Distant Scottish Connections - how to honour it?

[JamieN]

As a female, you could get a kilted skirt, mini kilt, shawl, and/or sash in tartan. You could also get a kilt. However, since kilts are more often worn by men, you would want to specify that you're female when ordering. (I've heard kiltmakers say the construction is different to accommodate the different body shape.)

Based on your background, I'm aware of the following tartans that you could choose from: Scott, Marshall, Campbell, Roxburgh, Ontario, Glasgow, and Argyll. There are probably several color variations for many of them. If you feel that one of those choices better expresses your roots than the others, then you might want to choose that tartan.

Women's garments generally use lighter weight wool, so you'll want to see which of the above tartans comes in a sufficiently light weight. (This may also vary with the type of garment.) If you plan to wear multiple tartan items at the same time, it's recommended that you order them at the same time, so they'll all be cut from the same bolt of cloth. Otherwise, there may be minor color variations.

As another option, you could also choose a "universal" or "fashion" tartan (for example, Black Watch, or Spirit of Scotland). There are hundreds of those to choose from.

As I understand it, women normally don't wear the tartan attire in comparison to men in Scotland. Do more women wear this in North America? Thanks!

[Steve Ashton]

I'm in a similar situation JamieN. One of my G-G Grandfathers lists on a US Census that his father was born in Scotland. And that is where my genealogy paper trail breaks. We do not know where in Scotland or when, or even his name.

So, I don't wear any Clan Tartans. I wear X Marks, Black Watch (Weathered), Isle of Skye, The Victoria, City of Gardens, The Company of Adventurers (HBC), Maple Leaf and the USMC Dress Blue. All of these are Universal or are from my personal background, not from my family or lineage.

[Orvis]

I'm in a similar situation JamieN. One of my G-G Grandfathers lists on a US Census that his father was born in Scotland. And that is where my genealogy paper trail breaks. We do not know where in Scotland or when, or even his name.

So, I don't wear any Clan Tartans. I wear X Marks, Black Watch (Weathered), Isle of Skye, The Victoria, City of Gardens, The Company of Adventurers (HBC), Maple Leaf and the USMC Dress Blue. All of these are Universal or are from my personal background, not from my family or lineage.

I agree, Steve. My family tradition holds that our Scottish ancestors (Riddles) came to America via Ulster, but I bear no name connecting me with a Scottish family or clan. I'm still hunting that line down in my genealogy. When I wear kilts, they are of historical tartans (Government, 42nd Kilts, 42nd Musician, USMC Leatherneck, Old Culloden and so forth) that anybody can wear. I would recommend my plan (or yours) to anyone who can't prove a link to a Scottish surname and its clan tartan and who is looking for a tartan to wear.

[Karl R]

As I understand it, women normally don't wear the tartan attire in comparison to men in Scotland. Do more women wear this in North America?

If you're comparing women in North America to men in North America, I'm going to have to put it at about equal. Men normally don't wear tartan attire. Women don't normally wear tartan attire. There are rare exceptions (Scottish festivals, Burns suppers, Renaissance festivals) where a number of men and women are wearing tartan attire.

Are you trying to blend in, or stand out? If you're trying to blend in, don't wear tartan. When I'm wearing a kilt, I'm expecting to stand out. You would probably stand out less than I do, because very, very few people would recognize the difference between a kilted skirt and a more normal plaid skirt.

The internal dialogue that I have been having with myself is that I am just not that close enough in Scottish ancestry to consider wearing tartan, even though I would love to. I know this may seem like a silly question, but typically, if you don't carry a Scottish name, what is generational limit of distance for wearing it?

There are some members of the forum who wear tartan kilts even though they are absolutely certain that they have zero Scottish heritage. When my wife gave me my first kilt, I wasn't certain whether or not I had any Scottish ancestry.

My surname is German, not Scottish. When someone sees me in a kilt and asks me, "Are you Scottish?" they have been perfectly satisfied with the answer "Part Scottish." Not one of them wanted me to explain to them how Scottish I was. I generally got the impression that they did not want to listen to me talk about my ancestry in great detail.

There are no guidelines that we can give you. This is entirely about what you feel comfortable with (or what you're willing to wear while feeling uncomfortable about it).