Would you ever wear a feather in your cap, particularly in the U.S.?

[PEEDYC]

From the Scottish Tartans Authority

http://www.tartansauthority.com/high...lt/some-advice

Quote : We mentioned feathers in one's bonnet earlier and should emphasise that it's viewed as the worst possible taste to wear eagle feathers in your bonnet to which you're not entitled. They're not fancy dress and have a long established significance in Scotland that shouldn't be trampled on. Here's what the late Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk had to say on the subject:

"The convention has long been established that a chief wears three eagle feathers, the chieftains of cadet* branches and Feudal Barons* wear two and the gentleman (armigers*) of the clan may wear one feather. The Sovereign, as Chief of Chiefs, wears four.") Lecture over!!!!

[Jock Scot]

If you want to see Scots with feathers in their hats check out The Queen's Bodyguard of Scotland ie The Royal Company of Archers. I think they take it to the extreme.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur...1t:429,r:2,s:0

I do wear a feather or feathers. It is a stags head brooch with deer skin and feather decoration that I wear in my green beret.

No more "extreme" than the Bearskin(busby---hate that word!) of the Guards, or dare I say it, the Topi of the Royal Marines to name but two. Uniforms, particularly some British ones, certainly stand out when the occasion arrises!

[azwildcat96]

I don't wear (or at least haven't worn) feathers with my kilt. I might consider wearing a small "bunch" of feathers as a part of a kilt pin, or brooch, or hat pin, but not a huge "clan-chief Eagle feather".

Side note: I do wear a set of pintail duck feathers in my favorite hunting hat. The feathers were harvested legally (by me) during a duck hunt several years ago, and the pintail is a highly regulated and sought after species in my area of the US. So this is more of a "trophy" from a successful hunt, kind of like mounting a deer head on the wall.

[ThistleDown]

If you dress as a Scot, follow Scottish customs.

Why is this so difficult? Armigers don't have to use their coats of arms and chiefs/chieftains don't have to wear their feathers, but no-one has the right to use arms that don't belong to them and to wear eagle feathers to which you are not entitled by rank is a sign of ignorance at best.

[starbkjrus]

Personally, I wouldn't wear a feather. I wouldn't wear an eagle feather because I respect convention and I'm not an armiger, and I wouldn't wear any other feather because it just seems "wannabe" to me. Others may disagree and that's fine. I would wear my clan plant or a dandelion, though!

Macman so beat me to that one little word - "wannabe". IMHO it's just tacky.

[McConnell Mor]

I do when I wear my Beaver skin coat and fur hat. Wait thats a different forum.

[Dale Seago]

Here in the US you're going to have difficulties with Federal law, including up to a $25,00 fine, if you're in possession of eagle feathers without documentary proof of sufficient Siberian-American ancestry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_feather_law

Lots of folks are unaware of this; I know of it because my paternal aunt was probably the last surviving traditional Comanche medicine woman and was (through adoption) an enrolled member of the Comanche nation; so she did have eagle feathers and other parts (wing bones for ceremonial pipe tampers, for example) around the house.

For my part, I do occasionally wear one of my African Grey Parrot's scarlet tail-feathers in my bonnet.

[ThistleDown]

I think by now that eagle feathers have been covered as far as Scots traditions go. There is certainly one Clan Chief who wears pheasant feathers instead. I don't know if he has not got eagle feathers to hand, or he prefers pheasant feathers, or perhaps it is a Clan tradition, but I am abolutely sure that wearing any feather, other than eagle feathers, will not tread on any Scots toe. Although many of us would wonder why any one else would bother.

I think you are referring to Alan Maclean of Dochgarroch, Jock. He is chief of the Macleans of the North, but also a chieftain of the Clan Maclean. His father chose to recognise this dual ranking by adopting 3 pheasant feathers rather than switching back and forth between 3 eagle feathers and 2, depending on which position he was in at any given time. Alan is following his father in this rationale.

Rex

[davedove]

Personally, I think a colored ostrich plume looks best.

[Jock Scot]

I think you are referring to Alan Maclean of Dochgarroch, Jock. He is chief of the Macleans of the North, but also a chieftain of the Clan Maclean. His father chose to recognise this dual ranking by adopting 3 pheasant feathers rather than switching back and forth between 3 eagle feathers and 2, depending on which position he was in at any given time. Alan is following his father in this rationale.

Rex

Of course, that's the chap. Thank you Rex.