General Kilt and Tartan Question

**InCanada** · 9th January 17, 08:52 AM

Greetings to all from Toronto! I am a new member and relatively new to kilts as well. I belong to a Masonic lodge with a Scottish tradition where kilts are encouraged at big events. Having an Irish background there is no obvious tartan to wear, although there are the county ones that were designed 15-20 years ago. Saffron also seems like a good choice for me. Can anyone recommend a good tartan for me to wear being that I have no family connection to Scotland? My father's old kilt he wore for Scottish country dancing is available to me, although I'm curious what the general consensus is of wearing another family's tartan as my own? I actually have no idea what the tartan of that kilt is, perhaps if someone recognizes it they can let me know. No amount of searching online has led to me being able to positively identify it.

Connell.

**BjornBsrkr** · 9th January 17, 09:54 AM

Greetings from another kilted member in the the GTA!

As many here will tell you, there are no "tartan police" or rules about what you can and can not wear. You can select a tartan that has some meaning to you, or one which contains colours you like. In your case if you have a kilt available, why not wear it proudly! It is totally up to you.

Paul

**Liam** · 9th January 17, 10:00 AM

Without knowing the tartan of your father's kilt, I would suggest that if it fits then wear it. Other choices are the Ontario tartan, the Masonic tartan and one of my personal favourites Canada's Maple Leaf tartan.

**Taskr** · 9th January 17, 10:12 AM

If it is in good condition and the colours suit your tastes, then "was my father's" seems as good a reason as any to wear it.
welcome to the forum

**InCanada** · 9th January 17, 12:27 PM

Thanks for all of the replies everyone, it is much appreciated! Having read posts on the proper fit of a kilt the one I have will certainly do the trick. And I think Taskr's advice of saying "was my father's" is as good as any reason for wearing it.

Thanks again!

**dcommini** · 9th January 17, 04:38 PM

Welcome to the board, brother.

Do you happen to have a picture of the tartan you want identified?

**LKM** · 9th January 17, 05:26 PM

As mentioned before, there are no tartan police. Some people might act like they are the tartan police, yet I have not found any. There are many choices open for you. If you are concerned about the family background you can always go with universal tartans or district tartans such as Celtic Glen, Celtic Nations, Ireland's National, Irish American, or Irish Heritage. If you know where in Ireland your family is from you might want to go with tartans for an Irish district, I know several of these can be found at USA Kilts. I think there are also some Canadian district tartans that you could go with. There is also the X Marks the Scot tartan you can go with.

**Dileasgubas** · 9th January 17, 07:57 PM

Burnett's and Struth makes kilts in the Canadian Masonic Tartan, which is a very nice tartan.

**Father Bill** · 9th January 17, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by Dileasgubas

Burnett's and Struth makes kilts in the Canadian Masonic Tartan, which is a very nice tartan.

Are you referring to the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario tartan? There is no cross-Grand-Lodge tartan that I'm aware of, but the GLCPO tartan is gorgeous!

**Dileasgubas** · 9th January 17, 08:17 PM

Yes, that's the one.

Originally Posted by Father Bill

Are you referring to the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario tartan? There is no cross-Grand-Lodge tartan that I'm aware of, but the GLCPO tartan is gorgeous!