wearing the correct tartan

**saditch** · 28th May 16, 12:20 AM

Hi folks, i need your collective help, my son is getting married in NZ in January and would like to wear the tartan that would represent his Scottish heritage. My wife ( his mother) maiden name was BARR.
I have never come across actual "BARR" tartan so i assume at some time they would have come under the "protection" of a larger clan. Does anyone have any idea what clan tartan this would refer to or would anyone know where to point me to research this further?

many thanks

Stephen

**The Wizard of BC** · 28th May 16, 12:44 AM

Can you help us out a little? Do you know where in Scotland the family comes from.

It is quite possible, probable in fact, that the family are not part of a Highland Clan.
What many people do not seem to understand that you can be 100% Scottish but not be part of, or associated with, a Highland Clan.
The Highlands are the upper North West part of the country. The East coast and everything South of Stirling are the Lowlands. The vast majority of the cities and most of the population lived in the Lowlands.

At the time we think of as historical the Lowland Scots were the best educated, the most literate people in the world. They invented the public library system. Those in the Highlands were not well regarded by most other Scots. They were thought of, as one writer put it, "Stupid dumb hillbillies who don't have the sense to learn to read and write.".

You are correct that there is no Tartan currently registered with the Scottish Register of Tartan under the name "Barr". But that does not mean or imply that your family are not Scots. Today there are Tartans for just about everyone and everything. There is no need to search for a connection to a Highland Clan to be a Scot or have a Tartan.

Tartan tells the world - Who am I, where do I come from, and how did I get where I am today.

I tell my customers that there are 3 rules about what Tartan you can and should wear.

1) Pick a Tartan which has some meaning to you. It could carry your name. It could represent the area or region you are from or live now. You could even choose one because you feel some affinity to the design or color. Whatever you feel has meaning to you. As a member of this forum you could choose to use our own X Marks the Scot Tartan.

2) Know what Tartan you are wearing. Some one will ask.

3) Wear it with pride.

Yes, I'm sorry to say that there are some Tartan snobs out there. Fortunately there are no Tartan cops.

**saditch** · 28th May 16, 12:56 AM

thanks "wizard of BC"
From research the Barr name is synonymous with the west of Scotland lowlands, Ayrshire area and up as far as Sterling area, definitely not the "Highlands" ! i must admit in my ignorance i was under the impression that most "Scottish" names had a tartan or came under a protectorate clan name. I personally use the causeway tartan having lived for the last 30 yrs stones throw from the Giants Causeway of Northern Ireland. Being a bit of a traditionalist and just not wanting to get it wrong I guess i just didn't want to offend or end up wearing a tartan i "shouldn't" be wearing. i do appreciate there is no clan cops but never the less. thank you for your informative reply

Stephen

**John_Carrick** · 28th May 16, 01:23 AM

There are so many traditional universal Scottish tartans that anyone can wear, modern tartans that the hire shops have commissioned themselves (some traditional in style and some very modern) and tartans for Irish counties or Ulster, which also has a Scots tradition. Some things are modern inventions and some are less modern inventions but they can be considered on their merits.

My first kilt was Gordon because my surname was a Sept of Gordon, but Gordon is a universal tartan anyway.

**neloon** · 28th May 16, 01:36 AM

You may be interested in this
http://www.agbarr.co.uk/about-us/our-history/timeline/
There seems to be an Irn-Bru tartan!
https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/ta....aspx?ref=1856
Alan

**Tarheel** · 28th May 16, 04:42 AM

Well now Stephen, the Irish National tartan is one of my favorites. It could cover situations that your son might encounter. The kilt, by design, is Scottish enough to honor his mother's family heritage, while having the tartan representing the Country of your home, gives a defendable reason for wearing that particular plaid.

I wear my US Army tartan and Confederate Memorial tartan for similar reasons. A Colquhoun tartan is on my wish list and will grace my wardrobe someday.

My opinion stems from a history of strong Irish women on my mother's side of the family.

**OC Richard** · 28th May 16, 05:00 AM

You mention Ayrshire. You might consider that tartan:

You say as far up as Sterling, and as it happens one of my favourite tartans is Stirling and Bannockburn:

Though there are many tartans I perhaps should be wearing, I usually wear Isle Of Skye simply because I like the look of it.

There's also a Scottish National tartan:

There are many choices which allow one to avoid the "clan tartan" issue.

**EagleJCS** · 28th May 16, 05:47 AM

The following is strictly my understanding, after getting started in learning about my (potential) Scottish heritage 16 years ago and doing a lot of reading here & elsewhere and talking to others with stronger connections to Scotland than I have.

The Borders families (or clans) also have their tartans, so don't imagine tartan is strictly for the Highlanders - my avatar is the Scott Red and the Scotts have been mainly on the Borders since the 1200's. Borderers and tartan have been associated for nearly two hundred years (since the King's visit around 1822), so to a North American whose nation is only a little bit older, that's long enough to be historical/traditional. (I don't want to get into another debate on the nuances of those two words, so please let that be.)

There is also the shepherd's check, aka shepherd's plaid or Border tartan, which is a simple black & white cross-pattern, sometimes woven as a hounds-tooth check. The shepherd's check is supposed to be among the oldest of tartans.

Kilt-wearing, on the other hand, is typically seen as a Highlands 'thing', where those in the Borders tend to wear tartan trews or show off their tartan in other ways (tie, waistcoat, etc.).

**Profane James** · 28th May 16, 06:44 AM

My people were from Ayrshire as well. One day, when the kids are older and perhaps show interest, we'll cough up the $$$ to have a run woven. I have yet to see it in the Internet wilds...

**Manxstralian** · 28th May 16, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by Profane James

My people were from Ayrshire as well. One day, when the kids are older and perhaps show interest, we'll cough up the $$$ to have a run woven. I have yet to see it in the Internet wilds...

USA Kilts have Ayrshire Ancient listed as standard tartan, if that's of interest to you.

Cheers,

Cameron