Years ago, my first post on this forum was asking if I could wear the tartan of my late step-grandmother who was a lovably proud Scot and a pillar in the community. With much patience, it was laid out that I could. Five years later, I'm looking to upgrade that old USA Kilts Casual with a higher end one. It was a subtle but fulfilling feeling to wear her tartan, it really was. In fact, due to an odd twist of fate, some friends and I are looking to run the clan tent at a local games. I spend every weekend of summer kilted at the Faire, with as tasteful accessories as I can manage without going too far culturally or historically. Packing up after a Tartan Ball this weekend, there was a sad sigh knowing I won't have an occasion until next summer.

On a whim...I wanted to branch out just a little. I picked up the American fashion tartan solely because I wanted to occasionally mix up my outfits at Faire and concerts, without resorting to a black or solid colored kilt. I grew to love swapping between the kilts and trying out new outfit colors, accessory options, and even am looking into headwear which I never thought I'd cross. My semi-modern Faire outfits now use the American kilt, while my blue and green clan tartan gets proper earth tones and humbler historical touches. But after a summer picking between the two kilts...Here's where I see a slippery slope ahead of me.

At Faire and at the Ball this weekend, I've gotten good at guessing common tartans. But sometimes, I just catch myself staring because the pattern is so striking or in a color I'd never thought of. I've had a couple times where I wander my kilt maker's site looking at ONLY the fashion tartans, going off of color or contrast alone. Offhand, I keep wanting a blue pattern of some kind. This is where I have to catch myself. Am I wearing a kilt with heritage, or am I picking tartans like I'd pick a tee shirt color? I spent months bugging forums for 'permission' to wear Farquharson and even wrote to organizations about it, now here I am wanting tartans by looks alone.

I need some wisdom on this. It is not in my nature to wear a pattern I could not relate strongly with and claim connection to, the clans are safe from my antics. But for branching off into fashion tartans, is there a point where I'm thinking too lightly of the history and heritage? If I do crave variety, are there safer options such as choosing the Masonic tartan as a card-carrying member of that organization? When is it an acceptable jaunt to wear another pattern, and when should 'my' tartan take center stage?