Is this offensive or allowable?

[McClef]

This idea that there is an authority who can grant or not grant the right to wear a clan tartan really does need knocking on the head.

A Chief can authorise which tartan may bear the name of his clan or indeed reject one. That is the limit of his authority.

A Clan society does not have that authority, it only has the authority to permit tartans that include its own name.

Anything else comes down to notions of etiquette or some idea of correctness which will vary from individual to individual and nobody has the power to force an opposite point of view upon another.

That won't stop some folk trying though.

[freddie]

Clan Wallace has a nice tartan and is an open clan. They encourage the wearing of their tartan by anyone.
http://www.clanwallace.org/index-2.html

Wallace could be a commemorative tartan. Normally clansmen followed their Chief, but men of all names followed Sir William Wallace. It's the greatest of all Scottish names and should be honored.

[TheOfficialBren]

Sorry I'm a bit late to this one but I have an opinion on the matter.

My father's mother was a Shaw. A nice kilt inbthe Shaw Modern tartan is on my wishlist. My father's father's kin are called Colbert, from Galloway and of Norman stock. We also have Merritt , Eddings, Crumb, and MacKay blood. I would wear any tartan associated with these families or regions of occupancy/origin.

I feel no qualms about people wearing universal or clan tartans. History is on the side of that position. The notion of "clan" tartans is part of the romantic mythology of Scottish culture, particularly during the Victorian period.

No offense intended but facts are facts and no amount of romantic frollicking and fannying about will change that. Sorry.

I do prefer the look of darker and richer tartans (blues, greens, muted colours, et cetera) over bright ones (wouldn't ever wear Loud MacLeod, for example) but to each their own.
:-)

Kilts are for men, though...not ladies.

[BBNC]

Spuggs,

The only Scot connection I have is through my maternal grandmother...she was a Morehead (Clan Muirhead). Her father and grandfather were Moreheads. On my father's side, I'm pure Dutch, and my maternal grandfather was German. When I get it, I will be wearing the Muirhead Ancient Tartan. You say your grandfather is a Fraser...well, there you go. No disrespect to anyone, but I suspect a number of folks on here have more tenuous connections than that.

[Pleater]

Sorry I'm a bit late to this one but I have an opinion on the matter.



Kilts are for men, though...not ladies.

Perhaps in some places - but in Britain women have worn kilts, back to when they could show their ankles without losing their standing in society. The kilts were longer than knee length, of course, as the average women's waist is closer to the ground, so even wearing a man's kilt found in the wardrobe whilst he was away wasn't so scandalous, and in the Great War there could well have been fabric to be found.

I had kilts to wear for school, some 55 years ago. Not as a uniform.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

[johnnym]

As long as the kilt or tartan is worn with pride and respect, anything goes. I would repeat Angstrom's comments on knowing the history or significance of the tartan in case someone asks. My kilts are in a variety of patterns and colors. I choose my kilts because of what I like, not by the name associated with it, but I am able tell you a little about each one. The OfficialBren reflects my position well.

[David Thorpe]

On my father's side, I'm pure Dutch...

Three examples of Dutch "district" tartans (and one corporate).

One of my best friends, a Van Spronsen, is Jonesing for a kilt in Dutch Friendship.

[TheOfficialBren]

Perhaps in some places - but in Britain women have worn kilts, back to when they could show their ankles without losing their standing in society. The kilts were longer than knee length, of course, as the average women's waist is closer to the ground, so even wearing a man's kilt found in the wardrobe whilst he was away wasn't so scandalous, and in the Great War there could well have been fabric to be found.

I had kilts to wear for school, some 55 years ago. Not as a uniform.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

My apologies, Anne. I meant no offense.

[Jock Scot]

I have been keeping an eye on this thread and a point that has not been raised is this. Whilst those from outwith Scotland enthuse about Great Grandma's second cousin was married to a MacLeod and Uncle Ben's second cousin was a MacWhatever and so on and so on and so on and so on. So there is genuine connection, if rather tenuous, to umpteen different tartans and lo and behold overtime a whole wardrobe of different Clan tartans has evolved. Well alright, to a Scot that does seem more than a wee bit over the top and some may be a tad uncomfortable about it.

The Scots generally speaking, have direct connections to a multitude of Clans. My sons for example, can easily clock up at least 10 clans whose tartans they could wear, but like most kilt wearing Scots they wear just the one. I think the expense is one reason, but not the only one, or indeed the main one. We just don't go in for the minute detail ---in public----of justifying the tartan we wear, we have far more important things in life to think about. Peer pressure too is a factor, if, for example, you are a MacOnion and you are wearing a MacKarrot tartan(your Grand Mother's Clan) then people will wonder and should even more Clan tartans be worn by an individual then I am afraid he would be written down as a poser with more money than sense with a complete lack of knowledge ,or worse still, lack of care of how it is done . That's how we over here see it, it works for us and is in the long run simpler and cheaper er, well, less expensive too!

So to answer the questions. Is it offensive? No. Is it allowable? Yes.

To which I add my own question. Should you? ------------------.

[David Thorpe]

We so need a "Like Button" feature. I'll just give it a Kyle (***).