kilts in Scotland

[Jock Scot]

I know there are no rules, but what are the tartan choice traditions of people in scotland in general? Do people only wear their surname and/or other names they are related to (ie Campbell since its Mothers maiden name, Macdonald since it was Grandmothers maiden name, etc...) If they wear tartans of their ancestry, how far do people go back? Grandparents? Great Grandparents? Great Great Grandparents? What about district tartans? For the average scottish guy if you wear a tartan that you have no connection to, is that looked down upon? Do people even ask? Or is it one of those things where if your best friend or uncle sees you in a Campbell tartan and you are a Brown that you are looked down upon. I know its alot of questions. Just curious.

Good questions Sean.I will try to answer them,but to start with you need to think of the word "convention" rather than rules, at all times.I think we all would like to wear a clan tartan of our father's surname,but of course we all don't manage that, so we wear,if we can, a tartan with a familly connection,or regimental one ,and that is that.No one asks why we are wearing such and such a tartan,BUT we would only wear the one tartan.

I rather suspect that this convention started in the 1850's.Certainly, I vividly recall my grandfather giving my brother a major dressing down for suggesting that it would be a nice change to wear another tartan and that was in the 1940's.

Don't forget that the cost of a handmade kilt(that is all that most Scots know about)does not allow us to have too many.I have three---two are handmedowns and one I bought,all of the same clan tartan.

District tartans are not seen much apart from perhaps a local pipe band.

Please also don't forget that most Scots hire a kilt if they need one and in that case there is very little choice of tartan.