Fashion - Tartan army.

Shereen Low on a look that's made it from the Highlands to the high streetHOOTS man! It's time to bring some colour into your winter wardrobe with tartan. No longer confined to the Highlands of Scotland, the traditionalScottish pattern has been turning up on skirts,bags and shoes in high street stores around the country. Tartan has even gained a celebrity following, withJamelia,Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott favouring plaid over plain fabrics.

Jamelia turned up at the National Music Awards in a tiny red tartan skirt,and Mariah wore a tartan mini skirt at her recent Charmbracelet tour. US rapper Missy Elliott has been spotted with a yellow tartan cap,complete with matching yellow bobble,at the MTV Music Video Awards.

Sairey Stemp,merchandising editor at Elle,explains why fashion designers have embraced tartan this season. ``Tartan is a great British fabric,perfect for livening up the dreary winter.

``For the autumn/winter catwalks, a lot of designers chose to use tartan as a key fabric. In particular,Jil Sander surprised everyone when her collection featured tartan,because she is normally very monochrome and minimalist. For her to use it means it's quite a big trend.

``Tartan has always been a winter fabric,and has a strong Scottish heritage. When you see designers in Milan putting it down the catwalk, that adds an interesting twist. Alexander McQueen is quite a fan of tartan too,and went to Buckingham Palace in a kilt.''

Each Scottish clan has its own tartan design, with a different colour and weave. It has been noted that certain colours within a tartan could often indicate rank and occupation in past times.

Burberry was the label which originally made the check print trendy a gain. Having undergone a revamp, the classic design has been promoted by the likes of Kate Moss and Victoria Beckham.

Tartan can easily be updated for a modern and contemporary look. A mini skirt,for example, transforms tartan from old-fashioned to sexy.

Show off perfect pins in short skirts; River Island and New Look have affordable ones, whileWarehouse has several designs and lengths.Warehouse's black invert pleat mini skirt (pounds 30)is ideal for those who want to flaunt their legs,but shy tartan fans may prefer the pale pink bias knee-length tartan skirt (pounds 40).

Mini dresses are another fun and funky way to wear tartan.TopShop has a pretty baby blue ``pini'' dress (amini dress with a pleated skirt)for pounds 30, while Morgan has a red wool mini skirt (pounds 52)and a grey tartan sleeveless dress (pounds 59.99).

Those who prefer not to reveal their legs can wear a trendy pair of tartan trousers. Mango has a pair of blue tartan wool-mix trousers (pounds 50), and Kookai has a beautiful pair of cute pink tartan trousers (pounds 65).

You can also update your wardrobe by buying a few tartan accessories like bags, shoes and scarves. Kookai have a selection of tartan bags -there's a pink tartan mini shoulder bag (pounds 18)for party animals and a larger tartan and denim K shopper bag (pounds 18).Office have some red tartan ankle-strap pumps (pounds 49.99) whileLK Bennett offers a pink and green tartan frame bag (pounds 99).

Stemp recommends keeping things simple and says tartan is more striking when combined with staid,neutral hues.

CAPTION(S):

Kookai's tartan trousers (pounds 65),main picture,Morgan's mini skirt (pounds 52),left, and,above,American rap star Missy Elliott in her tartan hat