When I'm giving people advise about how to choose a tartan to wear, I usually start out with "All things being equal, if there is a tartan associatied with the surname you bear, that is the most obvious choice." Now, a lot is assumed in that "all things being equal" clause. There are all manner of considerations that may effect the decision.

One of them is the issue you raise -- do I even like the tartan? People's reaction to tartans can range from "Oh my goodness, I LOVE that design," to "It's ok, I suppose I like it fine enough," to "Oh, what a hideous tartan, I'd never be caught dead wearing that!" And, believe it or not, people's tastes change over time. Ten years ago, when I first started working in the museum, my favorite tartans tended to be your standard blue/green tartans with maybe a little color, like Hunting MacLeod. I remember just loving that one.

Today, though, after starting at tartan nearly every day for a decade, I tend to like the more unusual or unique designs more. I love Aberdeen, for instance, because not only is it so very different from most tartans you see today, it is also very much in keeping with the style of the eighteenth century, when it was originally designed.

Sometimes you may start out not likeing a particular tartan, but it will grow on you over time.

In any case, I don't think anyone should feel forced to wear a tartan if they just really don't like it. Your goal may be to honor your heritage or your anscestors, but if you are going to cringe and gawk every time you put the kilt on, is that really the way you want to honor them?

The good news is that most clans have multiple tartans from which to choose. For instance, MacFarlane has a red, green, and black and white tartan. Scott has a red, green, brown, and black and white tartan. You may not like the Buchanan tartan, but the Buchanan Hunting might be more up your alley.

Even in a case where a clan has only one tartan, such as Armstrong, you can obtain that tartan in a variety of color schemes, such as modern, ancient, weathered, muted, etc. I know many who do not like the modern Buchanan but love the weathered Buchanan or the reproduction Buchanan.

Lastly, it is not unheard of to have a length of custom tartan run in a personal variation of a recognized clan tartan. I use as an example on of our museum employees, who is a MacGregor. He doesn't like the standard red & green MacGregor tartan. He wanted to have a kilt that was primarily black. So we had woven for him a length of kilt cloth of the MacGregor tartan where the main color was switched from red to black.

Technically speaking this is not a "clan tartan" because he changed it. It's a "personal tartan." However, the basic form of the tartan is still the MacGregor design and he wears it both as a personal tartan and to honor his clan anscestry.

In other words, there are lots of options!
M