The wearing of hunting, muted or ancient kilts.

[The Wizard of BC]

To properly answer your question -

"Wondering if a proper 8 yard muted, ancient or hunting Kilt would be proper wear for formal/informal events"

The answer is YES!!!. There are no kilt kops, there are no written down, set in stone, rules about this. There really is no right or wrong.

There are some things that don't make much sense or which we usually do or don't do out of habit or common sense but not because there is some rule about it.

And if my answer so far has not convinced you consider this.

An ancient version of a Tartan and a Modern version of the same Tartan, ARE THE EXACT SAME TARTAN! The official thread count is all that matters. In a thread count if there is Green in the Tartan we use the letter "G". We don't specify what color Green. Just Green. All the versions are fully correct as long as you have Green.

[Jock Scot]

To illuminate a bit more.

This will most likely be worn in Scotland at a formal affair when we attend the 5 year Clan gathering.

If in ancient or hunting would that be a faux pas or a who cares?

Jock indicates a might look out of place in a formal setting......

BTW Jock am considering an ancient or hunting not a muted.

I am really not sure how you draw that conclusion from what I wrote!

Mind you, it was written well after my proper bed time, so perhaps I was not as clear as I might have been. I also should have used the word " muted" instead of "weathered" which perhaps, did not help. I will edit my reply accordingly. To be clear, there are no rules on this, but I do think some tartan hues do look a tad drab, the aesthetic look, for formal attire,------I do not include "ancient" in this drab observation, by the way----- but that is just a personal thought and by no means should that be taken as anything other than an observation and nothing more.

[Taskr]

My clan ranald ancient wears formally quite nicely. It is even used by hire shops for the purpose.

[Manxstralian]

To illuminate a bit more.

This will most likely be worn in Scotland at a formal affair when we attend the 5 year Clan gathering.

If in ancient or hunting would that be a faux pas or a who cares?

Jock indicates a might look out of place in a formal setting......

BTW Jock am considering an ancient or hunting not a muted.

What Clan tartan are you considering? The colour scheme would make a difference as to whether or not it would look good as a formal kilt. I think that would be the best place to start, as some hunting tartans would not work, and some (in my opinion) look better than the "Modern" variation for formal wear.

Cheers,

Cameron

[MacGumerait]

Reiver ,

The different categories of tartans ... dress , modern , muted , weathered , ancient , hunting ... can all work for formal attire .

Some of these tartans just " look " better than others with formal attire , thus its not an issue of the " category " but rather an issue of the " aesthetic look " of the tartan when worn in combination with other formal garments .

As others have mentioned , there are no rules and the " look " is often a matter of personal taste .

Also , as Manxstralian stated , we might be able to offer you some humble suggestions if we knew which Clan tartan you are considering .

All in all , I agree with your original premise of ordering a good quality 8 yd kilt that can be worn for many different occasions .

Cheers , Mike

[freddie]

I remember at one time a renowned kiltmaker (it may have been Houstons of Paisley) recommended ancient colours with black jackets and modern colours with coloured tweed jackets. I personally prefer the ancient Buchanan to the modern Buchanan as it's not so 'loud', however I don't think I'd wear weathered Buchanan ( brown based) with formal attire, although it looks great 'out in the heather'.

[OC Richard]

We have to keep in mind that most of these colourways are quite recent so there's no real "tradition" about them.

I collect vintage Highland Dress catalogues and the Anderson catalogue from the 1950s only mentions "ordinary" and "vegetable" colourings:

"It has now become possible to reproduce the old light and delicate shades yielded by the vegetable dyes which often disclose unexpected beauties in the design of tartans when manufactured with ordinary commercial dyes."

The catalogue has a list of tartans available in "vegetable colourings".

The Anderson 1936 catalogue also uses the term "vegetable colourings" and about them says

"Highland Dress in the Evening. The Kilt is made in the same way for evening as for day wear, but the material is generally lighter in weight. The lighter qualities of the popular hard tartan are very suitable, especially with the beautiful tones of the vegetable colourings."

The Rowans Of Glasgow 1938 catalogue says

"with very few exceptions Rowans kilts to-day are tailored from tartans which in colour and texture are true reproductions of the tartans of a hundred and more years ago (as opposed to) the more recent colourings of the past two or three generations... the ancient colourings have again come into their own..."

The catalogue has photos showing the difference between "modern" and "ancient" colourings. (Rowans uses these terms, which we still use today, instead of Anderson's "ordinary" and "vegetable".)

They give illustrations showing "ancient" colourings worn for both Day and Evening dress.

I gather that "reproduction" "weathered" and "muted" colourways only date to the latter half of the 20th century.

"Hunting" refers to a particular sett, not a particular colourway.

[Jack Daw]

I have just one kilt, Sinclair Hunting in Old Colors. Since we convene for our clan, I wear it to about a half dozen Highland Games every year and 3 or 4 black tie affairs. I think it looks fine for formal wear. Here is a picture.

Ancient seems to suit you, Allen.

[Reiver]

Gentlemen, question is well answered by all and I appreciate it....the tartan is Scott and I do like the Green Ancient.
I know there are no exact written rules but was wondering what was 'considered' this/that.
I have it now, much appreciated.
I do get the 'too drab' for some formal events with some hunting or muted colors.

Thanks!

[Liam]

Perhaps others can comment, but the "dress" versions of many tartans are now worn almost exclusively by young female highland dancers. I sure this wasn't the case when the weaving mills first marketed them, as both kilts and highland dancing were once male only. Because of this, however, I view the "dress" tartans as more appropriate for female attire.
Just my thoughts.