A US Tartan

[davidlpope]

There's already the US Bicentenniel/ St. Andrew's Society Tartan, for those who are interested. IMHO it's pretty tasteful for a sett composed of bright red, bright blue, white, and black. Here's a photo of my 4-yd box-pleat kilt, created by Matt Newsome. I also have 4yds of this HW tartan available, if anyone else wants to have a kilt made.

David

[Brian K]

There's already the US Bicentenniel/ St. Andrew's Society Tartan, for those who are interested. IMHO it's pretty tasteful for a sett composed of bright red, bright blue, white, and black. Here's a photo of my 4-yd box-pleat kilt, created by Matt Newsome. I also have 4yds of this HW tartan available, if anyone else wants to have a kilt made.

David

As always, David, I think you look quite sharp here, but I have always thought the Bicentennial tartan a tad bright for me.

I was born on the 4th of July, so patriotic themes have always been sort of a natural for me, but as someone who enjoys designing tartans I think there is too much white in this sett, and most others with U.S. patriotic origins. I have tried my hand at a few myself and the less white I use the happier I am. My avatar is a red, white and blue tartan of my design. White is obvious, but it is used sparingly so it doesn't overwhelm or distort the other colors. There are also 4 shades of blue to add some subtleties of detail and the predominant color is a scarlet red which is bright enough on its own. Any more white and the effect would be garish, I think. I also know I am not the only one who has a problem with white in designing tartans - others have complained to me that they'd like to use it a bit more but it seems to take over if not used sparingly.

Before I knew Rocky had design his subdued and elegant American Heritage I also tried my hand at a tartan with a black ground with the national colors and, even if I do say so myself, I liked it better than many of the other offers we see for the American audience. I also like the American National sett from the House of Edgar someone mentioned earlier. Again, the designer did not try to use only red, white and blue and in equal amounts. I think the addition of green to that sett helps to even it out a bit, in addition to the fact that it is principally dark blue with red and white as accent colors.

Of course, we all have several choices and can pick whichever "American" tartan we wish as there is no officially recognized sett, just a plethora of fashion tartans to appeal to a wide variety of tastes.

Regards,

Brian

[KD Burke]

I wanted something unique, and I have a fondness for patriotic colors. I found this:



It's called "MacDonald Dress Irish."

It's odd how different folk pperceive things. To my eye, the Bicentennial tartan is "brighter" than this one, even though there is considerably more white in the MacDonald Dress Irish. Perhaps the darker blue and red tones mute it a bit.

KD
:ootd: