West Virginia has a state tartan!

[Brave Andrew]

Almost Heaven, West Virginia.......sorry I couldn't resist.
Nae a bad lukin Tartan too.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Very nice tartan. Congratulations to the fine citizens of West Virginia.

Interesting article, but odd that the writer is still under the mistaken impression that the Lord Lyon has anything to do with tartans. Mayhaps we should send this article (http://albanach.org/official.htm) to them to relieve their distress as to the "official" status of the WV tartan.

I was going to make the same comment, Bill. The article states that the tartan is "almost official," for while it has been approved by the WV State government, it has not been approved by the Lord Lyon, whose court the article correctly points out is the authority over all things heraldic in Scotland. The problem is that tartan is not heraldry, and therefore Lyon has no authority over it.

If the tartan has the approval of the WV government, then it is the official WV tartan -- period. No more needs to be done.

Having the tartan recorded with some recording body in Scotland -- such as the STA -- is an exceptionally good idea. In this way people looking for information on tartan will have access to it. And this is the proper place to also record such information as the face that the WV government has granted its approval and adopted it as the official state tartan. But whether or not that taran is recorded with the STA has no bearing on its status vis a vis the state itself.

Now the new National Tartan Register that is underway will be organized under the auspices of the Lord Lyon, though I doubt the Lyon Court itself will have much to actually do with the running of it. It will be maintained by the National Archives and most likely rely upon the STA as major advisors/consultants/work-horses, etc. The details are still being worked out. But in the end, the facts will be the same. A state tartan being recognized by the state government is what makes it official (just as a clan tartan is made so by recognition of the clan chief). The new National Register will still be simply a recording body, only a recording body with government backing, as opposed to the privately organized ones we have currently.

~M

[Wvtartan]

The actual West Virginia tartan even has it's own website. http://www.wvtartan.com/ That has T-shirts, Material, Scarf's, and Ties that are all for purchase. In December of 2007, they had almost given up the process, when their mother reminded them of an old friend who was a local legislator. And on May 3, 2008, the first woven shawl of the West Virginia Tartan was unveiled by the Grant Family at the Seventh Annual Scottish Festival and Celtic Gathering in Bridgeport, West Virginia. So I hope everyone find this interesting and helpful. Also, any questions regarding the tartan or ordering info, please feel free to email, wvtartan@gmail.com and all questions will be answered! Have a wonderful day!

[Bog Trotter]

It is indeed a beautiful tartan. Not many folks I've spoken with here in Charleston are aware of it. We are excited about having an official West Virginia tartan, one we mountain folk can be proud of. This tartan is on display at the W.V. Cultural Center in Charleston. An official crest would look well with it.

[ForresterModern]

Another tartan to jones for, being a son of the mountain state myself. Just left yesterday from the 4th visit in two months. Beautiful state, beautiful tartan.

[OC Richard]

Here is the tartan as woven by Glena

This is my favourite! I like the muted red and that seafoam green. Done up in a large enough sett, this would make a lovely kilt.

Here is that tartan, formatted in a nice large kilt sett, centred as it would appear in a man's kilt:



I was at the West Virginia Highland Games in Bridgeport last May and I saw the booth displaying the new West Virginia tartan. Sorry to say, I just didn't care for it all that much.

I went to that West Virginia Tartan website, and hey I know us Mountaineers can be spelling-challenged, but somebody needs to tell them that the plural of scarf isn't scarf's.

BTW it looks like I'll be going to these Games again this year, so maybe I'll see some XMarkers there!

I too am a West Virginian living far from home, in California. I've always wanted to go to the West Virginia Games and I finally did it last year. I wore my LA Scots uniform and marched in the Massed Bands. Stood out like a sore thumb- I was the ONLY person in the Massed Bands wearing grey hose and shirt, quite a fad for pipe bands out here. The bands back there, mostly from Pittsburg, were still wearing the bright white hose from the 1990's.

I wonder if anybody has photos of the 2009 Bridgeport Massed Bands?

Here's an overview of these lovely Games:



Solo competitiors near and far:



Some sporrans on display:

[LoftGuy]

Hi,

Greetings from the Northern Panhandle.

Very beautiful tartan, thanks for posting the info and links. I've alraddy ordered a few shirts.

[LoftGuy]

Hi,

Greetings from the Northern Panhandle.

Very beautiful tartan, thanks for posting the info and links. I've alraddy ordered a few shirts.

[Highlander31]

A nice looking tartan.

[Detroitpete]

I'm of the opinion that I have NO earthly clue as to why I like some tartans over others. I wish I could say I had a formula I went by, or that it was based on some esoteric insight relating to color values, thread counts, symbology and the alignment of the planets when the first string of wool was threaded into place.

All I know is I like what I like. I LOVE this tartan. Perhaps its my idealized memories of a childhood spent at family reunions in West Virginia. Could be the muted colors remind me of a walk through the woods in fall to go flyfishing on a secluded WV trout stream.

As for being 'official', I believe Matt defined this quite clearly.