Origin and Use of "Dress" Tartans

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

You really, REALLY, ought to know your tartans and your categories better before you make such a silly statement.

Category #3 includes quite a few men. In fact the current world champion highland dancer is a MAN. And, almost to a man, the men of the dance world wear dress tartans.

Aside from the gender issue created by David L. Pope's faux pas, I tend to agree that most "dress tartans"-- particularly those with white backgrounds-- really are better suited to ladies attire and Highland dancing competition. That said, if someone felt they looked the biz in a dress tartan... well, that's fine by me.

[YoungMan]

My grumble with dress tartans, is that the amount of white added tends to "white wash" the whole tartan. You could have no idea what tartan they're wearing bc of all the white in it. Also for tartans like Livingstone where suddenly you're in blue and white instead of red and green. How's that even a Livingstone anymore? I say stick with the originals and let the women and dancers have their fashion.

[Dixiecat]

Can you provide pics of men wearing a dancer's dress tartan in a non-dance setting? I'm always eager to have my misconceptions shattered...

Why should I? You obviously haven't bothered to check out the link of HRH Prince Charles wearing a dress tartan kindly provided by another earlier in this thread, so I'd just be wasting my time.

I don't know of any mills that provide these tartans in heavyweight fabric designed to be made into mens' kilts

I hope you're not saying that a dancer's kilt is not a man's kilt. You do realize that highland dancing is a man's dance? You do know that a female dancer wears a man's kilt? Lightweight or heavyweight, it's a man's kilt. Just like some gentlemen on this forum wear lightweight kilts to stay cooler in a warmer climate, dancers use lightweight kilts to stay lighter on their feet.

[Rex_Tremende]

A dress tartan, as Rex correctly pointed out at the begining of this thread, need not have a white background to be considered as such.

Not I, but rather the OP himself, DavidLPope.

[Panache]

I would just like to point out from my experiences of knowing individuals involved in Highland Dancing that the dress tartans with their white base are used by both Gentlemen and Lady dancers.

The reason for this is that the judges who observe the dancers do so at a distance of some 30 feet away (or more). Standard tartan colors tend to blend with each other and don't look very distinctive. The white helps the tartan stand out.

On behalf of the Forum Moderators I ask all to be respectful of each other, and try to avoid blanket statements that may not be right.

Cheers

Jamie

[davidlpope]

I apologize for any offense I may have caused, offense was not intended. I appreciate the input from all who have responded. I request to have this thread closed unless the moderators believe there is a compelling reason to keep it open.

Cordially,

David