Take Up The Tartan Trend At Mad For Plaid

Go full-kilt into the Cleveland History Center’s Mad For Plaid, where fashion’s most versatile fabric takes the runway.

The June 1 exhibit at the Western Reserve Historical Society takes a deep dive into plaid’s origins and connections to social trends, tracing the tartan’s popularity with everyone from punks, blue-collar workers and prepsters to the gaggle of bearded hipsters at your local brewery.

“[The exhibit] covers the beginnings of when plaid became a fashion trend in the 1850s, and that was the influence of Queen Victoria,” says Patricia Edmonson, the museum advisory council curator of costume and textiles at the Western Reserve Historical Society. “People were wearing plaid before that, but it really became a fad for the first time.”

Trace the textile’s evolution by examining items such as George Clinton’s vest, 1800s dresses and family kilts and the high-fashion interpretations of Alexander McQueen.

Honor your North Coast clan by admiring the brown-and-orange Pride of Cleveland kilt, a special garment designed for the exhibit by Cleveland-based Kilted Bros.

Just don’t be surprised if you hear a Braveheart battle cry before you leave the exhibit.

10825 East Blvd., Cleveland, 216-721-5722, wrhs.org