Romsdal district tartan or Sinclair hunting tartan?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Only you can decide if the custom weave is worth the extra money to you. There are factors involved that no one else on this forum can be aware of, such as your amount of discretionary income (can you afford it?), and how connected you feel to one tartan over the other.

Making this kind of decision for myself, assuming money were not the issue and I could afford either one, I would base the decision on two factors.
1. Which of the two tartans do you find more visually appealing? You will be wearing the tartan, after all, and it helps if you actually like the look of what you are wearing.
2. Which of the two tartans would you rather talk about? This last one is a factor most people overlook, I would imagine, but it is important. When you are out and about in a kilt, you will often be asked "What's the tartan?" People will want to know what it is, and what your connection to it might be. It gives you a story to tell. Imagine yourself talking about both tartans, and why you chose to wear it, and see if there is one story you'd rather tell (over and over again).

My last piece of advice is not to sweat it. There is no reason down the line for you to not have two kilts one day, so whichever tartan you don't get this go around, you can always make your choice for your next kilt.

[dea3369]

Only you can decide if the custom weave is worth the extra money to you. There are factors involved that no one else on this forum can be aware of, such as your amount of discretionary income (can you afford it?), and how connected you feel to one tartan over the other.

Making this kind of decision for myself, assuming money were not the issue and I could afford either one, I would base the decision on two factors.
1. Which of the two tartans do you find more visually appealing? You will be wearing the tartan, after all, and it helps if you actually like the look of what you are wearing.
2. Which of the two tartans would you rather talk about? This last one is a factor most people overlook, I would imagine, but it is important. When you are out and about in a kilt, you will often be asked "What's the tartan?" People will want to know what it is, and what your connection to it might be. It gives you a story to tell. Imagine yourself talking about both tartans, and why you chose to wear it, and see if there is one story you'd rather tell (over and over again).

My last piece of advice is not to sweat it. There is no reason down the line for you to not have two kilts one day, so whichever tartan you don't get this go around, you can always make your choice for your next kilt.

I agree on two points. First, people will indeed ask you what tartan it is you are wearing and why you're wearing it. It's a great icebreaker and, personally, a wonderful chance to sow the seed of kilt-wearing on others. Second, having two kilts of different tartans isn't unusual, especially among many in this rabble. In fact, you'll find out that there are quite a few members who have more than two, more than ten, and one, more than 70! It's almost a given that their collection of kilts isn't just one tartan.

Personally, I could afford it, I would select the Romsdal district tartan for my first kilt because it would pull from both your Norwegian and Scottish roots. From the men's bunad you show, it seems the men's traditional dress involves pants. However, taking the Romsdal tartan, which the man in the photo wears as a vest, and wearing that as a kilt would say two things at once.

My two pennies.