"Freedom" tartan?

**Santa Kona** · 14th September 09, 09:41 AM

When I think of Freedom Tartan I too think it should be Bold and Bright. Like you are making a impact statement.

**Bruno** · 14th September 09, 11:38 AM

Not my cup of tea. I would not buy it myself. But then its you wearing it, so its your choice.

**CDNSushi** · 14th September 09, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by Bruno

Not my cup of tea. I would not buy it myself. But then its you wearing it, so its your choice.

Absolutely. The reason for my thread though, was to get peoples' honest feedback -- and that's exactly what I'm getting, which is excellent.

One thing that really surprises me, however, is the heavy emphasis that people seem to place on the name of the tartan (and the associated perception of its meaning) rather than the appearance of the sett itself. I guess I'm the type of person who looks more at how something might look with other elements of my wardrobe first, without placing so much weight on what it's called... If I had a tartan called "Two dirty alleycats fighting" but it looked really cool, I'd buy it in spite of the name, even though the name does have at least SOME influence in my buying decision.

**Tim Little** · 14th September 09, 08:07 PM

Irrespective of the name, I prefer the design of the Isle of Skye to either the Freedom or Rhode Island tartans. Color palettes are similar, but I think the design of the IoS seems more sophisticated.

Freedom:

IoS:

**Ozman1944** · 15th September 09, 07:19 AM

A bit bland, I reckon; a duller version of "Heritage of Scotland".
Wasn't there talk of a "Freedom/Rainbow" tartan re Gay Liberation? I reckon a tartan denoting freedom should be bright & vibrant.

**Ancienne Alliance** · 20th September 09, 01:06 AM

It's not bad...

But then again,

if you want this tartan to look it's very best...

I know someone who could make the best looking kilt out of it for you...
The ideal thing....say

... a swishy Double Box Pleated Kilt.

Aaaah ! Just couldn't help it.

...must be the full moon.

Best,

Robert

**OC Richard** · 11th January 10, 06:54 AM

When I first saw Isle of Skye, I was blown away and thought it was the most beautiful tartan I'd ever seen.

One of the top bands in the world wears it, the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band. They actually rented their kilts for their competition! Here they are:

The thing about that Freedom tartan is that every time I see a kilt out of it, the colours look different. Yes the one in the post above looks dullish, but this one, on Ebay, has strong lovely colours:

It's one of the tartans I'm considering for my next kilt... it has to be as different as possible from my current tartan, muted Drummond of Perth. It's sure true that the design of the Freedom tartan is quite simple.

**RockyR** · 11th January 10, 07:09 AM

I don't MIND it, but it's not in my 'top 5'. It reminds me of Flower of Scotland or Douglas a bit.

The real deciding factor for MYSELF would be 'what is the material?'. If it was Scottish woven wool, the tartan would still be in the 'maybe someday if I get a good deal on it'. If it was woven 'elsewhere' and wasn't the same quality material I'd like in one of my personal kilts, I'd definitely pass.

**ForresterModern** · 11th January 10, 07:19 AM

It looks a lot like a Douglas tartan in some off color way---more purple than blue, a lighter green---but the wide sett and the prominent centered white stripe are very similar to most of the Douglases.

Wearing Douglas myself I would have no desire to wear the Freedom tartan.

However, for those without clan affiliation and desiring to wear a striking tartan it may fill the bill.

**Detroitpete** · 11th January 10, 01:27 PM

I say if you like it then get it. The comparison above with the IOS left it a bit wanting, but then again, if you wanted an IOS you would have gotten one. I come down on the side that what one likes or dislikes in tartans is VERY subjective. I haven't the foggiest notion of why I like some and not others.