Buchanan Mess

[Vegan Scot]

The number and variety of Buchanan tartans make my head spin. I'm sure this holds true for most clans but Buchanan is the only one I care to endure a headache over. Sometime last year I complied a "quick" list of tartans by manufacturer and even those border on the confusing; reproductions, variants, "antique" and "muted" as opposed to "weathered" or "ancient". Not to mention the confusion which occurs when one does an image search via Google, for say, "House of Edgar Buchanan Hunting Weathered" and no less than five apparently distinct tartans appear! Which is which? More importantly which is "proper"?

This all started with trying to find the "right" Buchanan tartan for myself and although it's far from ended it's brought me to a complete befuddlement as I attempted to catalog with names and images of as many different tartans from as many manufacturers as I could. I'm left at a stalemate. So far, the list I have (probably woefully incomplete) is this:

House of Edgar

Modern [16oz]
Ancient [13oz]
Hunting Modern [13oz]
Modern Large Sett [13oz]
Muted Large Sett [13oz]
Muted MacGregor Hasite [13oz]
Hunting Ancient (1955) [13oz]


Lochcarron

Modern [13/16oz]
Ancient [13/16oz]
Weathered [13/16oz]
Hunting Modern [13/16oz]
Hunting Ancient [16oz]
Old Ancient [16oz]
Old Weathered [16oz]
Reproduction


Marton Mills

Ancient [16oz]
Hunting Modern [16oz]
Polyviscose Ancient (BA032T)


Strathmore

Modern [13oz]
Hunting Modern [13oz]
Reproduction [13oz]


Batley

Old Dress [13oz]


Is anyone able to add to the list? More importantly, is anyone able to explain how and why so many tartans came about? Why an Old Sett? Where did Marton Mills get their PV Ancient sett from? Where did Strathmore's Reproduction appear? Why are some setts designated as "Large" by House of Edgar? Why on EARTH are things like "Buchanan Incorrect" recorded with the Scottish Register of Tartans? So many questions... so many questions...

[Paul Henry]

As you rightly say, Buchanan isn't the only tartan to have many variations upon a theme, it's one amongst many.
Over the years various setts have been woven , some incorrectly by weavers, but still called Buchanan, some by weaver who chose to make subtle changes to make the sett easier to weave, or nicer to their eyes, and then of course some authorities might have given the wrong thread count either by misuderstanding or simply a typo error.

With all tartans the colours are listed simply as blue, red, yellow, green etc, and it is up to weaver to choose which actual tones/hues to use. It is possibly this bit that allows/offers the greatest variation in availability between weavers.
Add to this the ancient/weathered/reproduction/muted/modern variations and you simply increase the actual number permutations.
Some weavers do a smaller or a larger sett variation as well, this is often useful when the tartan has a very large sett in it's own right, or when the tartan might be woven in a different yarn as well.
Of course each tartan does have it's own thread count as per a register, and that should be followed, but that formality is relatively recent.
I'm sorry that not much of what I've said gives you a definitive answer, but it's my usual response when asked the same question by my clients,and I suggest to them that they pick one that they like, and would be happy to wear.

If we think back to when names were given to tartans , oft times , a design was picked from a trade catalogue , and then named, without much of a background history, it is the name of that design that is the important thing , not the actual colourings, however varied they might be!

Good luck with your quest, Buchanan is one of my family tartans so it is certainly of interst to me as wel!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

A couple of articles I would recommend to you.

First, this one on tartan colors:
http://www.albanach.org/colors.html

Second, this one entitled "Which tartan is mine?"
http://www.albanach.org/whichtartan.html

Then there is this one on tartan terminology:
http://www.albanach.org/terminology.html

In short, what you have here are three basic Buchanan tartans (I'm leaving aside for the moment the dress and other variants not typically woven today), all available in a variety of color schemes from a variety of mills.

You have your standard Buchanan tartan. Then you have the Old Buchanan (which as the name implies, is an older design). And you have the Hunting Buchanan.

All three of these may be woven in any number of color schemes (explained in the above articles), the most common of which are modern, ancient, weathered/reproduction, and muted.

Finally, as Buchanan is a popular tartan, most any woolen mill who weaves tartan will weave one or more versions of the Buchanan tartan, and they each have their own stock shades of yard, so that Lochcarron's "Buchanan ancient" will look a bit different from House of Edgar's "Buchanan ancient" and so forth.

And of course we have to remember that the tartan will be woven in various weights of wool for use in various applications.

And there you have it. You end up with dozens of options!

The question is, which tartan and color option do you prefer, and which weight wool is going to work best for what you plan on doing with it?

[Joshua]

Meh... I have tartan envy... there is Davidson or Davidson of Tulloch, in ancient, modern and weathered. There are a handful of unauthorized Davidson tartans as well but for the most part I have about 3 different tartans, in about 3 different shades.

*of readily available, non-custom weave

[ctbuchanan]

Not withstanding all the choices - and believe me I know that there are many - if your goal in wearing the Buchanan tartan is to be recognized as a member of the clan then you should limit your choice to one of two.

The most commonly worn Buchanan tartans are the ancient and the modern. These will be instantly recognized by your fellow clan members and by others as well. (Perhaps the two most easily recognized Scottish tartans are Buchanan and Macleod (yellow)). Which weaver you choose is a matter of taste on the actual hues (which shouldn't differ that much) and width of the sett.

The ancient with it's more subtle colors requires a careful touch when matching jackets, vests, hose etc. The modern with its bold navy blue, forest green, red etc obviously lends itself to a much more dynamic palette. The choice is yours.

The hunting (modern) is another popular choice especially among younger men in our family especially those who have been in the military for some reason. They like the dark green etc. But it is less easily recognized as a Buchanan tartan.

While the weathered and reproduction have started to gain in popularity, my experience is that it is a 3rd or 4th kilt choice. When attending a clan event, especially anything formal, the ancient or modern is the better choice. But, that is strictly my opinion.

If you are simply attracted to the tartan and are not concerned with the clan affiliation aspect, then you can certainly choose whichever of our wonderful Buchanan tartans you prefer.

[Vegan Scot]

Wonderful answers all, especially paulhenry and Matt for the links as a refresher course. To be honest those responses were probably more what I was looking for anyway instead of many answers to all the "particulars" I listed.

The ancient with it's more subtle colors requires a careful touch when matching jackets, vests, hose etc. The modern with its bold navy blue, forest green, red etc obviously lends itself to a much more dynamic palette. The choice is yours.

This is my lack of experience showing but in what way are subtle colors more difficult to match (what would Jock say? ) with jackets, hose, etc?

[Geoff Withnell]

Meh... I have tartan envy... there is Davidson or Davidson of Tulloch, in ancient, modern and weathered. There are a handful of unauthorized Davidson tartans as well but for the most part I have about 3 different tartans, in about 3 different shades.

*of readily available, non-custom weave

Clan Davidson Society USA lists also a "Davidson Double", "Davidson Half", and "Davidson of Tulloch Blue" beyond the usually ancient/modern/weathered variations. I'm not sure who would "authorize a tartan. The Davidson Double dates back to 1847, so it is hardly a new thing.

http://www.clandavidsonusa.com/our-tartan/

[Hothir Ethelnor]

Of course if your vegan beliefs exclude any animal products you're are left with only one choice

[piperdbh]

I'm not sure who would "authorize a tartan. The Davidson Double dates back to 1847, so it is hardly a new thing.

http://www.clandavidsonusa.com/our-tartan/

From what I've read, the Chief decides which tartan will be the "authorized" one. If a clan has no chief, it seems to me that any of them would be alright to wear. Moreover, my clan's tartan dates to 1996, and has the modern, weathered and ancient colors available. I like to see all three of them together, not just everybody wearing the same one. It's more interesting that way.
If it were me wanting to wear the Davidson, I'd get a kilt made in one of the less-famous ones, such as the "half".

[ctbuchanan]

"This is my lack of experience showing but in what way are subtle colors more difficult to match"

I only say that because I am fashion challenged! The ancient has more natural colors, say a moss green, pale orange, a pale blue etc. It is only to my eye, perhaps, but I find it more difficult to find complimentary colors to go with that. The colors in the modern are more straightforward I guess.

But that being said - there are many tweeds from Scotland that do go with the ancient, it just takes more forethought on my part. You may find that not to be the case.