These trousers have a tailored waist and a wide leg.

Tartan — often referred to as “plaid” in North America — is a patterned cloth (historically woven wool) made up of intersecting horizontal and vertical bands of colored thread. Though its history reaches far and wide, tartans today are most closely associated with Scotland, where by the early eighteenth century distinct patterns (called “setts”) were adopted by specific regions throughout the country.

Originally, the colors used in a given tartan sett were dictated by the local availability of natural animal- and vegetable-based dyes, and were therefore closely related to the region in which the tartan was made. These natural dyes tended to produce more muted colors, and the resultant setts are now referred to as “ancient” tartans. Later, when synthetic dyes became more widely available in the mid-nineteenth century, colors became much darker and bolder, and unique setts began to be adopted by specific clans, families, and institutions. These tartans are commonly called “modern tartans”.

The Gordon tartan is the regimental tartan of the famed Gordon Highlanders, and is based on the iconic Black Watch military tartan. The sett was selected by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon, from three samples submitted by weaver and outfitter William Forsyth. Said Forsyth: “When I had the honor of communing with His Grace the Duke of Gordon, he was desirous to have patterns of the 42nd Regiment plaid with a small yellow stripe properly placed. I imagine the yellow stripes will appear very lively.”