Can I wear the McPherson Clan Tartan

[NewEnglander]

Welcome from a MacPherson! Thanks for the compliments on the clan tartan. As you saw above I have a kilt from B&S in the Muted MacPherson and I also have a casual kilt from USA Kilts in the MacPherson Hunting. If you head over to the clan website and take a look through the galleries I think you'll see that the hunting tartan is worn most often back in Scotland (hopefully Cousin Kyle or someone else more experienced can confirm that). Personally I'm about to order a semi-traditional kilt in the red tartan from USAK.
I think writing to Cluny to ask for his leave to wear the clan tartan is a fine and respecting thing to do. If you don't hear a back from the Chief himself himself, you might also write you the Australian branch of the Clan MacPherson Association.
Good luck and be sure to share pics of whichever kilt you wear.
Slainté!

[seanachie]

Writing to the Chief of a Clan does not guarantee a reply one way or the other.

A Chief has the power to recognise a tartan but after that they do not appear to have any control over the production and distribution of that tartan. Very few tartans are actually restricted and I am not aware of any Clan tartans that have a restriction.

You will get those who argue that silence equals consent and those who argue that it means the opposite. You pays yer money and you takes yer choice.

I for one do not feel guilty about having and wearing my MacPherson Red nor other Clan tartans of which I am not Clan member. I wear them with respect and honour and I am sure that it is also good advertising for that Clan as many people would otherwise not have the chance of seeing it worn.

I posed this question some months back, and based on some of the "it just isn't done" replies I received I did contact clan MacPherson. I got two prompt replies from clan officials (not the chief). It was acknowledged to me that some Scots might not approve, I was asked to learn a little of the clan and told that they did not have an objection. I will quote one line I think appropriate: "I am glad to know you wear the kilt appropriately attired – it makes all the difference to see it worn properly. Enjoy wearing our tartan."

[McClef]

It would be interesting to know what they mean by "appropriately attired."

[Guinness>water]

As I was just beginning to wear tartan kilts, I struggled with the idea of wearing other clan tartans(search "diluted tartans"). I came to the realization that, as has been stated already, most tartans arent restricted and by wearing all kinds of tartans I am promoting highland heritage and keeping it alive. I hope wear as many different clan tartan kilts as I can afford because I will be spreading knowledge and paying respect to the clan whos tartan I wear.

[seanachie]

It would be interesting to know what they mean by "appropriately attired."

Trefor: I believe those words were a quote from the email that I wrote. I had basically outlined my case in that I wore the tartan respectfully and appropriately attired. My meaning that I did not wear the clan tartan in some combination of clothing that the clan might feel inappropriate, like sagging off the hips with a loud Hawaiin shirt and psychedelic belt. I think we have also seen kilts worn in ways we think not an issue of taste but just plain grossly inappropriate and I was trying to insure they understood I would never do so and be mindful of being respectful in my dress.

[figheadair]

Wear it as 'Caledonia' which is what it was called before it became MacPherson.

[Mike in Dayton]

Wear it as 'Caledonia' which is what it was called before it became MacPherson.

That was tartan #43 which was also listed in Wilson's book as KIDD. That was based on who purchased that tartan at the time. Someone by the name MacPherson also purchased the material and was so recorded in Wilson's book. Some tartans have an interesting history that can result in multiple identities.

I have some yardage of this particular tartan to be made into a kilt. For me it is because of the KIDD association.

http://www.tartansauthority.com/tart...d-or-caledonia

Mike

[Monkey@Arms]

From Matt Newsome's wonderful website: http://www.albanach.org/sources.html

[I]n 1815 Col. Alasdair MacDonell of Glengarry began to urge all of the clan chiefs to submit a sample of their authentic tartan to the Highland Society of London.

This, of course, threw many clan chiefs into a tizzy, who by and large had no idea of what their “clan tartan” was supposed to be, nor had ever given it much thought. Many of these chiefs were just as ignorant of history as anyone else, and if enough people insisted that they once had a clan tartan, who were they to argue? The chief of the Robertson Clan set about asking all the older men in Atholl what the true clan tartan was. Many claimed they knew, but they all suggested different designs! The tartan ultimately submitted by the chief to the Highland Society is what we know today as Hunting Robertson, which was the tartan originally worn by the Loyal Clan Donnachie Volunteers (a kind of home guard) raised in 1803. Like most military tartans, it is based on the blue, green and black “government sett” – the Black Watch tartan – with colored stripes added.

It would seem that many chiefs simply wrote to the main supplier of tartan cloth, Wilsons of Bannockburn, asking them to send out a sample of “their” clan tartan. Looking back through Wilsons’ pattern books can unveil amusing stories regarding many of these “authentic” clan tartans’ origins. Perhaps most illustrative is the tartan that began life simply as “No. 43” in Wilsons’ record books.

When Wilsons began to assign names to their tartans, it was given the romantic name of “Caledonia” – the old Roman name for the northern part of Great Britain. When Wilsons sold cloth in this pattern to a man surnamed Kidd, on the east coast of Scotland, it was recorded in their pattern books as “No. 43 or Kidd.” Later, the same pattern was sold to a man in the West Indies named MacPherson, and his name was also added to their records. So when the chief of Clan MacPherson asked Wilsons to supply him with a sample of “the MacPherson tartan” it was their No. 43 pattern that they sent. He submitted to the Highland Society, and this is still the standard tartan used by the MacPherson clan today.

IMHO, If you want to wear that tartan you have just as much a claim to it as any member of the MacPherson clan.

Best regards,

Jake

[davidlpope]

From Matt Newsom's wonderful website: http://www.albanach.org/sources.html



IMHO, If you want to wear that tartan you have just as much a claim to it as any member of the MacPherson clan.

Best regards,

Jake

Good point, although I've started grouping certain things under the "yeah, I'm technically right, but no one will really care to listen to my ten-minute thesis on why I am right" category. In other words, despite the historical provenance of this tartan, any people who recognize it at all will recognize it as an "in-group" symbol of Clan MacPherson.

It's like trying to explain to folks that the bagpipe was played all over the world. Historically, that's true, but no one really cares. In the public mind bagpipe=Scotland (except for those misguided folks who erroneously think bagpipe=Ireland).

If you like the colors/style of the MacPherson tartan, why not get a kilt in the commercially available Caledonia tartan (another of WOB's designs which bears that name). Same colors, very similar design, readily available, and doesn't come with any of the "clan" baggage!

David

[seanachie]

I have one of those (Caledonia tartan) in PV as well and really like it and your rationale is good as well and one reason I stuck with it.