General Kilt and Tartan Question

**InCanada** · 9th January 17, 08:52 AM

Greetings to all from Toronto! I am a new member and relatively new to kilts as well. I belong to a Masonic lodge with a Scottish tradition where kilts are encouraged at big events. Having an Irish background there is no obvious tartan to wear, although there are the county ones that were designed 15-20 years ago. Saffron also seems like a good choice for me. Can anyone recommend a good tartan for me to wear being that I have no family connection to Scotland? My father's old kilt he wore for Scottish country dancing is available to me, although I'm curious what the general consensus is of wearing another family's tartan as my own? I actually have no idea what the tartan of that kilt is, perhaps if someone recognizes it they can let me know. No amount of searching online has led to me being able to positively identify it.

Connell.

**BjornBsrkr** · 9th January 17, 09:54 AM

Greetings from another kilted member in the the GTA!

As many here will tell you, there are no "tartan police" or rules about what you can and can not wear. You can select a tartan that has some meaning to you, or one which contains colours you like. In your case if you have a kilt available, why not wear it proudly! It is totally up to you.

Paul

**Liam** · 9th January 17, 10:00 AM

Without knowing the tartan of your father's kilt, I would suggest that if it fits then wear it. Other choices are the Ontario tartan, the Masonic tartan and one of my personal favourites Canada's Maple Leaf tartan.

**Taskr** · 9th January 17, 10:12 AM

If it is in good condition and the colours suit your tastes, then "was my father's" seems as good a reason as any to wear it.
welcome to the forum

**InCanada** · 9th January 17, 12:27 PM

Thanks for all of the replies everyone, it is much appreciated! Having read posts on the proper fit of a kilt the one I have will certainly do the trick. And I think Taskr's advice of saying "was my father's" is as good as any reason for wearing it.

Thanks again!

**dcommini** · 9th January 17, 04:38 PM

Welcome to the board, brother.

Do you happen to have a picture of the tartan you want identified?

**LKM** · 9th January 17, 05:26 PM

As mentioned before, there are no tartan police. Some people might act like they are the tartan police, yet I have not found any. There are many choices open for you. If you are concerned about the family background you can always go with universal tartans or district tartans such as Celtic Glen, Celtic Nations, Ireland's National, Irish American, or Irish Heritage. If you know where in Ireland your family is from you might want to go with tartans for an Irish district, I know several of these can be found at USA Kilts. I think there are also some Canadian district tartans that you could go with. There is also the X Marks the Scot tartan you can go with.

**jumper** · 9th January 17, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by InCanada

Greetings to all from Toronto! I am a new member and relatively new to kilts as well. I belong to a Masonic lodge with a Scottish tradition where kilts are encouraged at big events. Having an Irish background there is no obvious tartan to wear, although there are the county ones that were designed 15-20 years ago. Saffron also seems like a good choice for me. Can anyone recommend a good tartan for me to wear being that I have no family connection to Scotland? My father's old kilt he wore for Scottish country dancing is available to me, although I'm curious what the general consensus is of wearing another family's tartan as my own? I actually have no idea what the tartan of that kilt is, perhaps if someone recognizes it they can let me know. No amount of searching online has led to me being able to positively identify it.

Connell.

Greetings from Utah,

Well I would go with your fathers if it fits since it would have more meaning to you. If you want help with the name of his tartan a photo of it would help. But you do have options other then his. They are the Masonic tartan, Canada's Maple Leaf tartan, Ontario tartan, and since your Irish the Irish national tartan. There is other tartans you could pick of that are organizations you might be a member of, but over all you can wear any that you may like. When the Lord Lyon came to Salt Lake he stated that you are more likely to receive gratitude then despise from a clan you may adopt a tartan to wear of, you fancy it then please wear it. There is also the "universal" tartans. Last since you are a member of X marks the Scot you can wear the page tartan.

From my personal side I have the black watch that I was given by a member of the BW and the Irish national since my grandmother was Irish and we have no other information other then that on her.