How my tartan taste has changed

[Alan H]

When I first started out wearing kilts I thought it would be nice to have a MacNaughton tartan kilt, but I wasn't terribly picky about the specifics. My first kilt was a Black Watch from Stillwater. My next kilt was a USA Kilts Casual model in Ramsay, blue. I then bought a Holyrood in a wool-poly blend, which I love and then the MacNaughton in polyester-viscose. Those two kilts were from Caledonian Kilts, which used to sell on ebay, but no longer.

At that point I started making my own, and things changed. I made a 7-yard knife pleat kilt in MacNicol, Red Modern, which I still wear. I won't ever get rid of it because it was my FIRST kilt that I made by hand, and that's important even though I have no connection whatsoever to the MacNicols.

I made a box pleat in the California Modern Tartan, which I wore yesterday. I made a 7 yard kilt knife-pleated to sett in the lightweight gray stuff that Fraser and Kirkbright have on their remnants web page, and have for ages it seems. That was just for practice. I'm wearing it today, right now. It's starting to show some wear, though. The material is just fine, but it's not as substantial as the heavier stuff. I have an X-Marks tartan 6-yard knife pleat, my best kilt to date. I love it.

Many many months ago I bought two gray Stewart tartan skirts off of ebay, to disassemble and make a lighter weight, but wool kilt out of. I have 6 yards of 28-inches wide Lindsay tartan leftover from the X-skirt project, and I quite like the Lindsay tartan so I will go ahead and make myself a machine-sewn kilt in it. I'll wear it and enjoy it. My last kilt was a Scottish National Tartan, a wonderful tartan to be sure, even though it's a Gold Brothers product. I mostly wear it to throw in.

So after that long introduction, I get to the meat of this post. I find myself looking at the Navy tartan, for example, and thinking "wow, that's gorgeous....and Dad was in the Navy, I could wear that to honor him"...

.....and rejecting the idea. The same goes for any number of tartans. I LOVE the Hudson Bay Company tartan. I mean, I just love the colors in that tartan. However, I have no connection to the Hudson Bay tartan. I think the Maple Leaf tartan is drop-dead gorgeous, and my paternal grandfathers family is as French-Canadian as it is possible to be, going back to the late 1600's, but.......... somehow, I can't get myself to order or make a Maple Leaf kilt.

When the Scottish National kilt wears out or gets damaged, I won't replace it. When this grey one I made from Fraser and Kirkbright wears out, I will be glad of the experience in making it but I will let it go without a pang. I know the same thing will happen with the Lindsay kilt I have yet to make and the Grey Stewart, even though I've wanted a Gray Stewart kilt from the very beginning.

What's happened is that over the years I've gotten to a place where I certainly can happily wear "any tartan", no problem (excluding the MacMauve, Hunting clan tartan and the O'Avocado Irish tartan), and I'm not about to throw out kilts that I've already got, but I just can't get excited about acquiring a kilt in "just another tartan". I have no need to acquire 60 kilts. I cannot bring myself to buy kilts to honor connections which feel....well, not insincere, but perhaps "distant" to me. I don't think I will buy more kilts in tartans which I feel are beautiful, but I cannot come up with a personal connection to.

...though I might make an exception for Holyrood!

That's whacko, it's not logical, my MacNaughton ancestor dates from the 1790's and my Hall ancestor from the 1850's, but still I just find myself wanting to have a connection that I feel, strongly before I wear a kilt in that tartan. I'm in the X-Marks clan and I feel a connection to that tartan and I wear it. I'm an active member of the MacNaughton clan, though my blood connection is thin and I feel a connection to that tartan and I wear it. I'm a Californian, and I wear that tartan and feel that connection. The tartan doesn't have to be "traditional"....certainly the California tartan does not date from the early 1800's, but there's got to be a REASON that I FEEL before I'm inclined to get a new kilt.

Mind you, this is just ME. I'm not knocking those who purchase kilts with intent to honor a brothers or fathers military service, or the City that an ancestor came from. If you like the MacDuff tartan, then by all means, wear it. It's just that I would, for myself anyway, prefer moving away from just wearing "any tartan", and towards wearing a tartan that really means something important to me. This means that I don't foresee any more Stillwater or Frugal Corner tartan kilts for me, unless I suddenly see MacNaughton on their listings! That doesn't mean I won't be buying a belt or pin from them, though.

As an aside, I am having a stinker of a time buying a bronze kilt pin, because there are many things that I look at that are very nice, but they don't MEAN something to me.

I am looking forward, though I am in no great rush... to the pleasure I will get in sitting down with eight yards of excellent MacNaughton tartan, and sewing myself up a really nice formal kilt that I feel a personal connection to. It will be a very different experience from stitching up that Lindsay kilt, whenever I get around to it.

[Alan H]

MacNaughton, Hall, California, X-Marks tartans......

I strongly and clearly feel the connection to what each of those tartans represent. I could be content with tartan kilts in those tartans, and no others.

...though of course ...I'd have to have a formal MacNaughton for proper occasions, and a lightweight MacNaughton for hot days and summer events!

....and Holyrood, of course, just because I love it. And one or two X-kilts in camo or a solid color!

[Ancienne Alliance]

I enjoyed reading this .

Thank You.

Oh, and BTW, I feel exactly the same way you do.


Best,

Robert

[Racer96]

Thanks for sharing your story, Alan.

It's funny to me, as I seem to be going in the exact opposite direction as you.

My introduction to kilts was through Utilikilts. The first times I saw them, I thought that there wasn't a chance that I'd be able to pull it off and wear it confidently. Then I tried one on, and quickly became hooked.

Next up was Freedom Kilts, then Union Kilts, then R kilts, then Amerikilt, then Alt Kilt. All in solid colours or camo materials. I just didn't think that I could wear a clan tartan. I thought they looked great, but, I had no affiliation, and couldn't visibly 'fake' a Scottish identity (I'm of japanese descent.)

Then I read more and more on this site, and found out about universal tartans, and fashion tartans. And the thought grew that perhaps I could wear one of those tartans. But, the pockets! Oh, the pockets. How I need my pockets.

Well, right about that time, Steve introduced us to the HBC tartan. And conveniently, he makes a tartan kilt complete with pockets. What luck! The order was soon placed for that HBC tartan, a fashion tartan that I did feel a direct link to, with pockets.

Not long after that, Rocky was having a sale on his off the rack casual models. What a divine coincidence that he happened to have one in my size in the American Heritage tartan. (My wife is American.) I was able to get it and have an under apron pocket put in. *phew* I still had a pocket.

Yes, I know, that's what sporrans are for. And I do like the looks of sporrans, I just have a very big fear of placing a dangly bit in front of my own dangly bits. Yes, yes, that's irrational, as thousands have been doing it, and continue doing it, but, it's just something I haven't been able to cross,,,, yet.

Anyways, I now had two tartans, with fairly direct affiliations. I then ordered a Maple Leaf tartan kilt (again, with pockets) which I also have a link to.

The next step though, came when I placed an order for a fashion tartan, that I have absolutely no link to. I just happened to like the colours of it. The Edinburgh tartan looks really nice, and it also gave me a chance to get a kilt from another kiltmaker that I had gotten to know and like.

So, I will soon have in my hands, a fashion tartan kilt that has no link to me, aside from the fact that I like the colours in it. Somewhere in my queue, I will also be ordering up an antarctic tartan (again, just because I love the colours in it, through Kathy Lare), as well as a tartan with japanese historical context (through Mr. Newsome!) There's some other tartans out there that I really like as well, that holyrood comes to mind ;) , and yes, I'm sure there will even be a clan tartan at some point.

To make a short story even longer, I guess, it just goes to show how everyone is different.

Mike

PS Now if I could just work on that sporran fear....

[Alan H]

Thanks for sharing your story, Alan.

It's funny to me, as I seem to be going in the exact opposite direction as you.

To make a short story even longer, I guess, it just goes to show how everyone is different.

Mike

You know Mike, if we were all the same, think how boring it would be.

I note, for example that john McKnight, a Scot emigrated from Ulster in 1733. He was the grandfather of Martha McKnight, who had 14 children. Martha is my ancestor, and so of course, John is as well. And because of that I kind of have a hankering for the Ulster tartan and a kilt in that tartan, tenuous though that connection may be.

Enjoy your Antarctica tartan kilt when it comes. The tartan is a beauty!

[Arizona Scot]

Alan even though I am knew to kilting, I tend to feel the same way you do. I want to feel a connection to the tartan before wearing it. Right now I have a Macleod hunting and a Gordon, both are family ancestry and both are from SWK. When I start throwing I will probably wear the Gordon since it is an economy and only cost $35.00, this will also give me an excuse to get one in either standard or maybe a wool. Other than that I only plan on to more kilts right now a loud Macleod, and a MacPherson the later to honor the corporal that took me under his wing and taught me the ropes when I first got into law enforcement. But I also reserve the right to change my mind.

[Hamish]

Alan,

A fascinating read, and it's always good to hear how others have been 'grabbed' by The Kilt Thing! I see and fully appreciate where you are coming from, but my own approach has been, and is, different.

Although I have good Scots blood in my veins (albeit slightly diuted with some vintage English stuff), I am not really affected by the 'Heritage' angle although I respect it. For me, the kilt is a garment, an everyday garment, and not something I wear to honour my grandfather or his grandfather. I know nothing about them anyway. Apart from my two Gunn tartan kilts (Ancient and Weathered), I have selected all my others, and continue to do so, because they appeal to me; I like the colour combinations, the complexity or the simplicity of the sett. These kilts - all my kilts - are items of clothing which I chose to buy as I might previously have bought t------s, selecting by fabric, colour or pattern - even perhaps to 'go' with a particular shirt I've had for a while.

Of course, I like to know about the origins and variations of the tartans I buy, as everyone should, but I very, very seldom am led by anything deeper or more significant than "...because I like it," when compiling my 'Wants' list.

Thanks again for an interesting read.

Take care,
Ham.

[Alan H]

Alan,

A fascinating read, and it's always good to hear how others have been 'grabbed' by The Kilt Thing! I see and fully appreciate where you are coming from, but my own approach has been, and is, different.

Although I have good Scots blood in my veins (albeit slightly diuted with some vintage English stuff), I am not really affected by the 'Heritage' angle although I respect it. For me, the kilt is a garment, an everyday garment, and not something I wear to honour my grandfather or his grandfather. I know nothing about them anyway. Apart from my two Gunn tartan kilts (Ancient and Weathered), I have selected all my others, and continue to do so, because they appeal to me; I like the colour combinations, the complexity or the simplicity of the sett. These kilts - all my kilts - are items of clothing which I chose to buy as I might previously have bought t------s, selecting by fabric, colour or pattern - even perhaps to 'go' with a particular shirt I've had for a while.

Of course, I like to know about the origins and variations of the tartans I buy, as everyone should, but I very, very seldom am led by anything deeper or more significant than "...because I like it," when compiling my 'Wants' list.

Thanks again for an interesting read.

Take care,
Ham.

Like I said, to Mike...if we were all the same, Hamish, think how boring it would be! Carry on!

[Alan H]

Here's a bizarre twist on the whole thing that just reflects how my brain works.

Preservation of natural environments is a cause I seriously get behind, though I know it's not a high-profile topic here on X-Marks. I worked for years teaching kids about environmental science and the marine ecology of San Francisco Bay. Joan and I give money to organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and Earthjustice.

In Scotland, there's a wild bird known as the capercaillie. Here's a picture of a male capercaillie, displaying..



capercaillie aren't just found in Scotland, they're found in several countries in northern Europe, but the capercaillie in Scotland is kind of a symbol for a huge problem in the British isles, in fact a huge problem worldwide. It's habitat destruction.

capercaillie live in low scrub and pine/oak forests. This is a perfect description of the ancestral Caledonian forest, which is mostly gone, now. Because of that, the numbers of capercaillie have dropped precipitously over the past 100 years, going from something like 30,000 breeding pairs in Scotland, to I believe less than 5,000. That's not a lot of capercaillie in a land which used to be crawling with them.

Here's the RSPB web page about capercaillie.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...llie/index.asp
I would love to see one!

Well, in August, 2006, Locharron designed and started weaving the capercaillie tartan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/s...nd/5258248.stm

Which you can see here, adorning the very attractive frame of Miss Scotland, 2006.



I would wear this tartan, and in fact plan someday to own a kilt in it. WHY?

Because 7 percent of the proceeds of the sale of the tartan go to the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), which understands that the REAL issue here is habitat loss. I am totally behind that cause, both in terms of education and doing something RIGHT NOW, like buying land and restoring it to forest.

I don't know another tartan that has a direct connection to a crucial conservation issue, and that is something that I have a connection to.....and therefore I would wear a capercaillie kilt. Why, in my guts, I would wear a capercaillie tartan kilt because of my convictions concerning conservation issues, but can't bring myself to wear a kilt in the Edzell tartan to honor my fathers military service, I leave for you to ponder. But I can't.

Scotweb can get you a kilt in the capercaillie tartan, BTW.

[slohairt]

I like the Capercaillie tartan as well, and it's a good cause. They should make more tartans like that!