Thoughts on this tartan

[davidg]

Tartan4less are selling them on ebay, 16oz wool. The main colour is charcoal and the stripe is actually brown and beige. I dont really like the grey tartans, I find them quite bland but this tartan seems to stand out quite well and an interesting alternative

OK. I should have noticed you said Tartan4less but somehow it escaped me

Within the normal guidelines of checking out feedback go for it. Although check out where it's being dispatched from as well so you don't get landed with hefty import duties. Unless, of course, anyone knows anything that might suggest doing otherwise

[Tobus]

It's funny how their pictures make it look completely different, depending on the angle and what else is in the picture. The first couple of photos that show the kilt with the jacket don't really put the tartan in the best light. It looks pretty drab, plain, dark, and boring. Maybe that was their intent, since that seems to be the trend with modern tartans. But the last photo which has a good close-up of the tartan (and in a better light) really brings out the simple beauty of it.

For me personally, I'd have a hard time ordering a kilt in this material based on the pictures. What do the pleats look like, for instance? Can this large sett be pleated to the stripe? It would also be nice to see better shots of the kilt in a more natural light, without a white background that always makes dark colours look darker than they should. It makes me want to shake someone by the shoulders and tell them to go outdoors where the light is better, and take the photos against the backdrop of actual natural colours, instead of a dark and dreary indoor setting with a white wall and poor lighting. Aaaargh!

Just my opinion, of course, but I think these photos are a perfect example of awful marketing. Here we have a fairly interesting tartan that could look really good, but they've chosen the worst possible way to display it. Based on the pictures alone, it would be hard for me to really want that tartan. With better photos, though, it's quite possible that I (or many other potential customers) could fall in love with it. It's all a matter of pairing it with other accessories that make it look interesting and put it in its best light.

So if it were me, I'd pass on this tartan until I could get a better look at its potential. Even if you are specifically looking for a dark tartan, it's hard to tell if that's what you're going to get from this, because the photos simply don't show it the way you'd see it in real life.

[figheadair]

I have to say it's not my cup of tea at all.

[RockyR]

I have to say it's not my cup of tea at all.

Ditto. I saw this in MM's swatch book and thought it dull and uninteresting. There's something to be said for simplicity of a tartan design, but this is too simple for too big a space (then interesting for too small a space).

[cryerelizabeth]

that looks very nice!

[OC Richard]

I love COLOUR too much to take much of a fancy to these monochromatic tartans.

I never tire of looking at my Isle of Skye kilt because of the fascinating interplay and juxtaposition of unexpected colours. Likewise my muted Drummond of Perth.

I want my kilts in tartans that I can see hundreds of times and never tire of, in an artistic sense.

[Tobus]

Ditto. I saw this in MM's swatch book and thought it dull and uninteresting. There's something to be said for simplicity of a tartan design, but this is too simple for too big a space (then interesting for too small a space).

Interesting observation, Rocky. That seems to be my feelings on it as well, but again, I wonder if maybe the tartan is simply not being "shown off" as well as it could be.

After all, this tartan isn't any more boring than a windowpane tweed, and those can look very nice on a kilt... if the rest of the outfit makes it look good, that is.

I do agree that the sett size on this makes it have large patches of nothingness, and then small areas of interest, which gives it an odd effect. Looking at the front apron of the kilt in the photos does indeed make it look pretty hum-drum. But the folds of the plaid give it a little more interest. I wonder if this particular tartan is better suited to applications where it would be folded/draped in a random manner, rather than the crisp, neat lines of a traditional kilt?

[ForresterModern]

There's something to be said for simplicity of a tartan design, but this is too simple for too big a space .

Rocky, I used to think the same thing about the Douglas family of tartans, that the color scheme was too simple (albeit a degree or two more complex than the Eternity) and the sett too large, especially with that dominant white stripe. But, as I do have a connection to the Douglases historically, I tried my first in ancient colorway, liked it and have not looked back since, having bought 5 total varieties in different colorways (ancient, modern, ancient red, brown, and black Douglas) and have tartan in weathered waiting or a kiltmakers needle to make my collection 6. The dominant widely spread white stripe is obvious in the modern but less so in the ancient, weathered, and brown versions, and a totally different and less dominant color in the ancient red and black Douglas versions, so the larger sett is less obvious. Plus I think the larger sett works better on someone my size where several setts can be included across the apron, making the big sett effectively look somewhat smaller and more appropriate to my relative overall size. Obviously YMMV depending on your size with regards the larger setts.

The Eternity set purchased seems well balanced from a color standpoint and as Zardoz says gives an over all coordinated and stately simple dressy appearence, even if the specific tartan has no particular affiliation/association/meaning from a historical scottish sense, in essence a fashion tartan for simply fashion (sorry Alan) purposes alone.

[RockyR]

Rocky, I used to think the same thing about the Douglas family of tartans, that the color scheme was too simple (albeit a degree or two more complex than the Eternity) and the sett too large, especially with that dominant white stripe. But, as I do have a connection to the Douglases historically, I tried my first in ancient colorway, liked it and have not looked back since, having bought 5 total varieties in different colorways (ancient, modern, ancient red, brown, and black Douglas) and have tartan in weathered waiting or a kiltmakers needle to make my collection 6. The dominant widely spread white stripe is obvious in the modern but less so in the ancient, weathered, and brown versions, and a totally different and less dominant color in the ancient red and black Douglas versions, so the larger sett is less obvious. Plus I think the larger sett works better on someone my size where several setts can be included across the apron, making the big sett effectively look somewhat smaller and more appropriate to my relative overall size. Obviously YMMV depending on your size with regards the larger setts.

The Eternity set purchased seems well balanced from a color standpoint and as Zardoz says gives an over all coordinated and stately simple dressy appearence, even if the specific tartan has no particular affiliation/association/meaning from a historical scottish sense, in essence a fashion tartan for simply fashion (sorry Alan) purposes alone.

I don't think Douglas is "too simple". Matter of fact, I quite like it. If you look at the designs I've done (American Heritage, Law Enforcement, Scruffy Wallace, German Heritage, etc), MOST of them are relatively simple. However, there's such a thing (in MY opinion, and we all know what opinions are like), as too simple or unbalanced. Douglas has a 50 / 50 balance of blue and green with highlights of white in the blue and black / blue in the green. It's balanced. The Eternity tartan (again, in MY opinion), is a bit too simple since the whole thing is grey, with the exception of that single striped area. Too much of an expanse of 'solid'.

This is not knocking PASCS's new kilt. If he likes it and enjoys it, that is all that matters! That's why there's more than 1 tartan... so there's one for everyone's tastes!

[hootstwo]

I actually quite like that tartan.

What I really like however is that particular jacket/waistcoat. Any idea as to where to procure that one...?