editor’s pick: check, please

Kids who grow up wearing a uniform throughout their childhoods tend see their closets a little bit differently than most. At least that's the case for me, after being stuck with a strict school dress code from fifth grade all the way through senior year.

Having to wear a pleated plaid skirt everyday sucked in some ways--it's boring, allows for zero experimentation, the 2" above the knee rule was lame--but in other ways, it was awesome. I had perfected the art of getting dressed in three minutes flat (less time than it took to listen to "Bye Bye Bye," AKA my 8th grade anthem). This checkered skirt also gave me a newfound appreciation for the art of no-brainer dressing, and after eight years of rocking it, I'm convinced that plaid can go with literally everything.

The fact that I still have my school uniform stashed away at my parents' house means that it's still firmly planted in my sartorial consciousness--and while this particular item might be restricted to Halloween and theme parties, these NCLA tartan nail wraps definitely aren't.

I'm thinking of them as my own way to incorporate my Harpeth Hall dress code into daily life, without having to worry about getting demerits for my skirt being too short (oops?). After all, there aren't many prints that can hopscotch the line from '90s grunge to pure prep, but plaid is definitely one of them. 

For proof, check out some of the major players from the movies to the runway to the red carpet. Kurt Cobain might be the king of tartan, but click through the gallery for more of the best plaid pop culture inspiration.

Clueless

Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall '12

Hailee Steinfeld

Freaks and Geeks

Charli XCX

Empire Records

Ashley Madekwe

Saint Laurent Fall '13

The Craft

Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall '13

My So-Called Life

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall '13

Emma Watson

Singles