Clan Tartan Appropriateness

[EagleJCS]

I also see kids that I know personally in bits of scout wear here that I know were not in the scouts and it bugs me too. Not my place to say anything to them, but yeah.

Actually, BSA (US) items are restricted to registered members only, and the National office rigorously defends that position. In the past, celebrities who have worn parts of uniforms as part of their costume, etc., have been asked to stop wearing them (Destiny's Child and Axl Rose are relatively recent examples). Thrift stores are routinely asked to cull their secondhand clothing and remove any uniform items and hand them over to their local council office to prevent non-members from purchasing/wearing those items. (It's a question that has come up in the past at adult leader training sessions in my local council).

As far as I know, the local councils don't have a directive to police the use of the uniform (the professionals don't stop everyone they see with a bit of uniform to check their membership status), but there's an effort to reduce the possibility of poor reflection on the Scout movement by people wearing bits and behaving badly.

Depending on the circumstances, I probably wouldn't say anything to the person wearing the item in question, but I would be perturbed. If I were wearing my uniform, I might say something, especially if it were a girl wearing a Cub Scout shirt (the BSA is boys only to age 14). (99% of the time, I'm wearing it per the Insignia Guide guidelines, which lends a bit of 'official' weight.)


For the OP topic, I'm torn between the two camps: on the one hand, I'd be glad to see someone wearing any of the Scott tartans. I'd be curious as to their connection, but wouldn't necessarily ask. On the other hand, it's a bit of a rarity in this part of the country (there aren't that many Clan Scott members around here - right now it's just me in KY), so I'd be interested in finding out if they know about the Clan Scott Society and possibly determine if we were related.

[McClef]

This is one of those topics that makes a regular appearance in these forums!

You will always see the posts of the traditionalists who think nobody should wear the tartan of any other clan but their own, those who think it's OK providing they have gained the permission of a Clan Chief or Clan Association and those who have no qualms about wearing any clan tartan without seeking such permission, and as there has been no known prohibitions generally publicised such permission is therefore implied. Even then there will be those that argue that respect of the Clan and some knowledge of it is also to be desired.

What doesn't change much is the individual opinions unless I have missed a conversion from one POV to another!

[longhuntr74]

After reading 4 pages of opinions, I'm almost relieved about the fact that my Scottish ancestry does not have a tartan associated with the name.

I've recently done quite a bit of genealogical research and connected with a long lost cousin with whom I share common Scottish Ancestry. I found out that my clan is a lowland clan (from Berwickshire) and that, while they do have a clan badge, there is no specific clan tartan. I think I'll go on continuing to wear my US Army tartan (not a clan, but something I have a VERY strong relationship with...the Army, that is, not necessarily the cloth itself) or the more generic district or universal tartans.

To comment on Mickey's original question...I think the comment about family vs. genealogical society posted by another member is spot on. If your step grandfather was a Campbell, was proud of his family, and considered you part of that family, I'd say you're right to wear THAT tartan unless you had another direct clan that you were paternally aligned with (which I gather is not the case).

The simple fact is that, for most of our US (perhaps also true of our Canadian, French, Australian, etc) membership on this forum, the closest we come to being Scottish is a grandparent...or maybe a great grandparent. In such cases, we're often 2+ generations removed from true Scottish traditions. I see nothing wrong with our attempts to revive that connection to our roots, but we should never try to make ourselves something that we are not.