Attention Wolfpack fans with an affinity for Scottish tartan or a desire to show off some style: NC State now has an official tartan — Pack Plaid — and it’s now available at Wolfpack Outfitters on a variety of products.
The tartan was designed by Kathleen Kelly ‘14 during her time in the NC State College of Textiles. She entered her sophisticated pattern in black, dark gray, red and white in a contest to represent NC State on the Scottish Registry of Deeds, the official Scottish register of tartans.
According to NC State College of Textiles Professor Cynthia Istook, who created and implemented the Pack Plaid contest, Kelly’s design was the clear winner. From 30 student submissions, university faculty and administrators chose four patterns as semi-finalists; next, alumni and members of the public ranked their favorites.
“Kathleen actually had more than one design chosen to be in the top four,” said Istook. “Her (winning tartan) was the one that came out on top — significantly — with well more than 50 percent of the votes.”
Her inspiration was tailored menswear, and she designed her tartan to augment the Wolfpack fan’s existing wardrobe.
“So much of the paraphernalia that’s sold for NC State is predominantly red,” she said. “So I thought that doing something with the gray or black background and just accents of red would coordinate better with the other things that are offered in the bookstore.”
NC State’s official on-campus bookstore – Wolfpack Outfitters – currently carries ceramic mugs, coasters, luggage tags, key fobs and t-shirts bearing the Pack Plaid. “We are also expecting to add cashmere scarves and other new items soon,” said Jeff Halliburton, director of NC State Stores.
According to Halliburton, these products will be carried not only in the Talley Student Union store, but also online at shop.ncsu.edu and at Gameday concession stands in Carter-Finley Stadium and the PNC Arena.
Fans can also look for Mr. and Ms. Wuf to be sporting the new pack plaid at the NC State vs. Clemson home football game on November 5.