Would YOU wear another "clan's" tartan?

[Paul]

I think another distinction one might make is whether one would a) only wear my clan tartan(s) or b) would not wear another clan's tartan(s).

The difference is that someone who subscribed to opinion "b" would not have any issue wearing fashion, district, corporate, etc., tartans besides his own clan tartan, while someone subscribing to opinion "a" would not wear any of the above.

I personally fall closer to the "b" category. All the clan tartan kilts I wear are from families I actually descend from. On the other hand, I have no problem wearing district tartans for places I feel a connection to (such as the Carolina tartan for my home state) or even fashion tartans that I simply like the look of (such as my Highland Granite tartan kilt). I have no real desire, though, to wear another clan's tartan that I "simply like the look of."

I also think it makes a difference whether we are talking of a kilt or some other garment. I think the general assumption is that we are all discussing wearing a tartan in a kilt. But it does make a difference in my opinion. I'm not likely to wear a kilt in another clan's tartan simply because I like the looks. But I might wear a tartan in a neck tie simply for fashion, and wear that tie not in the context of Highland dress. In fact, I have done just that. I have a lovely silk tie in the weathered Buchanan tartan that I wear quite often in the autumn with a wool blazer and slacks. I'm in no way related to Buchanan, but the colors of that tie are perfect and I wear it as a fashion accessory with my regular Saxon clothing, not with the kilt. As I am not a Buchanan I have no desire to own a kilt in that tartan.

That's a fair point there, Matt.

For some reason I have several ties to "the big 2" clans of Buchanan and Campbell. I'm sure the more I discover about the family tree, the more clans I will have another small association with, however, my closest roots direct me towards these 2.
I wonder how far back those who selected options 2 and 3 go with their family ties before deciding that it is far too distant to have any close relation to? I've heard some forum members state that their only known Scottish connection is 5 or 6 generations back, yet this is the only clan tartan that they would wear.

[fluter]

I wonder how far back those who selected options 2 and 3 go with their family ties before deciding that it is far too distant

In my case about 5. But if I should find a MacLeod or MacDonald in the 6th generation, that may be revised. Interestingly enough, the 5th-generation line is the one about which I have the most genealogical info right back to the banks of Loch Lomond by way of the Great Waggon Road.

The tartan with which I grew up, my mother's surname, is the one with the shortest documented line. Her grandmother's name, we get as far as Co. Antrim --- or at least we know there was a sister left behind there --- but haven't really got much across the water, let alone the final jump to Scotland.