"Garish" Tartans

[Jock Scot]

For sure we cannot choose the family we were born to.

But does that mean we have to accept as genuine, and wear, a tartan which was designed as part of an elaborate 19th century hoax, just because it was dubbed with the same name as the family we were born to?

If the only tartan available that had the same name attached to it as my last name was one of the hideous Hay-Allan creations I would wear something else. There are too many authentic old tartans still in production, and too many lovely new tartans, to make it worthwhile to keep wearing the bogus ugly ones, whatever name the Hay-Allans, at random, christened them with.

That is of course your point of view. I think that it may be unwise to voice those opinions, correct though the facts maybe, in those terms in Scotland. As I have already said it is wise to keep your opinions to yourself as it will cause less offence that way. And mark my words, offence would be taken in certain quarters.

[Arlen]

For sure we cannot choose the family we were born to.

But does that mean we have to accept as genuine, and wear, a tartan which was designed as part of an elaborate 19th century hoax, just because it was dubbed with the same name as the family we were born to?

If the only tartan available that had the same name attached to it as my last name was one of the hideous Hay-Allan creations I would wear something else. There are too many authentic old tartans still in production, and too many lovely new tartans, to make it worthwhile to keep wearing the bogus ugly ones, whatever name the Hay-Allans, at random, christened them with.

Richard, it may be worth bearing in mind that though a tartan may not be to your taste, others may think it very handsome indeed.

While most of the tartans of that time were arbitrarily named, many of the Clans took them on as their own and still identify with them to this day. They made a conscious choice to do so and the chiefs to this day will accept this or that tartan as their official clan tartan.
You may not be a fan of the tartan itself, but there will be another who loves the look and cherishes it as something his Clan/Name has associated with since it's 'false' creation.

Like it or not, to tar all the tartans created then with the same brush may come across as insulting those families who have adopted the tartans or who do like them.

Why not simply say that you find some of the tartans a little loud for your tastes and if you were to find a tartan for your name wasn't to your taste then you'd find another you preferred, rather than writing-off alllllll of those tartans?

I think it's one thing to honestly say you find a tartan a little garish for your preference and another to simply blanket them all as ugly.

[gilmore]

There is also a "green"/hunting variant of the Galloway tartan:

http://www.district-tartans.com/galloway.htm

T.

Yes, I have seen it and I like it.

It reminded me of an iguana I used to have.

[ThinBlueLine]

gilmore,

Part of my family, the Hannays, comes from Galloway as well. When you do make a kilt out of that I will be most interested in seeing the end result. That may be one of those tartans that looks just right in kilt form.


cajunscot,

I actually like the darker of the green Galloway tartans. The light colored one does not look nearly as good. Of the three I would go with the dark (weathered?) one without hesitation.

[Tobus]

If the only tartan available that had the same name attached to it as my last name was one of the hideous Hay-Allan creations I would wear something else. There are too many authentic old tartans still in production, and too many lovely new tartans, to make it worthwhile to keep wearing the bogus ugly ones, whatever name the Hay-Allans, at random, christened them with.

If your reason for wearing the tartan is simply to make a fashion statement, that's a perfectly valid opinion to have.

Some people wear it for other reasons, and the relative beauty or ugliness of a tartan design is nowhere near the top of the list in priority.

[OC Richard]

If your reason for wearing the tartan is simply to make a fashion statement, that's a perfectly valid opinion to have.

Some people wear it for other reasons, and the relative beauty or ugliness of a tartan design is nowhere near the top of the list in priority.

For sure a valid point.

One might legitimately ask what these other reasons for wearing a particular clan tartan might be.

Usually when I hear people talk about the reasons for wearing a particular clan tartan it boils down to either the tartan's appearance or the name it's known by.

The tartan's appearance falls within the realm of aesthetics and each person's sense of what looks "right" or "beautiful" is shaped by their prior visual experiences.

Someone steeped in pre-Hay-Allan tartan design could hardly not find many of their designs discontinuous with traditional tartan design, though whether this discontinuity is viewed as "bad" or "good" might depend on how much one enjoys the traditional sense of aesthetics.

When the Hay-Allans based their design upon an existing one their version is nearly always more clumsy, and their original designs show a lack of artisitic range and imagination.

The tartan's name falls within the realm of history and/or folklore. One might ask what provenance exists for a tartan to bear the name it now does.

One might imagine that the clan tartans seen today have always born the names they're now known by back into the mists of time, but such is often not the case, when one takes the trouble to look.

Especially troubling are the obviously bogus Hay-Allan creations. It's hard to imagine that anyone who knew the origin of the Hay-Allan tartan of the kilt they're wearing would be so proud of it that they'd be willing to fight about it. What's really sad is when the Hay-Allan design is now worn in preference to the older authentic (and usually much nicer-looking) design.

I find it hard to understand how so many people defend the Hay-Allan tartans. The Hay-Allan creations are not traditional. They're not particularly old. They're not well-designed. They're not even Scottish (the Hay-Allans being Englishmen). And worst of all they were designed as part of a deliberate hoax.

[MrLion]

I'd have to say that I've been handed a few tartans over the years that I've thought could gag a maggot. At the risk of causing a bit of a kerfuffle, I have to say, though, that they all looked fine once they were made into kilts. I can't think of a single one that looked horrid once it was made into a kilt, even if it seemed "unfortunate" in the bolt.

A friend of my son came to a local Scottish festival recently wearing his family tartan of Galloway.... the red/blue one. Wish I had pictures.
Have to concur with Barb T. above.... it looked grand, I liked it.

[ThistleDown]

Especially troubling are the obviously bogus Hay-Allan creations. It's hard to imagine that anyone who knew the origin of the Hay-Allan tartan of the kilt they're wearing would be so proud of it that they'd be willing to fight about it. What's really sad is when the Hay-Allan design is now worn in preference to the older authentic (and usually much nicer-looking) design.

I find it hard to understand how so many people defend the Hay-Allan tartans. The Hay-Allan creations are not traditional. They're not particularly old. They're not well-designed. They're not even Scottish (the Hay-Allans being Englishmen). And worst of all they were designed as part of a deliberate hoax.

It seems that you are the only one disturbed by the forged tartans of the 19C. As has been pointed out, very many of them are simply accepted as the tartans of the clans for which they are named now that almost two hundred years have passed. To be blunt, it is rude and bordering on offensive to state your dislike of another's tartan in quite so energetic a fashion.

[HeathBar]

Fortunately many of the ugliest tartans are bogus 19th century creations and can well be avoided on both historical and aesthetic grounds.

There are the ugly yellow creations of the Hay-Allan brothers, created as part of an elaborate faux-ancient manuscript hoax:

As far as I know, the Barclay dress tartan was not designed by the brothers. If you look at the copy of the 1842 book that Matt now has online, you will see that it shows the hunting colors, though it was not known as hunting then. If you have proof that the brothers did design the dress colors for the Barclay tartan, please share that with me as I would be very interested in that information.

[MrLion]

Met up with the son/father Galloway's at the Portland Highland Games 7/17/10.
HAD to get a picture:



I think this tartan looks great in a kilt!