Quote Originally Posted by Tobus View Post
But are you saying that dress tartans were never intended to replace normal tartans for upscale/formal/dressy events?
Right, I think this is precisely the academic question that is being grappled with. Setting aside those "dress tartans" which were created as fashion tartans for highland dancing, does "Dress" in "Dress Tartan" mean "from a woman's garment" or "for formal occasions"?

Peter MacDonald has raised a good point in that we can't seem to produce evidence to establish a link between arisaids and modern dress tartans, which I had always thought existed. If that's not the case then we're back to primary source research.

Cordially,

David