Nicholas Daley Pleated Trouser

A tartan is a structure before it is a pattern: bands of dyed yarn crossed at right angles so that every overlap produces a third colour, and the sequence of those bands, the sett, is what identifies one from another. In Scotland setts were formalised, registered, and attached to families and regiments, which turned a weaving technique into a system of belonging and, for anyone outside it, a system of exclusion.

Daley draws his own. That is the single most consequential decision in his work and this trouser is where it is easiest to see. The cloth is unmistakably tartan in its construction and it carries no clan, no register entry, and no inherited permission structure. It is Scottish material culture used as material rather than as inheritance, by a designer with as much claim to it as anyone and no interest in asking.

The cloth itself is a wool with a small percentage of mohair for lustre and a trace of nylon for strength, woven and made up in England, and the mohair is what keeps the check from sitting flat. Underneath, the cut is period: high waist, one pleat, generous through the leg. A single pleat releases cloth exactly where a body needs it and nowhere else.

Why we selected it

We bought this as the piece that explains the house. Every stockist can sell a tartan trouser; almost none can sell one whose pattern was designed rather than borrowed, and that difference is the entire argument for Nicholas Daley. It is the pair we put in front of anyone who thinks tartan is settled territory.

Nicholas Daley designs his own setts rather than reproducing existing ones, and this trouser is the clearest single expression of what that decision buys him.

Materials and construction

Ninety-two percent wool, seven percent mohair, and one percent nylon. Made in England. Single pleat, high waist, generous through the leg. Colour: ND Tartan.

Mohair at seven percent is a lustre addition rather than a structural one: enough to lift the surface of the cloth and stop the check reading flat, not enough to change how the trouser behaves.

Fit notes

Worn on the waist rather than the hip, as any pleated trouser must be, with the pleat releasing across the thigh. Wool of this composition holds its line through a day rather than relaxing into one, and it will hold a press. Between sizes, take the smaller waist, because the pleat is already supplying the ease.

Styling

Everything else plain, without exception. The Waffle Rollneck in chocolate, the Classic Two Pocket Shirt in black, or a plain tee. The one thing that works alongside it is another piece in the same cloth, and even that is a commitment.

Care

Wool wants brushing far more than it wants cleaning. Hang it, brush it down after wearing, air it between outings, and take it to a good cleaner only when it genuinely needs one rather than on a schedule. Press on the reverse through a cloth. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Pleated Trouser in turmeric and navy is the same cut in the check Daley uses across that collection. The Stone Jacket is the jacket in that cloth, the Wrap Kilt in turmeric and navy the wrap, and the 3 Pocket Collared Cardigan the summer tartan in linen. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.