Mad for Plaid

Mr. Peacock loves plaid, or should I say tartans. Every Christmas Eve in the late 1960’s, my mom would dress me in a different plaid sport coat. Here I am, on Christmas Eve, getting my red plaid jacket buttoned-up by my mom—with my dad watching in the background. My father had a very strict wardrobe palette of only solid black, gray, navy, white and occasionally a solid pastel polo shirt, but never a pattern—especially plaid! And he never wore jeans or khakis—ever. My mother, on the other hand, had a very eclectic palette and wardrobe and liked plaid and other patterns. She could wear anything, whether it was a gown or jeans—and look great. In this photo she's wearing a chic black wool cocktail dress, with a black satin ribbon tie and bow at each cuff. My dad is wearing different shades of charcoal gray from head-to-toe.

Another Christmas Eve, I'm dressed in a blue plaid jacket, red bow tie, black flannel trousers and black polished shoes—with my dad looking on. My dad is wearing a white polo, gray trousers, black cashmere socks (yes, cashmere!) and alligator shoes (he owned at least 20 pairs). How could I not grow up and be a peacock with parents who dressed like that?

The easiest way to get some plaid into your wardrobe is to start with a shirt. There are some wonderful plaid shirts available this season. Here are some favorites of mine. The Belgian fashion designer, Kris Van Assche, showed some nice pieces in his Autumn/Winter 08/09 collection. He adds a spin to classic menswear items.

Mr. Van Assche cleverly adds a faux “black necktie” along the placket of this red plaid shirt. I love it with the jeans and tuxedo inspired jacket! You can buy it here.

He takes this traditional black and white plaid shirt and pairs it with an 80’s inspired belt and black pleated trousers.

Here’s J Crew’s take on a black and white plaid shirt. It's on sale here.

This black watch plaid cotton flannel shirt is available at Woolrich for a bargain price of $39.50, right here.

I’m drooling over this shirt at Urban Outfitters, with the tuxedo shirt pleating in the front. It’s very Comme des Garcons. The blue satin ribbon detailing along the inside of the placket is a nice touch. Buy it here.

My partner, Jason, spotted this $2 wool beauty wadded up in a box of junk as we were leaving the flea market last month. I love the brown and black tones with the red highlights in this plaid.

In college, I wore a pair of flannel pajamas to a holiday party in honor of my college pal, Melissa, that was hosted by her parents. I loved those pajamas and really thought they looked like a "suit" and wore them with a dress shirt and tie. Nobody laughed directly at me, but I'm sure there were a few giggles behind my back. I don't know what I was thinking! Those plaid pj's did not look like a suit. I'm not sure what I'm wearing this Christmas Eve, but the odds are it's probably gonna to be something plaid, but not plaid pajamas—at least not until Christmas morning.