Of Two Clans

[BigRob]

Hi everyone I'm new to the board and reasonably new to kilts. I have a conundrum when it comes to picking a tartan, my family lineage includes both clan Wallace, and clan Wilson. How do I decide what tartan to wear, can I claim both clans and wear both tartans?

[Father Bill]

It's unusual to have more than one clan claim, and certainly NEVER mix two tartans in one outfit - it's an insult to both of them.

In recognizing your clan lineage and therefor membership, it is traditionally patrilineal unless there is no male progenitor in which case it can be traced through the distaff side for those generations before turning to their male lineage.

[Silmakhor]

Hi everyone I'm new to the board and reasonably new to kilts. I have a conundrum when it comes to picking a tartan, my family lineage includes both clan Wallace, and clan Wilson. How do I decide what tartan to wear, can I claim both clans and wear both tartans?

The traditional approach (past two centuries or so) is to use one closest to your father's clan and stick with it.

Nowadays, many folks who wear kilts on a daily basis choose several tartans to rotate in and out. I suspect that's a new-ish development as we can afford multiple sets of clothing in many styles, a luxury that earlier people could usually not swing.

I'd personally get the one that I had the strongest affinity to, at first, and then pick up the second if you want or "need" the variety.

I don't have a strong clan affiliation though beyond a name in a sept list, so it's not something that motivates my choices.

[Kiltedjohn]

I agree with the comment that you should choose the one which you feel the strongest affinity to. This motivated my own choice. There are some branches of my family tree which I feel much less inclined to support!
Perhaps I may add (though some will disagree) that you don't need to be too legalistic about it. The kilt police will not come to arrest you!

[Liam]

Welcome to the forum from Western Canada! There are other ‘options’ for selecting a kilt that you can identify with, such as the region or city or country you live in or were born in. The selection of universal tartans is considerable.

[TheVintageLibertine]

Perhaps I am the odd man out, but in my view strict patrilineal clan affiliation ought to be left by the wayside, because it does not reflect modern sensibilities: when a woman marries, she neither ceases to be a member of her biological family nor surrenders her own identity. Possibly, this view is influenced, first, by my having Scottish ancestry entirely [on my] matrilineal side and, second, by my mother being a very strong-willed, independent woman. In any event, [i]t is for these reasons that believe folks should determine the tartan(s) they have familial and/or regional connection(s) with, and then pick whichever one they like best. (That is what I did/do.)

Edits: for typos

[Jock Scot]

Perhaps I am the odd man out, but in my view strict patrilineal clan affiliation ought to be left by the wayside, because it does not reflect modern sensibilities: when a woman marries, she neither ceases to be a member of her biological family nor surrenders her own identity. Possibly, this view is influenced, first, by my having Scottish ancestry entirely matrilineal side and, second, by my mother being a very strong-willed, independent woman. In any event, tt is for these reasons that believe folks should determine the tartan(s) they have familial and/or regional connection(s) with, and then pick whichever one they like best. (That is what I did/do.)

Perhaps my dear wife's example would be considered more traditional? My wife before she married her first husband wore her father's Clan tartan and no other. When in due course she married she then wore her husband's tartan and no other. After his untimely death, she continued to wear his tartan, until she (thank goodness) married me and now, purely voluntarily I may add, she wears my tartan and no other. Her children from the first marriage, when old enough, were offered the choice of their father's tartan, or mine. Quite correctly in my view, they decided to wear their late father's tartan.

Some of you may be interested that both my wife and me have several different Clan tartans that we could wear, through family connections, if we so choose. In fact, my family for several generations choose to wear just one. We are not alone in Scotland in doing so and I would suggest, that is traditional thinking here.

[TheVintageLibertine]

Perhaps my dear wife's example would be considered more traditional? My wife before she married her first husband wore her father's Clan tartan and no other. When in due course she married she then wore her husband's tartan and no other. After his untimely death, she continued to wear his tartan, until she (thank goodness) married me and now, purely voluntarily I may add, she wears my tartan and no other. Her children from the first marriage, when old enough, were offered the choice of their father's tartan, or mine. Quite correctly in my view, they decided to wear their late father's tartan.

Some of you may be interested that both my wife and me have several different Clan tartans that we could wear, through family connections, if we so choose. In fact, my family for several generations choose to wear just one. We are not alone in Scotland in doing so and I would suggest, that is traditional thinking here.

It is fascinating and wonderful to hear about your family's multigenerational tradition of wearing one tartan. What you describe certainly sounds like an example of the traditional approach, which I definitely understand and respect.

For me, wearing my grandmother's or grandfather's family tartans [is] more about honoring their individual memories than showing any clan affiliation. In that sense, perhaps, what I do is not very different from your step-children's choice to wear their late father's tartan? But, of course, from a purely aesthetic sense, I also like to choose different tartans for variety, occasion, and to harmonize with the rest of my ensemble (I'm a "recovering" clotheshorse).

edits: for grammar.

[Tobus]

Some of you may be interested that both my wife and me have several different Clan tartans that we could wear, through family connections, if we so choose. In fact, my family for several generations choose to wear just one. We are not alone in Scotland in doing so and I would suggest, that is traditional thinking here.

Quite so, and that is the way I choose to go about it as well. I have ties to several clans from both sides of my family, but I just wear one clan tartan that is my strongest familial tie. My wife has other clans in her background but she sticks with my family's tartan (when she chooses to wear any, which is exceedingly rare).

Though I carry an English surname, my father's side has some Scottish roots that are too distant to be of any relevance to me. My late mother's side had strong Colquhoun identity (her maiden name being Kilpatrick), and since I was raised by that side of the family, I identify as such. Her side also has MacGillivray and others, but again so distant as to not be as relevant as Colquhoun. It would feel odd to try to claim an identity with one of the other clans based on some distant ancestor whose name I happened to find in my lineage, but to whom I otherwise had no cultural connection. It would also feel odd to try to split my identity amongst several clans. So I just stick with the one, and it so happens to fit with tradition.

[cessna152towser]

from Scotland.
I also have Wallace and Wilson ancestry lines.
I own a Wallace Hunting Green kilt which I wear occasionally.
I also have, and sometimes wear, a Wilson kilt. Be aware, the Wilson tartan was an invention of Wilson's of Bannockburn who produced many of the tartans in the 19th century.