The glen plaid — history and character
The pattern takes its name from Glen Urquhart in the Scottish Highlands, where it was woven by the estate workers of the Countess of Seafield in the nineteenth century. The Prince of Wales — the future Edward VIII — wore it extensively in the 1920s and 1930s, making it internationally fashionable and forever associated with that particular combination of royal ease and Savile Row formality.
The pattern is complex in its weaving but subtle in its effect. Most colourways are variations on charcoal and cream, navy and ivory, or brown and cream — all of which read as conservative professional choices while offering considerably more interest than a plain cloth. An overcheck — a thin stripe of colour laid over the primary pattern — is a common variation that adds a further layer of character.