This piece from Prepidemic is a handy little tool for those who have given the check shirt a miss when going to work in the morning

The main rule of thumb is that any time you’re pairing a tie with a plaid, you are trying to calm down the craze of the shirt.
Option 1
1. Plaid shirt.
2. Dark solid tie (perhaps of a color in the shirt).
3. A little sheen to the tie.
4. Not too much sheen.
Option 2
1. Plaid shirt.
2. Stripe tie.
3. Match one color of tie to one color of shirt.
4. Works well when the color you match is a bright color that is the color of the stripe.
5. Rest of the tie dark.