Clan Douglas

[Mathew MacKillop]

Hi Everyone!

The insights of members on this board have been quite informative, and I really appreciate it. I have a feeling that my next kilt will be of a Douglas Green tartan!
I have realized (from other threads) that the majority of the rabble here seem to not have much issue with any person wearing whatever tartan they please; however I cannot find myself completely in agreement with this. I can easily see from the eyes of some of the purists that you should wear your family tartan, and no other. It must indeed look odd to a native Highlander when someone wears a different family from one day to the next, and I can understand that they may view such a person as a "pseudo-Scot" and perhaps not appreciate it. Mimicry may be the greatest form of flattery...but it can also be a bloody nuisance. It is to honour my Scottish heritage that I want to wear the kilt, and offending the sensibilities of current Scots (at least, where it can be helped!) seems like a poor way of doing so.
If there were indeed a Douglas Chief for me to write to and obtain official permission to wear the colours, I would have been very pleased. As is, the emotional attachment of wearing my Grandmother's tartan will have to be enough; she raised me much more so than my actual parents, so I think it is appropriate.
Plus, I don't want to be stuck with district or fashion (shudder) tartans. I'd have to sell off a kidney to pay for a custom woven MacKillop tank!

[Grunthos]

It must indeed look odd to a native Highlander when someone wears a different family from one day to the next, and I can understand that they may view such a person as a "pseudo-Scot" and perhaps not appreciate it.

Possibly, and next time you spend a few weeks in one place in the Highlands, you might actually have to consider it. Until then, everyone else on the planet around you is just going to appreciate your great colors.

the emotional attachment of wearing my Grandmother's tartan will have to be enough; she raised me much more so than my actual parents, so I think it is appropriate.

Now THERE is a reason to wear it proudly!

I don't want to be stuck with district or fashion (shudder) tartans

I'm not quite sure what you have in mind that you are shuddering over, but there are many folks quite proud to wear a universal tartan, such as Black Watch or one of the many Stewarts. Some of the "fashion" tartans celebrating or commemorating our soldiers, police and firefighters have a lot of proud wearers, many with closer feelings of family than their own blood relatives. "Fashion" can be a dismissive term for a broad swath of groups and connections.

In any case, don't sweat it too much-- pick one and wear it proudly. You'll have time to expand your collection later

[Mathew MacKillop]

I live in Montreal, in an English-speaking area. There are quite a few older Scottish immigrants living here, and I would not want any of them to harbor any ill-will, or even feel a faint insult by my mere presence in their family tartan if they happen to be the sort of folks who are sensitive to that sort of thing. Same reason I don't wear vulgar t-shirts or carry signs regarding my opinion on religion or politics. Those that can be insulted, will be insulted, and it's often soon evident that there is no reasoning with unreasonable people. So, even outside of Scottland, it does worry me a bit to wear a Tartan that my family name is not attached to.

Of course, any reasonable person (which I optimistically believe to be the majority), will accept my "right" to it through my grandmother, and I do think I will happily wear her colours, too, and have no problem explaining the reasons to anyone who cares enough to ask. Maybe if I am eloquent enough even the ultra-orthodox will leave me be!

I hope no insult was taken at my reaction to the "fashion" tartans...and really, I was not referring to al the universal ones. I do not remember which of the "official" tartan sites I was checking out, but one of them actually had an image on file for "MacKillop" and none of the others did, so I used it to through pages and pages of tartans. They listed them in the following fashion: "Black Watch (Military)", "Douglas (Clan/Family)," and so on. Some of them had "fashion" in the brackets instead. While some of them where obvious in nature, such as "commemorative-this-or-that", but others where just company names and numbers, colours adopted by politcal parties, and a whole bunch that under the description read "proposed to so-and-so, rejected." and so on.

Now, I think it is demeaning of the kilt to use it for political promotion, and not representative of democracy, in a way. I hope to not violate any rules, but I would just say that if a politician is going to wear a kilt, let him wear a family, district, or regimental tartan, and truly represent his people. Enough of that though.

Companies can have all the tartans they want, but I want nothing of them. The ones that aren't even being used by anyone are equally meaningless to me. Besides that, many of them are rather...garish.

I was not including the military tartans or those for non-political groups, whatever they may be, in my shudder. My first kilt will be a SWK Heavyweight Black Watch; I can understand their value and appeal, but I would still prefer that my next one be a family tartan!

[Father Bill]

I agree strongly with most of your sentiment, Mathew, I just don't hold it quite as strongly as you express it here.

Almost... but not quite! In my opinion you have every necessary connection to wear Granny's tartan with pride and honour and consider it your own. The clan system was designed to recruit warriors, so in most clans, either a man or woman's children were members of their clan, but the man's normally took priority. Similarly for the generations that followed. You will find that much discussed here.

Wear it! Flaunt it! Love it! Just don't over-explain it. To say "It's my family tartan" will satisfy 99.9% of the folks you'll encounter.

[kiltedtom]

Mathew,

First, welcome to the forum. You will find it full of very nice and informative people. Second, I really like your tartan. the color combination is great. And it works wonderful for the Christmas season as well. Happy holidays and best wishes for the new year.

Tom

[Mathew MacKillop]

Why thank you, Tom! For the welcome and for the tartan appreciation! May I return the favour by complementing that magnificent beard?

[macwilkin]

Plus, I don't want to be stuck with district or fashion (shudder) tartans.

Matthew: please don't take offence at my reply, but are you aware that a number of tartan scholars consider the district tartan concept to be an older one than the clan tartan?

Regards,

Todd