Chicago District Tartan

[Brewboy]

As some in the Chicagoland Rabble know, I've been working on a Chicago District Tartan for some time, because we don't have an official one. It is true that when Tartan Week was trying to get the festival adopted in Chicago, they had a tartan design competition and selected a Chicago tartan, but the tartan was never registered and the city never formally adopted it. I've tried to get in touch with someone regarding the original Chicago tartan, but to no avail.

I have a few rough designs for the Chicago District Tartan, and would like to get tartan designers, kilt wearers, and kilt makers opinions on the various rough designs I have so far. The common link with all of them is that they incorporate the colors of the Chicago flag, which wasn't easy since the colors are red white and blue, and many of my designs ended up looking like gingham.

I won't go into the specific symbolism each tartan has, but generally speaking, red=Chicago fire, blue=Lake Michigan/Chicago River, green=Chicago's motto "City in a Garden", black=architecture, white=unity and peace.

Please vote for your favorite and let me know why, and why you like, or dislike the others.

Design No.1. This is based solely on the colors present in the Chicago flag:


Design No.2. A variation on Design No.1 with green incorporated into it:


Design No.3. Design No.2 eventually morphed into this design:


Design No.4. This is based off of the MacKenzie tartan since John Kinzie is known as Chicago's first white settler:


Let me know what y'all think!

[auld argonian]

Very astute of you to pick up the Kinzie/MacKenzie connection. Rather a primarily blue and green tartan than a red one...just works better for me.

Like all of those early Chicagoans, Kinzie was reputed to be a pretty rough guy. I just read the Wikipedia entry and it lists him as being a Canadian by birth.

It also has this tidbit:

"In 1785, Kinzie is said to have been involved with the rescue of two sisters who had been kidnapped by the Shawnee from Virginia in 1775. One of the girls, Margaret McKinzie, married Kinzie, the other, Elizabeth McKinzie, married Kinzie's companion, Clark."

...yeah...right...that's what they told the girls' parents, anyway...

Now we need a Jean Baptiste Point du Sable kilt pin to go with it!

Best

AA

[Brewboy]

Very astute of you to pick up the Kinzie/MacKenzie connection.

Thanks go to Glen C for pointing it out.

[McMurdo]

I like number 2 and 4, I am leaning toward liking 4 the best but not 100% which is my favourite. I do like the fact that number 4 incorporates some history as well.

[fudgeman]

I'm going for #4. More appealing to my eye!

[Christo13]

While I'm in Texas, now, I was born in the city.

I like the fourth tartan as well. There's history behind it, and I can see wearing it to a neighborhood tavern more than the others.

[Aldisimo]

I'm also a Texan who was born in Chicago. I like numbers 1 and 4, but voted for 1 because 2, 3, and 4 have more of a 'Christmas wrapping paper' look to me because of the combination of red and green. In fabric they will probably look completely different, though.

Whichever wins, I'll likely try to get some!

[Beertigger]

Number four is the only one I'd consider - it's fairly balanced and cohesive. The others are a bit of a jumble.

[McFarkus]

I like #4 best. I like the Kinzie-MacKenzie tie, and it incorporates the colors in the Chicago flag with green (Chicago's motto is "urbs in hortis" - city in a garden), blue for Lake Michigan. That's a definite winner. Thanks Rob and Glen.

I'd be happy to work on getting my alderman's backing.

[Galb]

You need a Navy Blue/Orange/White one...


...GO BEARS!!!