Tartan of Holland: Dutch wearing kilts?

[Gerhard Schreurs]

Greetings from the Netherlands!

though born in Holland and proud of that, Scotland feels like a dear home country as well, as it does for many Dutch. I paid many visits, made friends, the people's character and hospitality is of a quality that the Dutch can learn quite a lot from. The tolerance for which Holland is known for, is alas often just a flavour of indifference.
As you may know, in 2005 some very eager Dutch Scotland-enthusiasts have managed to realise a Tartan of Holland. They decided to go about it all legal and proper; it was designed bij Dr. David Wishart and officially registered. I think it was a splendid job and i am proud of the result.
Here in Holland the name of Orange enjoys mixed emotions. The role of William of Orange in England and especially Ireland was controversial, to say the least. To put it bluntly: he was responsible for a bloodbath and should rather be remembered in a hall of war criminals instead of in a hall of fame. In that light i and many others consider the Orange marches in Nothern Ireland a provocation that could be dispensed with.
Be as it may, the colour of Orange is also linked to our present Royal family, which in my view does a splendid job. There are Dutch wanting to get rid of them altogether, mainly because of cost of maintenance, for which there seems little return. But i am dead against that, for without them Holland would be a mere province and docile marketplace for big economic entities like neighbouring Germany or the USA. I think the Royal family's return in international goodwill is underestimated. Tradition and history are things to be treasured and not to be redstriped by cold economists. So i am proud of our red, white and blue and also our orange, one cannot hold the present Royals accountible for actions far away in the past. On our Queen's Day (on April 30th, really the birthday of the deceased Queen Mum Juliana, which daughter Beatrix decided to honour, for hers is January the 31st) i am coloured more orange than the average Dutchman. Visit Amsterdam or The Hague on 30th of april, you will see what i mean!

That was a long introduction for my real question. As i will honour Holland and things Dutch, i am also inclined to honour all things Scottish. But i have no Scottish family of heritage whatsoever. A Clan Tartan would therefore be absolutely out of the question. For that i would have to feign things and would feel like a fraud, as would only be the right way to feel in that circumstance. The Tartan of Holland could not even be seen as a District Tartan, for no Scottish district is involved. It would at the most be a festive fantasy tartan of a company one or an officially registered one to display pride in international relations, but that's about it. How would a Dutchman be perceived wearing Tartan of Holland? How would any foreigner in a kilt be perceived in Scotland? Probably like e.g. a very eager non-Spanish Barcelona fan wearing Barcelona kit. Though not so much linked with Dutch pride and heritage as Scotch kilts are, there still are about a dozen traditional regional Dutch costumes left. The ones from Volendam, Staphorst and our province Zeeland are the best known, with traditionally adorned and painted clogs to match. I even have clogs myself. But personally i must admit that i would be amazed to encounter someone in Volendam wear, suddenly addressing me in a Glaswegian accent.
Is that the same with you? Would foreigners in kilts be seen as wannabees, overzealous tourists, consumers blinded by their romantic view of your nation? And if not, what would they have to do in order to express real honour to Scotland? For i think these matters are not to be trifled with, traditions and honour only remain strong when not exploited or mocked about with. If i would perceive the slightst hint of being out of place or order, i would not dare show a foreign tartan in Scotland, let alone dare wear a kilt.
Your advice will be most valued and appreciated! Thanks and all the best. Gerhard

[Jock Scot]

Welcome Gerhard,from Inverness-shire.I think I can speak for most Scots by saying that we would be delighted and very flattered to see you dressed in the kilt.Properly,though,please.

It has been said dozens of times that you can wear nearly any tartan you wish,but thankyou for being aware of the clan connections that some people are very proud of.Having said that,there are the district tartans that no one in Scotland would be the least bothered about if you chose one of those, and then there are the fashion tartans such as the Isle of Skye or Highland Granite,to name two,to choose from.Also,dare I suggest to a Dutchman, the Stewart tartan is available to anyone, as is the Black Watch tartan.

[MartinGrenoble]

First:
Wear whatever tartan you like; there are no restrictions.

2:
Not many Scots can actually recognize more than a few tartans.

3:
Dutch accents may be distinctive to a linguist's ear, but not to the average man in the street.

4:
No-one will ask you to justify what you wear -- they probably won't even notice, anyway.

5: Find out about your fellow Europeans' experiences -- they may be different from the Americans'.

Martin
in Grenoble, France,
proud owner of 15 different tartan kilts, only one of which corresponds to a family tie.

[McClef]

from South Wales UK!

Gerhard - there is no problem about wearing any tartan in Scotland (with the possible exception of the Balmoral which is limited to royalty and those given the privilege by royalty) and there are so many tartans that few Scots would recognise many of them.

And the tourists are just so glad to find someone wearing a kilt to pose with!

Most Scots will assume that anyone kilted on a weekday is a tourist or visitor anyway.

[Galician]

Welcome, Gerhard, from the former New Amsterdam!

I would respond to your comment on District tartans by pointing out that using them, especially for ones outside of Scotland, would be like wearing a cap with the name of that region. It can either mark a resident or someone who wishes they were one!

I think that your wearing a kilt, regardless of the tartan, is the biggest barrier. Given that, your wearing the Holland tartan would be perfectly appropriate. Do you intend to wear your wooden shoes with it, though?

Btw, a photo of a kilt in that tartan would be appreciated.

[cacunn]

Welcome to the rabble. Wear what you want and have pride in what you wear. If you are concerned about tartan based kilts why not make an X-kilt, the instructions are located at:

http://www.geocities.com/alanhsails/X-Kilt_final2.pdf

[James MacMillan]

Speaking as someone long removed from the homeland, I can mirror the comments made above.

Wear whatever tartan you like. There really are no kilt police. If you feel more comfortable in a particular tartan, then you will wear it with more pride.

I feel this way about my beloved Leatherneck tartan. But I also really like the colors! I also have close ties to several clans (MacMillan for instance) that I really don't like the colors of their tartan. So.......

Wear what you want and do it with pride!

[kiltimabar]

Some of the historic Highland troops in Holland left behind evidence of their visit--I found this in a the book "Scottish Clans and Tartans" by Neil Grant (pub 1987), p. 38:

"In 1983 hitherto unknown mural paintings of several figures in Highland dress were discovered at Loevestein Castle in the Netherlands. They appear to have been painted by a Scottish officer of the garrison not later than 1753, possibly by William MacKay, a subaltern whose death at Loevestein between 1750 and 1753 might explain why the murals are unfinished. Under the direction of Henk Hovenkamp the tartans worn by a a man dancing have been meticulously recreated by Dutch weavers. None of these resembles a modern tartan, nor do others appearing in the paintings with the possile exception of a piper's kilt which resembles, probably coincidentally, the modern MacNab."

I have no way of scanning this in, but if you can obtain a copy of this work, one figure is illustrated (wearing no less than four different tartans), three of which are those referred to as reproduced.

So here we have several tartans which have a historical connection to Holland, having been actually used there. If you could manage to get any of them reproduced, they would certainly make an interesting and unique kilt with a great story to tell when anyone would ask about the tartan.

At the very least, a visit to Loevestein Castle should prove interesting.

[BEEDEE]

First off from coastal North Carolina.

To answer your question, the Holland tartan would be considered a fashion tartan, as are the various state tartans here in the USA, the provincial tartans in Canada, the county tartans of Ireland, and my homeland's Pride of New Zealand tartan. Wear the Holland tartan with pride, and if anyone asks, you know its history. As to wearing a kilt in Scotland, I've never been queried in several trips there.

Brian

[Gerhard Schreurs]

Welcome Gerhard,from Inverness-shire.I think I can speak for most Scots by saying that we would be delighted and very flattered to see you dressed in the kilt.Properly,though,please.

It has been said dozens of times that you can wear nearly any tartan you wish,but thankyou for being aware of the clan connections that some people are very proud of.Having said that,there are the district tartans that no one in Scotland would be the least bothered about if you chose one of those, and then there are the fashion tartans such as the Isle of Skye or Highland Granite,to name two,to choose from.Also,dare I suggest to a Dutchman, the Stewart tartan is available to anyone, as is the Black Watch tartan.

Greetings from Amsterdam to Inverness-shire, Jock Scot! Thank you very much for your reply. Of course, this is not just a garment, wearing it is a serious matter of proper attention to detail. I know a few Dutchmen wearing the Stewart or Black Watch tartan, so they obviously chose with care and proper respect. For myself, i would probably choose the registered Holland version nonetheless, for with that choice there can be no mix-up or abuse due to "borrowing" of Scottish heritage that does not exist in reality. If asked for its origins, i could in all honesty claim that the design was carried out and registered in Scotland, but that the design itself is solely a Dutch responsibility and no attempt to feign or borrow Scottish heritage. This is how i feel it should be. A fellow responding member stated that the particular Holland tartan was, as such, a fantasy design and i am fully content with that. It is encouraging to know that wearing a district tartan is not considered to be a subject of strict abjection, it shows Scotch sportsmanship on that account as well.

Thank you very much for these helpful and welcoming words! Kind regards, Gerhard