wrong choice can overwhelm your frame, while the right one can transform your silhouette, creating a look that is both striking and flattering. This isn’t about adhering to strict rules, but about understanding the principles of design and how they apply to your individual body shape. This guide will take you beyond simply picking a color you like and show you how to choose tartan that truly works for you, ensuring your tartan garment is a showstopper for all the right reasons.
The Foundation: Understanding Your Body Shape
Before you even begin to consider the colors or patterns of a tartan, you must first understand your own body shape. This is the cornerstone of all flattering fashion choices. Forget about sizing and focus on proportions. The goal is to create a balanced, harmonious silhouette.
The Apple Shape
Characterized by a wider midsection, a fuller bust, and narrower hips and shoulders, the apple shape benefits from drawing attention away from the waist and towards the legs and décolletage.
- Tartan Strategy: Choose tartan with vertical stripes or elongated patterns. A darker, solid-colored top with a tartan skirt or trousers can be incredibly effective. If wearing a tartan dress, opt for an A-line or empire waist style that skims over the midsection. Tartan accessories like a scarf or a subtle waistcoat can add interest without adding bulk.
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Concrete Example: A dark navy or black top paired with a Black Watch tartan skirt. The dark top minimizes the upper body, while the deep, subtle colors of the Black Watch tartan (navy, dark green, black) create a lean line without drawing attention to the hips. A long, single-breasted tartan coat with vertical lines can also be very flattering.
The Pear Shape
The pear shape is defined by wider hips and thighs, with a narrower upper body and a well-defined waist. The goal is to balance the proportions by drawing the eye upwards and adding volume to the shoulders and bust.
- Tartan Strategy: This is your chance to embrace bold, vibrant tartans on your upper body. A tartan jacket, blouse, or scarf will command attention. On the lower half, opt for darker, simpler tartans with a smaller sett (the repeating pattern block). Avoid large, busy patterns on skirts or trousers, which can add visual weight.
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Concrete Example: A striking Royal Stewart tartan blouse paired with a dark, solid-colored skirt. The bright red and complex pattern of the Royal Stewart tartan instantly draws the eye up. For a skirt, a darker, less visually busy tartan like the Hunting MacLeod, with its subdued green and blue tones, would be a better choice than a bold, bright sett.
The Hourglass Shape
The hourglass figure is known for a well-defined waist, with the bust and hips being roughly the same width. The key here is to celebrate the natural curves and waistline.
- Tartan Strategy: Almost any tartan can work for an hourglass figure. The trick is to choose styles that cinch at the waist. A tartan dress with a belt, a fitted tartan jacket, or a high-waisted tartan skirt will all highlight your best asset. You can confidently wear both bold and subtle tartans.
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Concrete Example: A full tartan dress in a vibrant, classic pattern like the Campbell of Argyll. Cinch the waist with a simple leather belt. The bold colors and structured pattern of the Campbell tartan won’t overwhelm the balanced proportions. A high-waisted tartan pencil skirt in a more muted pattern like the Gordon Dress tartan also works beautifully, emphasizing the waistline.
The Rectangle Shape
Characterized by a straight silhouette with a lack of a defined waist, the rectangle shape benefits from creating the illusion of curves.
- Tartan Strategy: Seek out tartan with dynamic, diagonal lines. This pattern can break up the straight line of the body. Peplum tops, A-line skirts, and styles that add volume to both the bust and hips are ideal. Belts are your best friend.
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Concrete Example: A tartan peplum jacket in a pattern with diagonal lines, like the MacLeod of Lewis. The peplum adds volume to the hips, while the diagonal lines create visual interest and break up the straight silhouette. A tartan skirt with a bias cut (cut on the diagonal grain of the fabric) also adds movement and the illusion of curves.
The Art of Sett and Scale: Tartan’s Secret Weapons
The “sett” is the repeating pattern of lines and colors that make up a tartan. The scale of this sett—how large or small the pattern block is—plays a critical role in how the tartan will look on your body. This is a crucial, often overlooked, detail.
Small Sett Tartans: The Lean Line
Small sett tartans, where the pattern block is compact and the lines are close together, are your go-to for creating a lean, elongated look.
- How it Works: The smaller, tighter pattern creates a sense of continuous flow, preventing the eye from getting “stuck” on a large, single block of color. This effect minimizes visual weight and is especially flattering for larger frames or for pieces where you want a more subtle statement.
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Concrete Example: The Hunting MacLeod tartan has a relatively small sett with muted green, blue, and black lines. A full-length dress or a pair of trousers in this pattern will create a long, unbroken line, making the wearer appear taller and leaner. A larger frame wearing a large sett tartan might feel overwhelmed, but a small sett will provide a sophisticated, refined look.
Large Sett Tartans: The Bold Statement
Large sett tartans, with their wide lines and expansive color blocks, are fantastic for making a bold statement and drawing attention to specific areas.
- How it Works: The prominent, repeating pattern draws the eye and can be used strategically. Large tartans are excellent for hourglass figures or for those who want to add visual volume to a specific area, like the bust or shoulders.
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Concrete Example: The Royal Stewart tartan has a large sett with vibrant red, blue, and yellow lines. A small, petite frame might be overwhelmed by a full dress in this pattern. However, using a large sett tartan in a statement piece like a jacket or a short skirt can be incredibly effective. A pear-shaped individual wearing a Royal Stewart tartan jacket will draw the eye upwards, balancing their proportions.
Color and Contrast: The Psychology of Tartan
Tartan’s beauty lies in its complex interplay of colors. The choice of colors and the level of contrast within a sett can drastically alter the perception of size and shape.
Darker, Muted Tartans: The Minimizing Effect
Tartans with a dominant dark color and low contrast between the lines and the background are excellent for a minimizing effect.
- How it Works: Dark colors recede. When the colors within a tartan are similar in tone and saturation (e.g., deep greens, blues, and blacks), the overall effect is a cohesive, unbroken block of color. This minimizes the appearance of the area where it is worn, making it an ideal choice for areas you wish to downplay.
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Concrete Example: The Black Watch tartan, a classic with deep navy, forest green, and black. A full-length Black Watch kilt or a pair of trousers creates a sleek, minimizing effect. For someone with an apple shape who wants to wear a tartan skirt, this is a much better choice than a bright, high-contrast tartan.
Brighter, High-Contrast Tartans: The Highlighting Effect
Tartans with bright, vibrant colors and a high level of contrast (e.g., bright red on a yellow background) draw the eye and highlight the area.
- How it Works: Bright colors and sharp contrasts bring an object forward visually. This is a powerful tool for highlighting areas you love.
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Concrete Example: The MacLeod of Lewis tartan is a striking example of high contrast, with a vibrant yellow background and black and red lines. A pear-shaped individual wearing a vest or a blazer in this tartan will draw the eye to their upper body. An hourglass figure can wear this confidently in a full dress, celebrating their balanced proportions.
The Cut and Drape: Beyond the Pattern
The final, and perhaps most critical, element in choosing a flattering tartan is the cut and drape of the garment itself. The tartan pattern can only do so much; the silhouette must be designed to work with your body shape.
Flattering Silhouettes for Tartan Skirts and Kilts
A-line and wrap skirts are incredibly flattering for almost all body shapes. They skim over the hips and create a clean, elegant line. The bias cut (cutting the fabric at a 45-degree angle) is a game-changer for tartan.
- Why it Works: Cutting on the bias allows the fabric to stretch and drape beautifully. The tartan lines, instead of running straight up and down, will run on a diagonal, creating a lengthening and slimming effect. This is particularly effective for rectangle and pear shapes as it adds movement and the illusion of curves.
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Concrete Example: A Black Watch tartan kilt with deep pleats and a structured waistband is a classic. However, for a more modern, figure-flattering look, a bias-cut A-line skirt in the same tartan will offer a softer drape and a more forgiving silhouette for a wider range of body types.
Flattering Silhouettes for Tartan Jackets and Coats
The cut of a tartan jacket can make or break your look. Single-breasted, tailored jackets with a strong shoulder line are universally flattering.
- Why it Works: A single-breasted cut with a single row of buttons creates a clean, uninterrupted line down the front of the body, which is elongating. A strong shoulder line broadens the top of the body, balancing out wider hips and creating a more powerful silhouette.
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Concrete Example: A single-breasted blazer in a bright, large sett tartan like the Lindsay tartan. This would be a perfect choice for a pear-shaped individual who wants to draw the eye to their upper body. The single-breasted cut avoids adding any unnecessary width across the chest and waist.
Flattering Silhouettes for Tartan Dresses
Dresses offer the ultimate canvas for a tartan. An empire waist, A-line, and wrap dresses are your best friends.
- Why it Works: An empire waist dress cinches right below the bust, creating a high waistline that elongates the lower body and skims over the midsection, making it ideal for apple shapes. An A-line dress flares out gently from the waist, balancing wider hips. A wrap dress, with its V-neckline and adjustable waist, is a universally flattering style that accentuates the waistline.
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Concrete Example: A wrap dress in a muted, small sett tartan like the MacGregor hunting tartan. The wrap style, with its adjustable waist, will flatter an hourglass or rectangle shape by creating the illusion of a cinched waist and a balanced silhouette. The muted colors of the hunting tartan ensure the dress is sophisticated and not overwhelming.
Layering and Accessories: The Finishing Touches
Tartan doesn’t always have to be the main event. Strategic use of tartan through accessories and layering can add a touch of personality and flair without overwhelming your frame.
The Power of a Tartan Scarf or Shawl
A tartan scarf or shawl is one of the most versatile and impactful tartan accessories. It can be a subtle nod to your heritage or a bold splash of color.
- How to Choose: If you are a pear shape, a bright, high-contrast tartan scarf will draw the eye upwards, balancing your proportions. For an apple shape, a scarf can add a vertical line of color when draped down the front of the body, creating an elongating effect.
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Concrete Example: A striking Royal Stewart tartan scarf worn with a dark, solid-colored coat. The vibrant scarf becomes the focal point, drawing the eye upwards and away from the body’s lower half.
The Subtle Impact of a Tartan Accessory
Small, carefully chosen tartan accessories can make a big difference. Think about a tartan handbag, shoes, or a subtle tie.
- How to Choose: The size and placement of the accessory are key. A bold tartan handbag will draw attention to where it is held. A subtle tartan tie or a pocket square can add a sophisticated pop of color without dominating the look.
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Concrete Example: A simple, solid-colored suit with a MacLean of Duart tartan tie. The vibrant red and green lines of the tartan will add a touch of personality and visual interest to a classic outfit without overwhelming the wearer’s frame.
Conclusion
Choosing a tartan that flatters your silhouette is not a mystery reserved for fashion insiders. It’s a matter of understanding the basics of design: body shape, scale, color, and cut. By applying these principles, you can confidently navigate the vast world of tartan and select a pattern that not only honors its rich history but also celebrates your unique body. Whether you opt for a bold, statement-making jacket or a subtle, sophisticated accessory, the right tartan will enhance your natural beauty and ensure your style is both timeless and effortlessly chic.