Was Tartan ever actually banned?

[davidlpope]

wear or put on the clothes commonly called Highland Clothes (that is to say) the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, trowse, shoulder belts, or any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the highland garb;

I suppose it's possible that this is where the tradition of the Laird's Plaid comes from since a blanket carried upon one's shoulder could be easily argued as not actually being worn even though one is displaying their colours.

Another thing I've wondered is if The Act was not a primary instigator for the production of Harris Tweed as a replacement. Tartan kilts were banned, but perhaps a tweed kilt was acceptable.

I think that the plaid proscribed would also include what we have now come to call the "Laird's Plaid"- i.e. an untailored amount of fabric that could be used in multiple ways (e.g. Belted Plaid, mantle, cloak, etc.). Also, the proscription seems to outlaw the little kilt by definition, without reference to whether it was tartan or not.

All that being said, I think that Peter's point is a good one. The romantic notion that "scraps of tartan" were safeguarded away by poor clanspeople in defiance of the Proscription are probably just romantic myths.

David