Is it OK to wear a dress tartan casually?

**northernsky** · 15th August 08, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by Monkey@Arms

Really, they are all just names. As I recall usually dress tartans have white in them replacing another color (often red), but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Best regards,

Jake

Amen to that. I'm not old enough (yet) to be called Ancient, but I wear my Ancient Mackinnon tank for both formal and informal occasions. I'm not a hunter, but I wear a Hunting Mackinnon (well maybe I'm hunting for gold when I wear it Dragon Boat paddling...) As the man said, they're just names. Wear and enjoy!

**sharpdressedscot** · 15th August 08, 03:11 PM

If I remember correctly, I don't even think Dress tartans are even made for dress purposes...most of the time.

**Jock Scot** · 16th August 08, 04:21 AM

I am not wishing to split hairs,but the MacLeod of Lewis(loud MacLeod) tartan is both the day wear tartan and dress tartan for that branch of the MacLeod clan.So you will be fine to wear it as daywear. The "Loud MacLeod" is the dress tartan for the MacLeod of Harris,the "senior",part of the clan and as you probably know, they wear MacLeod of Harris tartan for day wear. These days, though, few members of the MacLeod of Harris clan seem to bother to wear "Loud MacLeod" as dress wear.

**davedove** · 16th August 08, 04:48 AM

Actually, I believe the "dress" label did not necessarily apply to a more formal tartan. By substituting white into the tartan, it made it more feminine and thus ladies wear.

Of course, you can wear whatever tartan you want whenever you want, but it all has to fit your own individual taste. While there may not be any "right" situations for the wear of a particular tartan, there is always "right for you" and only you can decide that.

**Andrewson** · 16th August 08, 06:13 AM

I have now done what I should have done in the first place. I have consulted the oracle. James D. Scarlett, in Tartan, the Highland Textile (Shepheard-Walwyn 1991) has this to say about the growth in popularity of tartan following the 1822 visitation of George IV to Edinburgh which led to its mass production for the first time:

Page 42 Mass-production does not only make production in large quantities easy, it makes production in small quantities impossible or at least uneconomical. Manufacturers needed to sell as much tartan as possible and the best way to do this was to convince people that they needed to have several different patterns. The strident colours of the early analine dyes made 'hunting' tartans an almost natural development, ... and in an age when everybody (or everybody who could afford the finery) 'dressed' for dinner, 'dress' tartans found ready acceptance. Some clans were lucky enough to have two tartans and in such cases a dark one could be called 'hunting' and a bright one 'dress'.

So yes I am free to wear the loud MacLeod as daywear and as casually as I like. Now where did I put that red shirt ....

**Riverkilt** · 16th August 08, 08:31 AM

What a crazy crazy thread this is!! Wheeeeee!!!

Jay, I'm standing on a raft...pontoon type raft. Heavy steel body with four pontoons holding it up. Same type as in the movie Broken Arrow, though in the movie they take off the outer two pontoons. Same location, Glen Canyon of the Colorado River.

I am baffled by the term "Dress MacLeod" for the MacLeod of Lewis tartan. Yeah, yeah, that's what Robert Bain calls it, but I didn't think anyone else did. At least Bain was nice enough to point out that branch of the MacLeods were "vassals of the Macdonalds."

And I've never thought of "dress" tartans being for "dress up." Always thought they were for the ladies as mentioned, then because of their beauty were worn by the guys too. But "dress" just meant a tartan variation, not when/what to wear them for.

We're suddenly teeming with experts with different expert opinions...yeeehaaa!!

Ron

**Jock Scot** · 16th August 08, 09:30 AM

Ron,I think we have one of these trans-Atlantic mis-understandings here. In UK terms the term "dress" in male attire means formal attire. A suit(business or lounge) in UK terms is NOT dress wear.I guess, for us, dress(formal) wear would be, for daywear, the morning suit, or, in kilt terms a black barathea, silver buttoned, Argyll. I am not sure if you should wear your dress tartan with that outfit,but I never have.I don't think you should as we are talking formal day wear here. Oh, these d--n dress codes!

The formal evening(dress) wear in the UK starts with a dinner suit(tux) and black bow tie, or, again in kilt terms a Prince Charlie jacket and(in times not so long gone) a kilt made of your "dress" tartan. These "dress" tartans were often lighter in weight and made of "super standard" cloth.

Of course not all clans have a day(hunting)tartan and a "dress" tartan and certainly these days not many people have the two.

I have had more than a sneaking suspicion that you chaps over there, have regarded the term "dress" in quite another way,am I right?

**Andrewson** · 16th August 08, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Ron,I think we have one of these trans-Atlantic mis-understandings here. In UK terms the term "dress" in male attire means formal attire. ...

I have had more than a sneaking suspicion that you chaps over there, have regarded the term "dress" in quite another way,am I right?

Thanks for that Jock. I was using "dress" in the UK sense. I wasn't aware of the different interpretation across the pond.