OLD RUGBY RALPH LAUREN BUFFALO PLAID SWEATER COAT / FREE PEOPLE ‘FRENCH COURTSHIP ‘ SLIP DRESS / RAG & BONE ‘HARROW’ BOOTIES / RAY BAN WAYFARERS / REBECCA MINKOFF STUDDED WALLET PURSE

There is something about Buffalo Plaid I have just always loved. I think it’s the simplified plaid layout that screams classic and outdoorsy, rather than classic tartan or preppy. And the color. It also just reminds me of pretty winter, in the same way Fairisle does.

Did you ever wonder the history of Buffalo Plaid and where that moniker came from? Wonder no more, I googled it for you. It’s a pretty good story, Let me spin you the web…

Buffalo Plaid is in actuality, the ‘MacGregor Tartan’, one of the oldest tartans dating back to the 8th century. A symbol of the famous MacGregor clan, who were descendents of royalty but also ferocious and often lawless warriors. The MacGregors liked to stir up trouble and make enemies, and in 1603 they pissed off the wrong guy, and King James VI issued a warrant to kill all MacGregors across the highlands of Scotland. From there most changed their names or emigrated to Canada, including one Jock McClusky (née MacGregor). Jock eventually made it down from Canada to America in the late 1800s, bringing all of his MacGregor tartan clad belongings with him. Jock made a name for himself across Montana and the Dakotas and earned the respect of the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian tribes for his brute strength and hunting skills as well as his compassion for their cause, due to his own clan’s history back in Scotland. McClusky began bartering with the Indians, often trading his tartan woven blankets for buffalo pelts. Legend has it that the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes loved the bright rich red of the tartan, which they believed to be a sorcerer’s hex: a dye made from the spirit blood and souls of McClusky’s war enemies. They believed the tartan was his spirit guardian in battle, granting immortality that they too hoped to gain from wearing the tartan. From there it took on the name ‘buffalo plaid’ for the trading of buffalo pelts. The term and plaid gained popularity across America when Paul Bunyan debuted wearing it in 1916, and from then on it became a symbol of the rugged and heroic outdoors man. So there you have it, buffalo plaid. Pretty interesting right?

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