Mixing tartans - yes or no?

[Biathlonman]

Some advice sought please - re both tartan ties and hose.

I frequently see advice that one should not try to match one's tartan tie to one's kilt - is that an absolute no-no? It looks OK to me - so why is that advice so frequently given?

Second - many clans have a variety of choices for kilts - my kilt is Campbell of Argyll - which to clan purists is somewhat beyond the pale. (It's a long story). Were I to buy a second kilt I'd just get a Campbell. But years ago, as a guest of my Chief, it was clear that he had bigger problems to manage.

Would wearing Campbell hose look awful with it? Of course, in portraits done of Highland chiefs a few centuries ago they'd mix a variety of tartans - should one avoid that now completely? I have seen a modern clan chief with one tartan for his kilt and a plaid in a different tartan - both "correct" but different. What are the views of forum style experts?

[Jock Scot]

Alright,here we go again, with an old chestnut! It is quite acceptable to wear different tartans of the SAME Clan. My Clan has over a dozen, for example. It is not acceptable to wear tartans of DIFFERENT Clans.

In my humble opinion one can overdo the tartan theme and wearing Clan tartan hose ,Clan tartan kilt and Clan tartan tie is "over-egging" the cake rather.Eight yards of Clan tartan in your kilt, ought really to be enough to make your point for which team you are batting for, I would have thought.

Whilst the Clans, to their credit, in Scotland have successfully "buried the hatchet" in some long lost peat bog and not in each other's head, it does not mean that the various Clan(inter-Clan too) feuds have been completely forgotten. There is no guarantee that after an hour our two in the beer tent a chance remark might fan the flames. So as a courtesy and with certain amount of respect for our ancestors we do not mix Clan's tartans.

I might add that it is also a no-no to wear Clan tartan "A" with a bonnet badge of Clan "D".

Interestingly I am not too sure how Clan Chattan stand on this as they are a confederation of individual clans. I suspect their "Cat", which seems to be a common emblem might get you through. No doubt, Rex "thistledown" will chip in with how they do it?

[Cygnus]

Interestingly I am not too sure how Clan Chattan stand on this as they are a confederation of individual clans. I suspect their "Cat", which seems to be a common emblem might get you through. No doubt, Rex "thistledown" will chip in with how they do it?

I'm glad you asked that, Jock, as I've been wondering about whether it would be appropriate to wear a MacQueen tartan kilt with a Chattan cap badge.

[piperdbh]

I frequently see advice that one should not try to match one's tartan tie to one's kilt - is that an absolute no-no? It looks OK to me - so why is that advice so frequently given?

I've read some people here who say to avoid tartan ties altogether, and I'll admit to preferring a non-tartan tie worn with a kilt, but there's no law forbidding tartan ties mixed with the same tartan kilt. However, as Jock says, it's really easy to go overboard with wearing tartan.

[Sir William]

My personal preference is to wear a solid-coloured, regimental, or club tie with a kilt. I usually only wear a tartan tie for those times when I'm not kilted but wish to show my affiliation.

The one exception would be as Jock Scot points out - "It is quite acceptable to wear different tartans of the SAME Clan. My Clan has over a dozen, for example. It is not acceptable to wear tartans of DIFFERENT Clans."

[lethearen]

In my humble opinion one can overdo the tartan theme and wearing Clan tartan hose ,Clan tartan kilt and Clan tartan tie is "over-egging" the cake rather.Eight yards of Clan tartan in your kilt, ought really to be enough to make your point for which team you are batting for, I would have thought.

You left out the tartan waistcoat

[Jordan]

I might add that it is also a no-no to wear Clan tartan "A" with a bonnet badge of Clan "D".

I'll hold my hands up and admit to being guilty of this. I only have one cap badge and no longer have a cooper tartan kilt so the badge on my bonnet it worn no matter which kilt I'm in.

Since I don't wear a hat inside no one has ever commented on my badge they probaly wouldn't know the difference anyway.

[MacLowlife]

Too Much is Not Enough

I am not going to bother with the two clans question, other than to observe that there may be 2000 people on earth who could say with certainty that someone was breaking that rule in most cases. You'd have to know a lot of tartans and be sure that what you saw was absolutely what you thought it was. Or you could just jump up and tell some stranger ( undoubtedly a clan chief if I ever tried it) that he was wearing his own clothes wrong...

But I got off track there. What I was going to say is that there are times and places when you want no more tartan than your kilt and there are times and places when you want every square inch you can drape or pin to your body. As somebody said nearby not too long ago, sometimes you have to Go Big or Go Home.

The trick, like so many other tricks, is to know when to do which... But if you aren't sure, you're probably better off with less.

Here's a slightly related question: Has anyone ever, just once, said "I have no idea which tartan this is" when asked ? Were you ejected or shunned?

[rmckay]

Question here Jock. You said not to wear Clan Tartan "A" with Clan Badge "D". My wife is of Irish decent and her name is one of those with a Badge associated with it. So would it be wrong to wear my MacKay kilt and say a kilt pin or badge of her family name in respect for her and her family? Always been curious about that.

[Morris at Heathfield]

my kilt is Campbell of Argyll - which to clan purists is somewhat beyond the pale.

I seem to recall that, on the CCSNA website, it said something about how, if you already had a kilt in the Campbell of Argyll tartan, not to worry about it, but I can no longer seem to find it. Perhaps they figure the message has gotten out by now. (Apparently not, however. Fraser & Kirkbright and the Frugal Corner, for example, only offer the Campbell of Argyll, although they offer the Black Watch in modern colors as well.)