wearing other family tartan rather than your own

[Zardoz]

While I'm from the "wear what you want" camp, I agree that you should know a little about the tartan in question's history etc, so you can have a better response than "I liked the colors" to any questions.

From a slightly different angle, I think you can have a pretty good variety of tartans and colorways without worrying about the family tartan thing, I have 11 kilts, (9 tartans 2 soilds) and none of them are 'family' tartans.

[McClef]

As has been pointed out that there is no consensus upon this issue within these forums.

It's a topic that comes up time and again and you will find past discussions that may be of value.

[davidlpope]

Still, what I notice again and again is the lengths we will go to to claim a tartan (or other affiliation) as our own when we want to.

Would you leave work, home, and family and travel to Scotland if Torquil Campbell sent you a letter asking you to come at your own expense and help him "Do something about these McDonalds once and for all?"

My point is this: we can often manufacture a family connection when we want one. We may even attend Clan gatherings. We may send in dues. But for most of us, the Clan tartan is 99% spiritual and 1% practical at most. If it offends your spirituality, stay away. If it doesn't, have a good time.

Very insightful and true.

Cordially,

David

[joeydknecht]

lots of good replies lads thanx..didnt think i would get so many responses, guess i brought it because in the past at gatherings or what not ,i would overhear people talkn about how someone shouldnt wear a certain tartan or kilt for that matter...now i have seen at the games where admirers or guest would come in maybe ,with no celtic blodd or whatevere the reason and seem to wear these homemade kilts to where the set is so tiny it looks as tho they bought the material from a local sewing shop or a picnic clothe.... i cant say it makes me mad but i wouldnt wear such a thing maybe this is where some people get offended when its in their clan colors......but for myself i wear form my mothers side which the point was brought up you claim form your fathers side...thats another subject now,, do we claim from just our fathers and ignore our mothers side..after all we did coem form the female womb..any thoughts on that issue? cuase if so im a kilt wearing mohawk with a german last name lol

[gary meakin]

It appears there aren't too many who would be bothered by an "unauthorized" wearing of their tartan. It wouldn't bother me... On the other hand, I wouldn't feel right wearing a tartan without having an affiliation with that clan. As a MacLachlan it's a difficult stance to take because nobody makes our tartan in a less expensive material so I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to pay top dollar for material. My grandmother was a Macdonald so I feel comfortable enough using that connection for Macdonald tartans. They have a pretty good variety and I can find less expensive material. I would feel fine with district tartans, again, if I had a connection to the area. My father was English. I've heard his name 'Meakin' is linked to the Menzies clan. If I could verify that I would like something in their tartan but it's more scarce than the MacLachlans.

[Lallans]

Anyway, I think the moderator may be gently hinting that this has been covered before.

But I wish to point out that raising this sort of question anew from time to time is both informative for new members and also allows for new or revised opinions to be entered on the solemn record.

[BobsYourUncle]

I can't argue with anything said so far. In particular I agree that some things seem like a good idea at the time, but evolve into something else.

Still, what I notice again and again is the lengths we will go to to claim a tartan (or other affiliation) as our own when we want to. You can read here and elsewhere that clan affiliation only passes through the paternal line, only through the maternal line, through either or both, or can be adopted by any interested person. If all of those things are true, they are "true" to different people, which I imagine is the case. I will probably never be a clan chief, but if I were, I am not so sure how I would react to the practice, much discussed here, of asking permission to wear my clan tartan. Somehow, I am put in mind of some Monty Python skit, where John Cleese is trying to get something done, say a war or distilling a particularly intricate batch of whisky, and people keep coming up to him and asking about wearing his tartan. HOW SHALL WE ____ OFF, MASTER? OK, that was Graham Chapman, but you get my point. Call it respect, call it admiration, call it social affiliation...

Wait, let me put it this way. Let's say your name is Campbell. You are riding down the highway and you see an attractive woman with a Clan Campbell sticker on her car, pulled over with a flat tire. Do you suppose your wife is going to believe the Campbell sticker is why you stopped? Would you still stop if there were two lazy looking louts instead of the winsome lass? Would you leave work, home, and family and travel to Scotland if Torquil Campbell sent you a letter asking you to come at your own expense and help him "Do something about these McDonalds once and for all?" What if the letter were pre-printed and said "Dear friend or member of Clan Campbell"? What if it were a postcard?

My point is this: we can often manufacture a family connection when we want one. We may even attend Clan gatherings. We may send in dues. But for most of us, the Clan tartan is 99% spiritual and 1% practical at most. If it offends your spirituality, stay away. If it doesn't, have a good time.

As has been pointed out that there is no consensus upon this issue within these forums.

It's a topic that comes up time and again and you will find past discussions that may be of value.

Wise words all. I suggest you use the search function to find the several other threads on th forum discussing the issue.

Riverkilt's comments are also very wise. He raises some practical concerns, and suggests that you look closely within to find out what answer will work for YOU in the long run.

Perhaps in deciding you should take a cue from Riverkilt--in trying to decide such issues in my own life, I have tried to anticipate how my feelings and thinking will evolve over time--I think of it in terms of "The Princess and the Pea"--if I have to work that hard to convince myself that I should do something, perhaps therein lies the answer, i.e. if I feel the pea that hard, I shouldn't do it.

It appears that you have asked a respected authority privately, and now seek the opinions of the assembled throng. All of this searching about and deliberation make it look like there is a substantial risk that you will not be comfortable wearing a tartan with no family connection to you as time goes by, even if you now convince yourself it's just fine to do.

You have a nice hand stitched "universal" tartan now. Wear it well and often. Save your sheckels for a hand stitched family tartan. Getting a good deal on a hand stitched non-family tartan that you will eventually reject may be no deal at all.

Just some thoughts...

[Bill aka Mole]

Being a non-Scot and growing up with plenty of Scot's in my life, I am wearing tartans that I appreciate without any family ties. My selections are: National Fallen Firefighter Foundation (I'm a volunteer FF), U.S. Navy (Edzell), Black Watch, California (Muir based) and South Carolina. I currently own the first two tartans and am saving my pennies for the remainder.

[RockyR]

lots of good replies lads thanx..didnt think i would get so many responses, guess i brought it because in the past at gatherings or what not ,i would overhear people talkn about how someone shouldnt wear a certain tartan or kilt for that matter...now i have seen at the games where admirers or guest would come in maybe ,with no celtic blodd or whatevere the reason and seem to wear these homemade kilts to where the set is so tiny it looks as tho they bought the material from a local sewing shop or a picnic clothe.... i cant say it makes me mad but i wouldnt wear such a thing maybe this is where some people get offended when its in their clan colors......but for myself i wear form my mothers side which the point was brought up you claim form your fathers side...thats another subject now,, do we claim from just our fathers and ignore our mothers side..after all we did coem form the female womb..any thoughts on that issue? cuase if so im a kilt wearing mohawk with a german last name lol

I've overheard people talking about me in a kilt but never that I "should or shouldn't" be wearing a tartan... after all, how would THEY KNOW if I'm 'allowed" to wear it unless they speak with me?

Also, I've never been one to put too much stock in what others thought. As a matter of fact, if someone says I CAN'T do something, it redoubles my resolution to do it.

Lastly, as another of German Lineage who wears the kilt (and makes them), I say welcome. If there's no tartans you are comfortable wearing, there's always the German Heritage or German American tartans!

[Micric]

MacLowlife hit the nail on the head!.......as did Rocky.

Realisticly, most of us have very tentative connections to a clan. That we have a clan surname doesn't automatically mean we are related to said clan.

There are a few people who tend to think noone else should wear 'their' tartan, but in reality, without the tentative clan members, many clans would be as dead as dodos.
Rather than read my musings, I suggest going back and reading MacLowlife's post again!!

Cheers,
R.