All about fashion trends > Falling for plaid: Tartan turns trendy

It appeared in the fall runway collections of designers like Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton and Tory Burch. It's no surprise: From Chanel's famous tweeds to Alexander McQueen's voluminous gowns to Tommy Hilfiger's preppy sportswear, the interplay of colors and crossing lines in a tartan weave allow designers to communicate a range of emotions. Think of the outrageous punk statements from Vivienne Westwood or the staid, aristocratic panache from Ralph Lauren.

"You can expect to see plaid on just about everything," said Jasmine Snow, the accessories editor for Seventeen Magazine. While stores are always filled with plaid in the fall, she said, this year, coats, long pencil skirts, shoes and already otherwise-printed shirts are getting the plaid treatment for crowds of all ages.