Should husband and wife be in same colour family

[David Dubh]

So my wife has finally said she would be interested in getting a tartan serape. I looked into getting something made in the same tartan from the same mill but mine is from a single width length which wouldn’t be quite wide enough.
My tartan is in the ancient colours so our options are either another Mills ancient colour palette or possibly going with the modern colours at which point would the mill become irrelevant? The tartan I wear is the Macdonald ancient or would the dress tartan be an acceptable as well?
What does the rabble think?
Thanks for your input David

[Tarheel]

I believe it is appropriate for husband and wife to dress in his family tartan. My wife could not pull off the green and blue of the Colquhoun tartan but would look good in the reproduction ancient tones of the same as the tones fit her complexion. She would be quick to explain why she has on that particular attire, especially if felt she looked good in the color combination.

I hope other couples here will show photos of the husband and wife together in tartan. There are several couples that I admire and know how to individualize the look of one clan's tartan.

[Father Bill]

My wife has a beautiful ankle-length skirt in my Sinclair Modern - but our tartans are from two different mills. As a result, her skirt emphasizes the blue; my kilt emphasizes the green.

The only caution we use is that when she wears a sash with her skirt, she wears one of the same bolt of material. When she wears a sash but other dress or skirt, she sometimes wears that sash or one from the same bolt as my kilt.

[Tobus]

I don't think it matters one single bit if husband and wife are wearing the exact same colour scheme of the tartan. My wife really doesn't feel the need to wear tartan (she's not against it; she just isn't drawn to it for identity purposes), but when she does it's usually just a scarf. If she were going to wear a large shawl, dress, skirt, or other item that displayed large areas of tartan, I would probably avoid having it match my kilt exactly. It would be just a little too "cutesy" for my tastes and make me feel like we're wearing colour-coordinated costumes. But then again, I'm a twin who grew up being dressed in matching outfits with my twin brother, so I developed an aversion to that sort of thing.

At any rate, there's no tradition that says husband and wife must match. I like to post this photo when this sort of thing comes up. This is our current Colquhoun Clan chief, Sir Malcolm Colquhoun, and his wife. As you can see, they are both wearing Colquhoun tartan, but in different colour palettes and even different sett sizes. They each have their own personal style without having to look like twinkies.

[Nomad]

I would probably avoid having it match my kilt exactly. It would be just a little too "cutesy" for my tastes and make me feel like we're wearing colour-coordinated costumes.

Totally agree, if by some miracle the wife and I put on identically coloured clothing, there would be a stampede to change, its just too sweet and sickly for us, barf.

However that is just our personal hang up and don't feel you have to conform to it 😄

[Taskr]

IMO, same tartan with different colour palette and even sett. The pic Tobus posted highlighting the appropriateness and elegance.

[CollinMacD]

My wife at formal events will wear my family's Tartan, MacDonald Clanranald.

Traditionally, from what I was taught in my Nova Scotia household, the wife wears the husbands tartan as she has married into his clan, even if she is from another Scottish Clan. In turn the son's normally do not wear the tartan of there Mother's Clan, but of their father's Clan. This is per Nova Scotia traditions, and I am sure it came from Scotland. I wanted to buy a Chisholm Tartan Kilt, (my Grandmother's clan), but was STRONGLY advised against it, stay with MacDonald.

So that being said, my wife at Scottish games and other non-formal events wears the Nova Scotia Tartan to honor my MacDonald heritage from Nova Scotia. Why did she choose this? Mainly in remembrance of my Nova Scotia Family connections, but simply because she loves the blue plaid.

My wife has some Scottish through her father, but mainly is Polish, (Mother was all Polish), and Father English, German, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and I am sure more European mixes per her DNA testing. So she wears the MacDonald Clanranald, or MacDonald Modern Dress, during formal events, and informal naturally the MacDonald, modern and ancient, and the Nova Scotia Tartans.

But who is going to argue when her first name is Margaret, now that is Scottish right?

[David Dubh]

Thanks for all the input sounds like it’s fine to order her a serape in Macdonald modern while I wear the ancient colours. My wife is of pure Ukrainian ancestry so she has no clan tartan. This is the first time that she has indicated an interest in wearing a tartan at all other than some fashion skirts or pants that are found in regular stores. So I’ll take the small win.
David

[Father Bill]

Thanks for all the input sounds like it’s fine to order her a serape in Macdonald modern while I wear the ancient colours. My wife is of pure Ukrainian ancestry so she has no clan tartan. This is the first time that she has indicated an interest in wearing a tartan at all other than some fashion skirts or pants that are found in regular stores. So I’ll take the small win.
David

David, yes she does have a clan tartan. She's married to you, so she's a member of your clan!

[Baeau]

...Thanks for all the input sounds like it’s fine to order her a serape in Macdonald modern while I wear the ancient colours....David

Quick question, then back to the thread’s subject. I’ve seen the term serape used several times on XMTS. As the roughly accepteddefinition in our part of the world is:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serape

Is there a proper Scottish term for said accessory item?