Over WHICH shoulder??

[angerli]

Hi, Lads and Lassies! Our wedding is in mid-February, and Teri and I want her to wear a tartan sash to our wedding luncheon, after the ceremony. I'm wearing full dress and my fly plaid, too. I remember reading somewhere that the clan chief's wife can wear it over one shoulder (right or left, I cannot recall which), and that all other wives of clan members must wear it over the opposite shoulder. Can someone fill me in about which shoulder is the correct one??

[beloitpiper]

Every plaid/sash/whatver fabric is worn over the left shoulder.

[Tattoo Bradley]

Left it is.

[acaig]

Sorry I must disagree with you guys. It is correct for the wife of the Clan Chief to wear a sash over the left shoulder, as do ladies who are members of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society ( dont know why). Other ladies wear it over the right shoulder. All gentlemen wear a plaid at the left shoulder.

Having said all of that, this is not rigid law ! You dont get locked up for doing the opposite.

[PiobBear]

Yes, a woman's sash is worn over the right shoulder unless they are the wife of a clan chief or a colonel of a Scottish regiment. Country dancers wear it on the left shoulder because it interferes with their dance. Gentlemen wear their plaids on the left.

[Bob C.]

Every plaid/sash/whatver fabric is worn over the left shoulder.

Wrong. A lady's sash should be worn on the right shoulder unless she is the wife of a chief, a chief in her own right, a colonel in a highland regiment or a Scottish country dancer.

EDIT: Piobear obviously beat me to it. I should have read the entire thread before posting. My bad.

[Nanook]

A good description is:

http://www.clanhannay.us/sash.html

Men, on the other hand, can (and should) wear their "sash" -- fly, half (Drummer's) , full (Piper's) or untailored (shawl or "blanket") plaid--- upon shoulder opposite their dominant or writing hand with a (strong cultural) preference to left. Historically it would be, as with the shield in jousting, the left shoulder. While the days of forced use of the right by lefties is, for the most part, behind us even today most countries continue a bias in favor of right handedness due to its dominance--- recall, however, that not all languages are written left to right but many right to left and still others top down. The middle English word for left is "sinistre" with all its other meanings (including unlucky).

[Dirk Skene]

May I to assume by this discussion that a lady wears a sash (which shoulder in not important to my question) and a gentleman wears a fly plaid A sash is not proper to a gentleman’s apparel.

[PiobBear]

May I to assume by this discussion that a lady wears a sash...A sash is not proper to a gentleman’s apparel.

A tartan sash, yes; it's a woman's item. There are other solid colored sashes worn by pipe majors, drum majors, color sergeants, etc., but unless you're in a band or color guard you're not likely to run across them.

[sirdaniel1975]

Three more weblinks on the topic of Ladies Sashes:

http://www.tartansauthority.com/Web/...ess/Sashes.asp

http://www.electricscotland.com/webc...dlyon_sash.htm

http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/wearsash.htm

They all pretty much say the same thing.. I've come to the conclusion that most of the women here in America don't really care how they wear it. Or I've happened to have seen hundreds of Chieftainesses. Personally, I really don't care, it's fun to have a good laugh sometimes. I will say this though, at many Highland Games and events there are honored guests of Scottish nobility present. It would be more respectful to wear a sash properly in the company of such persons. I'm very sure they would see it as an insult.

Most of us guys who wear kilts, we try very hard to look our best. I often wonder if the same is true for all the ladies. Now, some of the biggest "tartan police" persons I have encountered have been women. Usually when I've encountered a "tartan police" lady, she is wearing no tartan at all.

I'm not trying to put ripples in the water now, just stating some of my past observations. I also theorize whether many of the ladies who decide to wear sashes just put it on any old way. Is it possible that they really haven't learned that the method as to which it is worn states ones own status?

On the other hand, I've seen a whole host of woman that go all out at Scottish events, and look absolutely marvelous. This being said, I know when I got interested in all this tartan, kilts, and all..... I didn't have a clue. Which is probably the case for most of us. Fortunately I had expert guidance, and when I needed correcting it was done very professionally.

I had a friend once who managed to wear his light weight atheletic kilt with the aprons reversed. You could see the buckles and straps all messed up and all. So I kindly asked him to come with me, and told him in private as nicely as possible that he was wearing his kilt with the aprons reversed. He very quickly went to the bathroom and corrected the matter.

Anyway, I'll quit while I'm ahead.