Wear of Clan Tartan by non-Clan Members

[The Wizard of BC]

As a guy who runs a kilt shop and hears the question originally posed in this thread on a daily basis........

There are currently well over 15,000 Registered Tartans. More are designed and registered each day.

The original question of this thread seems to assume that there are only Clan Tartans to choose from. A sort of "Someone's Clan Tartan or nothing" way of thinking.

There are many many Tartans that have no connection whatsoever to any Scottish Clan, Family or name.

If anyone questions what Tartan they can or should wear I could simply hand them a set of Tartan Swatch Books. I could promise to tell them if they pick one associated with a Clan. The chances are pretty good that I would not have to tell them "No, that one is a Clan Tartan" too often.

I personally own 7 Tartan kilts and not one of them is a Clan Tartan. To my way of thinking there are simply so many Tartans choose from that I don't need to worry about offending someone or wearing someones Tartan.

If any member of this forum wishes to wear Tartan they need look no further than our own X Marks Tartan. You are fully authorized to wear it and I have it on pretty good authority that you have the forum owners' permission and blessing to do so.

Don't like Blue? OK, there are only about 13,000 other non-Clan Tartans to choose from.

[David Thorpe]

...If you want a better understanding of opinions on the issue read the threads in the Cooling off Corner. I have read them all (yes my jonesing is really that bad).

That IS bad!

Well said, Steve! Thank you.

[dea3369]

The original question of this thread seems to assume that there are only Clan Tartans to choose from. A sort of "Someone's Clan Tartan or nothing" way of thinking.

Well, not exactly. As the OP, my question arose from several threads in which a person chose a particular kilt because of the "beautiful tartan" or "I liked the colors" or simply because it was time to procure another kilt. To me that was fine as long as the buyer selected a universal tartan or one that represented his/her clan. However, one thread had discussion about a person looking to buy a kilt in a tartan of a particular clan/sept (can't remember which one) to which he had no connection. So, I did a cursory search and found that the tartan in question was not a universal tartan. Having read several admonishments, outside of this forum, about wearing tartan that did not "belong" to the wearer, I wondered how one could consider procuring a kilt in a tartan to which one had no ties. I'll admit that I may be over-generalizing, but the one warning that comes to mind right now is the one about steering clear of tartans that only the British royals may wear.

I am probably like many others here who have learned a lot about kilts, tartans, clans, kilt-wearing, etc. simply by browsing. But I know that huge gaps in that knowledge still remain. So, I posted the question in an attempt to reconcile what seems to me thoughts that contradict each other: be-careful-what-tartan-you-wear versus wear-whatever-tartan-strikes-your-fancy.

Thus far, what I gather is that:
1) while there are clan tartans, there is really no restriction as to who can wear that tartan;
2) if that is not the wearer's tartan, it would be nice to get permission from the clan chief;
3) there are no kilt kops who will intensely scrutinize one's connection to the tartan he/she is wearing

Is that about right?

[David Thorpe]

...Thus far, what I gather is that:
1) while there are clan tartans, there is really no restriction as to who can wear that tartan;
2) if that is not the wearer's tartan, it would be nice to get permission from the clan chief;
3) there are no kilt kops who will intensely scrutinize one's connection to the tartan he/she is wearing

Is that about right?

I would insert the word "legal" before "restriction" in 1), and replace "nice" with "good" in 2). But that's just my opinion.

[Tobus]

1) while there are clan tartans, there is really no restriction as to who can wear that tartan;

Correct. In many cases, these "clan tartans" were simply assigned to a clan by the weaver from existing designs. The clan chiefs were scurrying to get on board with the Highland Revival frenzy and didn't even know they were supposed to have a clan tartan. So they wrote to the mill and asked what their tartan was supposed to be, and it was chosen for them. Over time, this developed into a tradition of that tartan 'belonging' to that clan.

2) if that is not the wearer's tartan, it would be nice to get permission from the clan chief;

Because the tradition has developed this way, yes, it's courteous to do that, but it's not required in any sense. It's just a matter of respect for the tradition and significance of the tartan. A clan chief has the authority to decide which tartan his clan will officially recognize, but he does not have the authority to deny others from wearing it. Nor does he 'own' the tartan (unless he has some sort of trademark or copyright on the pattern, which would probably only apply to the more recent ones).

3) there are no kilt kops who will intensely scrutinize one's connection to the tartan he/she is wearing

No, there are no official kilt cops. But - there are some out there who take it on themselves to be unofficial kilt cops. They are usually recognized by their extreme rudeness and know-it-allness (though usually they are absolutely wrong about their facts). You may never encounter one, but if you do, have a plan on how to handle them, or ignore them.

[creagdhubh]

Correct. In many cases, these "clan tartans" were simply assigned to a clan by the weaver from existing designs. The clan chiefs were scurrying to get on board with the Highland Revival frenzy and didn't even know they were supposed to have a clan tartan. So they wrote to the mill and asked what their tartan was supposed to be, and it was chosen for them. Over time, this developed into a tradition of that tartan 'belonging' to that clan.


Because the tradition has developed this way, yes, it's courteous to do that, but it's not required in any sense. It's just a matter of respect for the tradition and significance of the tartan. A clan chief has the authority to decide which tartan his clan will officially recognize, but he does not have the authority to deny others from wearing it. Nor does he 'own' the tartan (unless he has some sort of trademark or copyright on the pattern, which would probably only apply to the more recent ones).


No, there are no official kilt cops. But - there are some out there who take it on themselves to be unofficial kilt cops. They are usually recognized by their extreme rudeness and know-it-allness (though usually they are absolutely wrong about their facts). You may never encounter one, but if you do, have a plan on how to handle them, or ignore them.

[bikercelt1]

Correct. In many cases, these "clan tartans" were simply assigned to a clan by the weaver from existing designs. The clan chiefs were scurrying to get on board with the Highland Revival frenzy and didn't even know they were supposed to have a clan tartan. So they wrote to the mill and asked what their tartan was supposed to be, and it was chosen for them. Over time, this developed into a tradition of that tartan 'belonging' to that clan.


Because the tradition has developed this way, yes, it's courteous to do that, but it's not required in any sense. It's just a matter of respect for the tradition and significance of the tartan. A clan chief has the authority to decide which tartan his clan will officially recognize, but he does not have the authority to deny others from wearing it. Nor does he 'own' the tartan (unless he has some sort of trademark or copyright on the pattern, which would probably only apply to the more recent ones).


No, there are no official kilt cops. But - there are some out there who take it on themselves to be unofficial kilt cops. They are usually recognized by their extreme rudeness and know-it-allness (though usually they are absolutely wrong about their facts). You may never encounter one, but if you do, have a plan on how to handle them, or ignore them.

Well said! This is probably one of the best ways of addressing the whole issue that I've heard in my time here.

Jamie

[Fedgunner]

For my wee bit...
No one has mentioned the sheer fun involved in tartan hunting.
It becomes even more interesting the more you know. A couple of examples might be in order.

Macmillan modern black. Not a Macmillan? No worries! The clan chief does not recognize it as a clan tartan.

Fancy the Campbell dress tartan? No problem there either. The chief of that clan only recognizes the military sett.

There are many more where those came from!

[Downunder Kilt]

If you want to wear a kilt in whatever tartan, please, just do one thing, respect the tartan, wear it with pride and take the time to learn a little bit about the history behind it.

[flairball]

[QUOTE=Tobus;1114782]Correct. In many cases, these "clan tartans" were simply assigned to a clan by the weaver from existing designs. The clan chiefs were scurrying to get on board with the Highland Revival frenzy and didn't even know they were supposed to have a clan tartan. So they wrote to the mill and asked what their tartan was supposed to be, and it was chosen for them. Over time, this developed into a tradition of that tartan 'belonging' to that clan.


Because the tradition has developed this way, yes, it's courteous to do that, but it's not required in any sense. It's just a matter of respect for the tradition and significance of the tartan. A clan chief has the authority to decide which tartan his clan will officially recognize, but he does not have the authority to deny others from wearing it. Nor does he 'own' the tartan (unless he has some sort of trademark or copyright on the pattern, which would probably only apply to the more recent ones).


This is pretty much it. The clans basically adopted, or recognized a tartan as their official tartan but do not own, nor control the weaving or wearing of it.

So wear what you like. If its been recognized by a clan as a tartan they have adopted, wear it anyway, because though they like it, it's still doesn't belong to them.