Not a kiltie at present

[Morris at Heathfield]

As long as I'm posting here, I suppose I might as well introduce myself. I'm a non-kilted fellow currently residing in Texas.

I have only worn a kilt once in public, for an International Night at my school. I had done a country report on the United Kingdom, and we were encouraged to dress up in the national dress of our country, so I thought a kilt was the obvious choice. Besides, I had quickly developed a taste for tartan. My mother made the kilt herself out of fabric store material. I know she cut some corners, but for her first (and only) kilt, I think she did a wonderful job. It had two flat aprons in front and pleats in the back, and that's what matters most, right?

She also made a drummer's/piper's plaid out of the same material. I doubt it was a registered tartan. I call it "Campbell of Saltoun, modern colors" because it looks like the Fletcher of Saltoun tartan without the red stripes. But anyway, it blended in well with a Campbell modern tie and a Black Watch tam-o-shanter. I wasn't too happy with the sporran, though. My mom used two large leather elbow patches to make it. It was kind of small, and I didn't think it looked like a "real" sporran.

I attended a few Scottish events after that, and I even bought a Clan Campbell T-shirt (black with the crest badge in gold) at the games in Campbell, but I don't recall wearing my kilt to any of those events. Since that time, though, I haven't been without a plaid shirt in my closet, although only one was in a registered tartan (Buchanan), as far as I know.

Recently I've been getting back into tartan, kilts, and things Scottish for some reason. I still have my kilt, so I decided to try it on a while back. It had been nearly two decades since I last wore it, so needless to say, it doesn't fit too well. So I am without a kilt at present. I don't know that I'd wear one every day, but it would at least be nice to have something to wear to Highland games and other suitable occasions. My biggest obstacle right now is money; after that, settling on a tartan: I'd like to have several different kilts for that reason alone.

I understand that wearing the tartan associated with one's surname is the most widely accepted practice, but as my paternal ancestors came from Sussex, I think it would be cheating to claim to be a sept of either the Gordons or the Buchanans, so I would rather wear tartans associated with Scottish surnames from which I can prove descent. Below is a list of surnames of my ancestors which I know or at least strongly suspect can
be traced to Scotland:

Allan, Buchanan, Campbell, Crawford, Crawford, Corrie, Edward(s), Eliot, Esplin, Fairweather, Forbush, Furge(r)son, Gibson, Gilmore, Graham, Hamilton, Lang, McClenahan, McCrory, McDonald, McNicoll, Ogilvy, Rieve, Robbie, Rutherford, Shaw, Stewart, Stewart, Watt, White, Wilkie.

It's color-coded according to the earliest location to which the line has been traced (North America, Northern Ireland, Northern England, Scotland). If a name occurs more than once, it's because it occurs in more than one line. My most recent Scottish surname—from my great-grandmother—is Esplin.

The Scottish counties to which my ancestors have been traced are Aberdeen, Angus, Dumfries, Perth, and Roxburgh.

Mind, I'm not asking anyone to recommend a tartan for me; I'm just pointing out how complicated such a decision would be for me—and that's without taking Welsh surname or Irish county tartans into account!