"Rules" for wearing family tartan

[Lallans]

My family name (up through the male line) originates from Northern England - right along the border of Scotland. As far as I can tell, there is no tartan associated with the name. However, throughout my family tree, there are a few scottish families/clans I am related to, though not through the direct male line.

Is there any rule (of thumb, I guess) prohibiting me from wearing any tartans that I may be related to, though not directly (i.e. blood relation)?

Cheers!

Bringing it back again, if you are from a Border family or clan, you should consider the Northumberland Tartan, aka many things including The Border Check and The Shepherd's Plaid (sorry purists!). As you will see, it's a basic black and white design, or variations with similar colours. Its authenticity has always stuck in my mind because Sir Walter Scott, who was ultimately reponsible for most of the Scottish dress codes we practice now, once said it was the true lowland tartan and also the most ancient tartan still in existence. And you could wear it proudly and confidentally, snobbishly even, if so inclined.

[McClef]

On the other hand, if my surname is Higginbotham, I can decide to wear the Gunn tartan out of whimsey, but I can claim no right or entitlement to it any more than I can claim right or entitlement to bear the Gunn surname.

The usage of "whimsy" implies capriciousness and something fantastical rather than a deliberate and informed choice. If no right or entitlement is required in the first place to wear a particular tartan then one has done nothing wrong in choosing it. The name of the tartan is secondary to the fact that one has chosen it because one happens to like it, That does not mean that one does not wear it without honouring and respecting the name it represents.

But neither does it mean that one has a desire to take the surname which is a totally separate issue and nothing to do with why one has chosen the tartan. Would you buy a pair of Levis and thereby claim right and entitlement to be of that tribe?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

If one chooses a tartan based on no other criteria than "because I like the way it looks" - that is a personal whim.

Those who wear a clan tartan because it is an identifying symbol of the clan that they belong to and are a member of are not choosing the tartan based on personal whim, but out of longstanding tradition that is a part of their heritage.

Clan tartan (unlike denim) is not a generic fabric, it is a very specific tribal symbol of identity and kinship, having been designed and produced for that purpose - to distinguish the members of the clan to which the sett pertains.

I don't have any problem with anything you have stated here. It is all very true, tartan is a very special fabric, rich with traditions and customs that in many cases go back generations.

However, that does not all add up to mean that any such thing as an "entitlement" or a "right" to a tartan exists.

My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Armstrong. Therefore I wear the Armstrong tartan in honor of my blood connections with that family.

There are those who would not consider wearing the Armstrong tartan unless they were decended from that clan on the male line. Fine.

There are those who would not consider wearing the Armstrong tartan unless they actually bore the surname "Armstrong." Fine.

Each of the above hypothetical gentlemen are entitled to their opinion, and I respect that. But we are talking about my kilt, here, and my choice of what tartan to wear in my kilt, and if I want to wear a tartan to honor my grandmother and her family, so be it!

And, truth be told, if I wanted to wear the Armstrong tartan, and yet had absolutely no ties to that clan, I would be free to do so. Who is going to stop me?

Which brings me to the point which I have been attempting to make all along. There is no such thing as a "right" or an "entitlement" to wear a tartan. Except in those .01% of cases that I have mentioned, no one is going to ask for any kind of proof whatsoever that you have a justified reason for wearing your tartan. Your reason is up to you.

Most people will feel compelled to select a tartan to which they feel some tie, which they feel represents them or their ancestry in some fashion. This is the tradition that has developed -- of wearing tartan in a symbolic fashion.

But to suggest that one must have an entitlement to wear a tartan implies that one cannot wear any tartan to which one is not entitled, and this leads to much unnecessary worry and hand wringing; and really it is a concept rather foreign to tartan tradition.