Quote Originally Posted by Doc Hudson
[The modern Little Kilt was allegedly invented by the English manager of a Scottish iron works in the 1780's.
The idea that an Englishman was responsible for the little kilt doesn't ring true to me. I suspect that, if the factory manager story has any truth to it it was that he adopted something that was already being done by the Scots themselves for practical reasons.
Tartans, before the Victorian period, had no Clan or family associations. Patterns and colors were whatever the local dyers and weavers were doing at any given time. The closest stretch that can be made is district or regional colors based on the types of dyes in different areas.