Tartan suggestion(s) solicited

[Taffy Jack]

Hello, Rabble!

I'm interested to discover what will be kilt #2 for me.

Number one is a U.S. Army pattern (hold your sniggering; I like it just fine). A stout, eight-yard garment from USAK, it works well with a formal look (P.C. and ribbons and snappy sporran) or more casually with a day sporran and brown shoes. Pretty much any way I wear it, it's better looking than most of my clothes.

It's also quite dark. Between the green, black, and dark blue, only slightly relieved by yellow, it's somewhat "visually heavy."

The only other tartans to which I'm "entitled" are Psychological Operations Regimental (unavailable unless I pop for an entire run of fabric) and Lewis of Wales (somewhat flimsy and with an odd Cardiff weave, though the colors are nice). Of these two, LoW seems nearly as dark as my "starter" kilt. Psy Op Reg'l, being woven onto a black background, is even darker!

I was also once an artilleryman, but the only tartan I've unearthed in that line is "Confederate Artillery," which is not my jam.

What I'd like to add next is a lighter tartan, incorporating colors along the lines of heather, yellow, grey, light blue, etc. Not particularly interested in a utility-type kilt, nor canvas/tactical kilts in general (specifically uninterested in camo patterns). I like my wool one, and would like to supplement it with another worsted item.

Can someone point me toward an attractive, readily sourced weave that isn't going to offend anyone's clan? Alternatively, is there useful a way to refine searches on the Tartan Registry or STA by variables other than family/clan name?

Secret shoppers, I thank you in advance for any help you may offer.

Cheers,

Jack

[davidlpope]

Have you considered the XMarks tartan?

Isle of Skye?

[OC Richard]

Jack, you and I think along similar lines, it seems!

It's exactly how I would consider my next kilt, if the one I was currently wearing was dark; considering kilts in terms of their colours.

I'm an artist, a visual person, and I think of tartans as works of art, in the visual language of the way colours interact, the proportions of the pattern, and so forth.

Rather than a language-based approach like "the tartan has red because red stands for _______ and it has blue because blue stands for ________ " and all that non-visual stuff.

As you know there are four commonly available colour-ways for tartans

Modern
Ancient
Weathered/Reproduction
Muted

and I gather your US Army kilt is Modern so it might be time for one of the other colour-ways.

I'm in the same boat, because I've been wearing Isle Of Skye as my go-to kilt for quite a few years now and I want something very different. I'm going to go with Hunting Stewart Weathered (browns and greys) as soon as funds permit.

Here's what I've been wearing (Isle Of Skye, which I love)



what I'm waiting to order (Hunting Stewart Weathered)



Either one would be very different from your dark blue & green Modern tartan.

[SaintTGM]

Have you considered the XMarks tartan?

Isle of Skye?

These are both good ideas. Or how about something in a Weathered palate? Or a District or State tartan that means something to you? For example, if you were an artilleryman, (I was too!) you must have spent some time at Ft. Sill, OK. There is an Oklahoma Tartan. Many other states have official and unofficial tartans associated with them. See if your home state has a particular tartan.

I was in a similar boat as you when choosing a second kilt, and I went with a weathered MacDonald of the Isles Hunting. The weathered palate lightens everything up to what you mentioned you were looking for. Kilt #2 should be here in a few more weeks, and I can't wait!

[Karl R]

Can someone point me toward an attractive, readily sourced weave that isn't going to offend anyone's clan? Alternatively, is there useful a way to refine searches on the Tartan Registry or STA by variables other than family/clan name?

At USA Kilts, the have a section dedicated to district and universal tartans. You probably won't be interested in most of them, but it's a fast way to peruse a number of tartans that are readily available (with no more than a modest surcharge), that lack clan affiliations.

When I was looking for a lighter-colored tartan, I went with St. Andrew's (district). I also considered Holyrood (commemorative). But there are lots of other choices that might appeal to you more.

[fluter]

Isle of Skye (seconding David's suggestion) is readily available and just gorgeous---the computer display does not do it justice.

There are many other attractive non-clan tartans, in regular production or available by special order.

The USAK tartan finder is nice for browsing, but dauntingly comprehensive... i.e. it would take some time to see them all! Scotweb (clan.com) likewise: if you have a starting point, you can select for fabric content, weight, and other characteristics. Some of the mills have nice displays:
https://martonmills.com/product-cate...n/jura-tartan/

https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/strome-tartan/

These links are both for heavy-weight wool, other weights/fabrics are there. Happy hunting!

[Taffy Jack]

Have you considered the XMarks tartan?

Isle of Skye?

Isle of Skye is a consideration. XMarks also seems a bit dark, at least as presented in tiny swatch squares on my laptop screen. Real-world impressions welcomed, however.

Thanks!

[Taffy Jack]

As you know there are four commonly available colour-ways for tartans

Modern
Ancient
Weathered/Reproduction
Muted

and I gather your US Army kilt is Modern so it might be time for one of the other colour-ways.

I'm in the same boat, because I've been wearing Isle Of Skye as my go-to kilt for quite a few years now and I want something very different. I'm going to go with Hunting Stewart Weathered (browns and greys) as soon as funds permit.

Here's what I've been wearing (Isle Of Skye, which I love)



what I'm waiting to order (Hunting Stewart Weathered)



Either one would be very different from your dark blue & green Modern tartan.

I quite like the Isle of Skye, but its tones are bright and I think I might be more interested in muted tones. That Hunting Stewart Weathered picture immediately caught my favorable attention.

I like it well enough that it begs another question to the Rabble-at-Large. When I looked that up on USAK's "kiltfigurator" (thanks for the reminder, Karl!), the name "Lewis" appears under known septs of the Stewart clan. How much borrowed affiliation might a guy hope for from his born surname being a "known sept?" Should there be a clear lineage back to clan association (I couldn't claim that)? For that matter, are Stewarts who hunt picky, or tolerant, about the wear of their tartan by hangers-on?

In a relatedly obscure question, USAK mentions that Hunting Stewart Weathered kilts are also available in tweed. What are the consequences -- aesthetic, historical, social, &/or practical -- of electing to have a kilt built from tweed instead of plain worsted wool?

Thanks again,

Jack

[Taffy Jack]

The USAK tartan finder is nice for browsing, but dauntingly comprehensive... i.e. it would take some time to see them all! Scotweb (clan.com) likewise: if you have a starting point, you can select for fabric content, weight, and other characteristics. Some of the mills have nice displays:
https://martonmills.com/product-cate...n/jura-tartan/

https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/strome-tartan/

Thank you! Hours of entertainment lie ahead...

Cheers,

Jack

[McMurdo]

You could look into the Scottish Wildcat Tartan




I would also say Isle of Skye is a good choice