Origin and Use of "Dress" Tartans

[davidlpope]

A recent post which referenced "Dress" tartans got me thinking, but I didn't want to de-rail that thread. I'd be interested to get more background on "Dress" tartans. It seems to me that "Dress Tartans" really fall into three distinct sub-categories:

1. Brightly colored tartans that seem (to many) too garish for day wear [for example, MacMillan "Dress", Barclay "Dress", MacLeod "Dress" (Macleod of Lewis)]. I think there is good evidence to show that these were originally "Clan" tartans, despite their bright hues. In the case of "Dress" Macmillan it's listed in "Clans Originaux", circa 1880, as merely "Macmillan", in addition to "Old MacMillan" which is listed as "Macmillan-Ancient". This sub-category seems to have become "Dress" tartans (in the sense of "formal dress", i.e. "Dress" = "Formal") through common usage, because there is often an aversion to these bright tartans in other than formal settings and most clan members choose to wear a more subdued, conventional "Hunting" tartan during the day.

2. Clan tartans to which white has been added [for example "Dress" Campbell, "Dress" Gordon, "Dress" MacDonald]. My understanding is that these were patterned after older arisaid tartans which contained lighter colors and were worn by women. In this case "Dress" = "A lady's garment".

3. Dancer's or "Dress" tartans which are worn by Highland Dancers and are based on clan or district setts, but which have been adapted as "fashion" tartans. D. C. Dalgliesh makes a wide range of these and there are often multiple color variations in a given sett- i.e. Dress Blue Erskine, Dress Green Erskine, etc. In this case "Dress" = "Dancer's Tartan", and there doesn't seem to be any real adoption by the clan chiefs of these setts as clan setts.

I, personally, stay well clear of categories #2 and #3 above, since I think these tartans are designed for women's clothing. I think category #1 is fine for men's wear, although they are often very vibrant.

Cordially,

David