Choosing a Tartan: Practical Advice

Choosing a Tartan: Practical Advice
©2010 Matthew A. C. Newsome, GTS, FSA Scot

You are a gentleman who wishes to don a kilt to honor his Scottish heritage. Or perhaps you are a lady looking to wear a tartan skirt or a sash. You wish to wear a tartan that is proper and reflects your heritage; you certainly don’t want to step on anyone’s toes by choosing the wrong one. But with so many tartans available, how can you know which one is right?

The first thing that I would advise in this regard is that we need to discard up front this notion a “right” or a “wrong” tartan. There is no such thing as an entitlement to a tartan, and there are absolutely no laws – in Scotland or anywhere else – dictating what tartan you may or may not wear.

There is a lot of misinformation circulating in this regard. I have even read in one of those coffee-table books on tartan, that anyone caught wearing a tartan in Scotland that he is not “entitled” to will be charged a £25 fine. This fabrication has absolutely no basis in fact, but as it was put in print, doubtless many people will assume it to be true.

The truth is that there are a very few tartans that custom dictates one should not wear unless entitled. The prime example would be the Balmoral tartan, which since 1936, by Royal decree, has not been produced for consumption by the public. Its use is restricted to the Royal Family. Even in this case it is not illegal to wear the tartan – it would simply be considered in very poor taste. But tartans such as the Balmoral will not be generally available from merchants in any case. Therefore there is very little reason to worry about wearing the “wrong tartan.”

So if there is no such thing as a “right” or “wrong” tartan, how do you choose? This matter is strictly one of personal taste and discretion. Keeping in mind that over the past two centuries tartan has taken on a strong symbolic meaning, people will generally choose to wear a tartan that they feel represents them in some way.

The most obvious choice is a tartan that directly relates to your surname. It makes perfect sense for Mr. McGregor to wear the MacGregor tartan. If your surname has no direct correlation to a tartan, a little research may discover that it has an affiliation with a clan, in which case you would wear the tartan for the clan.

There is no “Summers” tartan per se, however, the Summers name is associated with the Clan Lindsay. So it is perfectly acceptable for someone with that name to wear the Lindsay tartan as the tartan of his or her clan. In some cases there will be both a tartan for the family as well as the clan, in which case the individual may choose.

For example, since 1955 there has been a tartan for the Scottish family of Taylor, which is part of the Cameron clan. The Taylor tartan is based on the Cameron Hunting tartan, and has been approved by the clan chief, Cameron of Lochiel. So now Taylors who are part of clan Cameron have a choice. They may wear the Cameron tartan, which represents the clan, or the Taylor tartan, which represents their specific family within the clan.

In many cases there may not be a tartan that relates to your surname. In this case you may want to look to past generations. Is there a tartan that would relate to your mother’s maiden name? Or perhaps a grandparent? Or even great-great-grandparents? How far back one wishes to go to find a tartan connection is strictly up to the individual.

All things being equal, one would give generations closer to their own preference. In other words, one would normally wear a tartan for his mother, who was a MacIntyre, before he wore the tartan for his great-great-grandfather MacDonald.

Regarding the choice between paternal and maternal lines -- again all things being equal -- one typically wears a tartan for the paternal line. However, I remind people that you are just as much related to your mother’s family as to your father’s and there is nothing wrong with choosing a tartan from that line to wear.

There are any number of personal reasons one may have for choosing their mother’s tartan over their father’s, or preferring to wear the tartan of their great-grandparents over their own surname. Perhaps your great-grandfather was first member of the family to leave Scotland and settle in a new land, and you wish to honor him by wearing his tartan. The point to keep in mind here is that it is your choice to wear a particular tartan. If the tartan has meaning for you, that is enough.

We would be amiss not to mention the many non-clan and family tartans that are available. District tartans are another option to consider. Many older references on Highland dress will mention district tartans almost as an afterthought, of interest only to those with no claim on a clan tartan. There are plenty who still view them this way, as a secondary choice for the clanless. However, district tartans are really coming into their own.

Some of the more recent district tartans that have been designed have been for places outwith Scotland. Many of these tartans are to honor the contribution of Scottish immigrants across the globe. Thus every Canadian province, most of the American states, and many towns, counties, and regions across North America, Australia and beyond have tartans named for them.

It is not uncommon in America for a gentleman who is involved in Scottish cultural activities to have more than one kilt. Perhaps one will be in his clan tartan, and the other in the tartan for his state. He may wear the clan tartan at the Highland Games when he is representing the clan society, and wear his state tartan when he is representing the local St. Andrews Society at the state’s Tartan Day celebration.

If you are still looking for a tartan to wear, you might even want to take a look at your job! Not too long ago, the only “occupational tartan” on record was the Clergy tartan, for those in ordained ministry. However, in recent years we have seen the development of tartans for other occupations, such as firefighters and police officers. There are also tartans for many military service branches.

The final advice I will give to those wondering which tartan to wear is this – when you wear the tartan, people will inevitably ask you about it. They will want to know which tartan it is, and how it relates to you. Be prepared with an answer. Maybe it is the tartan of your surname. Maybe it is the tartan of the town of your birth, or the region of Scotland your ancestors were from. I have known people to wear a tartan in honor of a departed friend.

Know the significance of your tartan and have a reason for wearing it. If that reason is good enough for you, then it should be good enough for anyone else who asks. Wear it proudly!