Stop the plaidness? No way! Not when the results are just getting interesting. Last year, plaid's ubiquity nearly approached tartan terrorism levels, thanks to fashion's fevered lust for retro pieces. Then we were blanketed with plaid by the numbing politesse of ladylike dressing. Finally designers have decided to think outside plaid's box. They've loosened tradition's grip on the rigid geometrics, approached the pattern from a few new angles, manipulated it with fluidity, geared the mood more toward nighttime, even thrown in a funky dose of sex appeal. And what they've come up with is a lot hotter than 90 degrees. —Hal Rubenstein