Flannel is a fabric, soft wool or cotton brushed to raise a nap, while plaid is a pattern of crossing bands; a shirt can be flannel without being plaid, and plaid without being flannel.
This is the clearest example of two words that describe different properties of the same shirt. They coincide so often that people treat them as synonyms, then get confused by a plain grey flannel.
| Flannel | Plaid | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A fabric finish | A pattern |
| Feels | Soft, slightly fuzzy | Feels like whatever it is printed on |
| Can be plain | Yes | No, by definition |
| Warm | Yes, the nap traps air | Not inherently |
How to tell them apart in a photo
Touch it. Flannel has a faint fuzz you can feel with a fingertip. A plaid poplin shirt is smooth and cool.
Which one should you pick
Flannel
Autumn and winter, when you want warmth from a shirt.
Examples from the blog
Try both on your own photo
Black and white polka dot blouse with a Peter Pan
Green and blue plaid flannel shirt with a relaxed fit
Grey henley shirt with long sleeves
Bright yellow Hawaiian shirt with a tropical floral
Floral print sheer shirt with bishop sleeves
Navy blue polo shirt with a red embroidered logo
Burgundy and white striped oxford shirt
Plaid flannel shirt in red and black
Charcoal grey thermal shirt with waffle knit fabric
Pastel pink cotton dress shirt with a spread collar
Pink linen shirt with a mandarin collar and hidden
Classic fit Hawaiian shirt in bright blue
Tap any look to open it in the app on your own photo.
Related
Blouses and Shirts · Blouse vs Shirt · Fabric Types
Questions people actually ask
Is tartan the same as plaid?
Tartan is a plaid with a specific repeating sett tied to a Scottish clan. All tartan is plaid, not all plaid is tartan.
Does flannel have to be wool?
No. Flannel started as a wool cloth and the name still means wool in tailoring, but cotton flannel dominates shirting and bedding. What makes it flannel is the brushing, which raises a soft nap and traps air. Fibre is secondary to that finish.
What is flannelette?
Cotton woven plainly, then brushed on one side to imitate wool flannel. You mostly meet it in sheets, pyjamas and cheap shirts. It is softer and cheaper than wool flannel, pills faster, and it is the fabric most people actually own when they say they own flannel.
What is a buffalo check?
Large squares in two colours, classically red and black, on a scale much bigger than a tartan. It is a pattern, so it belongs on the plaid side of the line. Buffalo check turns up on wool flannel shirts most often, which keeps the two words tangled together.