Is Isle of Skye considered universal?

[PinellasPaul]

Bit of a miss lining up the pattern there on the girls mac. Looks a bit patchwork.
Hence the below £11 price.

IOS is a beautiful pattern. I would love to have some in the closet.

[PinellasPaul]

So, this thread brings up a subject that I have long wondered about, that is wearing other tartans. I read the difference between modern, ancient, weathered in another thread with great interest. It was very helpful. I love my Buchanan, but the modern is quite YELLOW!

Is there a reference point on-line where one may learn if a tartan is restricted or universal?

So many plaid clothes that I see are Stewart, Gordon or Blackwatch. I've seen MacBeth, Fraser and Lindsay as well. And then there's the brutally ugly plaids that I would not even use to stop arterial flow, mostly from Asia and the sub-continent.

I get the feeling that Blackwatch is universal, as it is not a family name. But it occurs to me that it could be considered bad form for a Buchanan and Carmichael as I am to wear a lovely Stewart shirt, no matter how much I like it or how available it is. Is this correct?

I love the Scottish National and the Spirit of Scotland, Scotland Forever, Scottish Odyssey and some of those meant for all of us to wear.

[figheadair]

It was very helpful. I love my Buchanan, but the modern is quite YELLOW! But I know that was Scotland's first dye.

I'm not sure how anyone can possibly know that.

Is there a reference point on-line where one may learn if a tartan is restricted or universal?

No there isn't.

I get the feeling that Blackwatch is universal, as it is not a family name. But it occurs to me that it could be considered bad form for a Buchanan and Carmichael as I am to wear a lovely Stewart shirt, no matter how much I like it or how available it is. Is this correct?

The Black Watch/Government tartan is now widely considered a universal tartan and there is no reason you should not wear it. Just don't claim you were in the Black Watch.

[OC Richard]

I love my Buchanan, but the modern is quite YELLOW!

Buchanan in Ancient colours and Weathered colours is far more pleasant, I feel.

Here's Buchanan Weathered



Something else to consider is the symmetrical version of Buchanan



About Spirit Of Scotland, when I saw photos of it I thought it looked very nice, but when I saw a fellow wearing a SOS kilt it was so dark it just looked like a dark purple kilt from a distance. Spirit Of Scotland ancient is nicer I think, though once again the pattern is subtle and from a distance it sort of looks like tweed that would be used for a jacket. It would be perfect for a full tweed kilt suit.

[PinellasPaul]

I DO like that, OC Richard!

I retract my rubbish. I offer up some further investigation for those interested:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tradit...tish_Highlands

http://www.tartansauthority.com/tart...tional-dyeing/

This one looks thorough and informative
http://www.marariley.net/celtic/SentToKass/Dyes.htm

And another vote for horse by-products
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...art-kilts.html

[figheadair]

I DO like that, OC Richard!

And here's a naturally dyes specimen c1800-20 which give you an idea of the original shades.

Regarding Scotland's first dye: I read an article which was, granted, not written by someone who was there at the time. But it discussed what was worn prior to kilts. It stated that long yellow tunics were common. Yellow was the first dye as they used horse urine.

Could be rubbish, I suppose. But it seemed logical. A quick search finds no source to back that claim. I find many sources of dyes of many colours. But none list urine. But all list many colours, not a time when there was but one. So I do not know.

Yes, for so many reasons, it is rubbish. Urine is not a dyestuff, it is used in the reduction of indogotin, originally from Woad but later from imported Indigo, to make blue.

The yellow reference comes from descriptions, many written in the 19th century, of the Celts wearing mantles dyes with saffron. Saffron dye is derived from the dried stamens of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, native to the Middle East, not Scotland or Ireland. The colour is not particularly light fast. Both mean that it is highly unlikely to the point of impossibility.

Yellow can be obtained for a wide variety native dyes but so can a number of other colours and we have no idea which, well before the Romans arrived, was the first used.

[PinellasPaul]

I edited my post and retracted my rubbish.

I looked for some legitimate info on dyes and found 3.

I also found one that was unrelated to the one I had previously read regarding horse by-products.
I added it at the bottom, should someone be curious. I will say no more about that concept again, never.

[MichiganKyle]

About Spirit Of Scotland, when I saw photos of it I thought it looked very nice, but when I saw a fellow wearing a SOS kilt it was so dark it just looked like a dark purple kilt from a distance.

I have an SOS kilt. The pictures I saw of it online looked very colorful. When I got it, I must confess I was a little disappointed in how dark it is. The color is very subtle, especially indoors, and is very dark. But get it out into bright sunlight and it looks quite nice.

I get this kilt pin for it, and I think it looks quite nice (I've actually had it commented on):

https://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/shop/h...stle-kilt-pin/

Spirit of Scotland would definitely be one I'd recommend to people who are coming from a background with utility kilts and are not too sure about wearing tartan - it's very subtle and understated.

[OC Richard]

And here's a naturally dyes specimen c1800-20 which give you an idea of the original shades.

Thanks for that, it's lovely.

The modern one falls short of the wonderful colour-harmony of the original, but at least it's attempting to move in that direction, away from the blatantly garish.



And speaking of the blatantly garish...

[FossilHunter]

And speaking of the blatantly garish...

Woof. That’s hard on the eyes.