Mad for plaid: must-have print of the season

If the thought of wearing plaid brings back dark memories of school uniforms, let it go.

One of the season's biggest trends is plaid, in various combinations and colors, and it looks nothing like the school-uniform variety.

Fall runways were on fire with plaid from designers such as Thakoon, Victoria Beckham, Vera Wang and Timo Weiland.

Deneice Phan Leigh says she ironically developed a fondness for plaid while attending an all-girls Catholic high school in Califoia and reveled in its versatility.

For fall, Leigh will wear plaid looks by designers such as Nicole Miller and Givenchy, and she's planning an all-plaid look for her Anime Matsuri tea party next month.

Leigh and her husband, John Leigh, are the founders of Anime Matsuri, an annual anime and Japanese-culture convention that attracted 20,000 people to the George R. Brown Convention Center earlier this year. The next convention is set for April 3-5.

"Plaid is actually a big trend in Japan, too," said Leigh, who owns at least 50 pieces of plaid clothing. "I wear plaid everywhere. I've done brown, green, purple, yellow, black and gray; all ranges of colors. It's just a unique pop of color and print."

Krista Burks, co-owner of KB Kasuals women's boutique in the River Oaks Shopping Center, has been selling out of the popular Rails hunter plaid shirt, $136. It's a favorite of "The Bachelor" reality star AshLee Frazier, who lives in Houston.

"I've ordered the shirt three times in white with red and blue plaid, and it keeps selling out," Burks said. "I think since a lot of celebrities and bloggers are wearing them, more people are wanting the look. Any age can wear it. It's so easy. Everyone is wearing it, even the Kardashians."

Burks, who owns the boutique with her mother, Sherlynn Burks, plans to open another store in The Woodlands next year.

The rise of plaid in the United States came in the 1920s and '40s and was revived in the 1960s, in types from argyle and gingham to glen and Madras. Argyle traces back to the Duke of Argyle in Scotland.

Refinery29, a lifestyle and fashion site, also is touting all things plaid this season, style director Connie Wang said.

"We're seeing a lot of big, graphic checks for fall - think, '70s professional instead of '90s grunge. It's oversized and color saturated, but since it appears on a lot of soft, fuzzy items like sweaters, cocoon coats and wool skirts, it doesn't feel too harsh."

Plaid also is a versatile neutral, she said. "It's one of the few prints that's easily dressed up or down, to wear to work or for going out at night. Also, since most plaids are woven together using lots of colors of thread, it's very easy to match the rest of your clothes with it."

On Saturday, Refinery29 teams up with Simon malls to host a free Shopping Block event from noon to 5 p.m. at Houston Premium Outlets, 29300 Hempstead in Cypress. The event offers trend presentations, beauty bars, a do-it-yourself station to make personalized totes inspired by fall trends and chances to win Simon gift cards.

Local boutiques, including Height of Vintage and Settlement Goods, will be on hand along with the mall's national retailers.

Unlike a lot of fashion prints, Wang said, plaid appeals to both men and women.

"How it appears and in what form it comes changes, but every fall, plaid is always part of our wardrobe formula," she said. "The patte is tied to so many subcultures and fashion movements throughout history, and full of meaning: What other print can feel East Coast-preppy, Scot-traditional, Bowery-punk, 'Clueless'-sweet and Rockies-outdoorsy, depending on the item?"

Leigh even dresses her son, Jetson, 5, in plaid bow ties and daughter, Josslyn, 2, in sweet plaid dresses.

"Plaid is to fall what florals are to spring and summer," she said.

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