Would YOU wear another "clan's" tartan?

[Micric]

I'm brand new here and don't have a kilt (yet!)
but when I get one, it could be one of about six tartans with family/district connections, or maybe something completely different!
Having just read "So you're going to wear the kilt" it sort of puts the kybosh on many family tartans, showing them to be a rather modern idea, and also mentions the term "Sept" being merely the Irish word for "Clan".
This also squashes the somewhat tenuous family connections to clans we tend to call "septs"
This, together with the old paintings of generations of Scottish Lairds, each generation in a different tartan, or wearing more than one at a time, tends to lead me to take the old (Inverness I think) kiltmakers advice;
"wear whatever tartan you like!...after all there are no tartan police!"

It would appear that the late Victorian period put many of the constraints on what we can and cannot wear, and in former times things were much more relaxed and enjoyable.
...and "relaxed and enjoyable" appeals to me!!
As a proviso I must add that any tartan worn would be with respect.

May I also say here how I have enjoyed learning from this forum!

Best,
Richard.

[jhockin]

I am voting "wear any tartan - if I like it".
As our own Matt Newsome says, in his article "Generations of Highland Dress" : "Even today, there are no rules or regulations dictating Highland fashion or tartan choice. The most “traditional” thing you can do is to select a tartan based on its appearance rather than its name!"

[wildrover]

I wouldn't wear any "unique" article of clothing to which I had no connection, kilts included. IE I won't be traipsing around with a brass plate stuck to the back of my head, nor embroidered denim hanging at mid-thigh, no boat shoes with draped sweaters, and so forth.

...But that is just me, and there's a good chance that in the future, "connection" might be as simple as "yeah, a buddy of mine got a kilt in this tartan, and I thought it was cool so I got one too."

Maybe even get one the MacEvil tartan.

-Sean

[mull]

I suppose my answer has much to do with being an american mutt, but I pick a tartan for its look. Without being offensive, being born is something no one has any control over and to think it entitles you to anything, even a pattern of fabric is bunk.

The tartans I would not wear... belong to groups who EARN them, like a marine who chooses the leatherneck. I have not earned that right and would not presume to infringe upon those who have.

Joe

[Geoff Withnell]

I haven't answered, because none of the answers fits. I will wear any fashion or district tartan. I have several. Of course my main tartan is the Leatherneck. I wear the Black Watch for its military associations. I have Gordon, for its Jewish associations. I have a Douglas in shipment, which for me is connected through its association with the Scottish Rifles. The Corps is the closest thing the USA has to a "Rifle Regiment". So I guess for me the answer is that I will wear a clan tartan if it has some connection. Bloodline? Being a generic Celt, with at least some heritage from Wales, Ireland Scotland and Cornwall, I could probably find some connection to a lot of tartans by some tenuous bloodline. But I look for a connection that resonates for me. When I get the Withnell family tartan design finished and registered, I am not going to restrict it. Of course my Dad, (currently head of the family) says I am to kick the @#$ of anyone who disrespects it.

Geoff Withnell

[guitarmatt]

This thread hasn't been dormant for too long, so I won't feel bad about reviving it. Preferably I'd only wear my clan tartan. When I got my kilt, I didn't know I had any Scottish ancestry. At that point I got a kilt in Lyndsay because it matched the one we already got for our 2 year old. I now feel a little self concious about it, but not so much that I don't wear the kilt. Like I say, I'd prefer to wear my clan tartan, Gordon, but probably only if I was involved in the clan, or at least had made some contact with other clan members and had a bit of an idea what was going on with them. Until that point I think I'll set my sights on the Huntly district tartan, which I've been told was the original Gordon tartan anyway and is certainly one of the older ones.

Aside from that I'd have no problem wearing a fashion or U.S. state tartan in addition to the clan tartan.

[BoldHighlander]

This thread hasn't been dormant for too long, so I won't feel bad about reviving it.

Thanks for doing so as I was off-line for a few months when this thread was started & I missed it first time around

While there are clan tartans (other than my own) that I like the looks of, I only would wear the clan tartan of that which is in my bloodline.
Otherwise district, solid coloured, or tweed tartans are fair game

[MacFett]

Clan: A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if actual lineage patterns are unknown, clan members may nonetheless recognize a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be merely symbolical in nature.

I have many good mates whose tartan I'd proudly wear. I at one point in time felt I should only wear my clan's tartan, but after much thought I realize that most of my friends I consider more like family then actual blood relationships. As such I will be soon wearing kilts in the tartan of some of my best friends, Erskine, Murray and Moran.

[Micric]

I agree entirely with MacFett.

In a discussion along these lines, I always wonder about all the folks it Excludes;

Those with no known clan, or known district tartan.
Are they doomed to wander around in some generic thing all their lives?...limited by some percieved convention?
H---! Life's too short for that!
Get a tartan you like or feel any connection to; Wear it with respect and Wear it Well!

I can't help but think this discussion could draw out a little bit of 'elitism;...amongst those few of us that actually have tartans. After all, most tartans are fairly modern anyway.
Again, wear it, and wear it Well!

All the best,

Mic.

[guitarmatt]

I think that everyone's opinion on this depends a lot on context. Those living in Scotland, especially the Highlands, seem to be less inclined to wear another clan's tartan. I myself have no problem wearing my Lyndsay kilt around Edinburgh, and will likely wear it to the Royal Highland show as well. But later in the summer when I trek to the games in my ancestors' home town, I'll go in jeans. Part of the reason for that is because that trip will be a lot about discovering my Scottish identity, and perhaps developing or deepening a clan identity, so why show up dressed as something I'm not? Later in the summer when I go to attend games in California I'll wear whatever I have. Like I said, I think it's a lot about context.