Gov't Tartan Question

[OC Richard]

So the tartan sold today by kiltmakers as 'Black Watch' is slightly different to the tartan the RRS uses?

This question encompasses the colours, sett size, weight, quality, type of selvedge, etc.

I've not had a RRS kilt in my hands so I don't know about the weight or feel or quality of the cloth.

I would think it unlikely to be able to get cloth exactly like the RRS cloth commercially, as it almost certainly is bespoke and made under government contract.

There are piles of ex-army RRS kilts on EbayUK and the US Ebay all the time, and they're inexpensive as kilts go.

If one ever came up in my size, which is quite unlikely, I would buy it.

In any case not having one all I have are photos. Here's the top rear of a RRS kilt and a closeup of the fabric.

Note that the traditional army buckles and binding have been abandoned.



For comparison here's an unissued Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Other Ranks' kilt made by Thomas Gordon & Son, Glasgow.

It bears NATO code numbers.

You can see the traditional army thin stamped sheet-metal buckles on thin lacquered cotton tabs, and the traditional grass-green herringbone tape binding. (Cf the civilian-style buckles, painted black, on the RRS kilt above.)

I have read that the Other Ranks' kilts of the A&SH and Black Watch were made from the same cloth, just pleated differently. You can see that the green is a pretty normal shade.

I don't know the specific shades, but the Black Watch Officers' kilts look quite dark overall to me.

The A&SH Officers' kilts had the lighter moss-green similar to the new RRS kilts.