Aberdeen District Tartan

[Woot22]

I was thinking of getting a new kilt that had some family meaning to it. I already own a kilt in the Buchanan Hunting Tartan but my last name is merely a sept of that clan. So, to be honest, I really do not feel any personal connection with that particular tartan. My family did not even reside in the Buchanan's part of Scotland. My fathers side of the family originally came from a small town in Aberdeenshire. This got me thinking, since my family name is a lowland one, Watt, maybe my next kilt should be a district tartan that has a real connection with my family heritage. Upon doing some research I do not see any mill that makes the Aberdeen tartan in 16oz heavy weight. This got me to thinking, do locals in the Aberdeen area never get kilts in this tartan? I was just curious if it is very uncommon in Scotland to get a kilt made from a district tartan. I know most of us here on XMTS do not reside in Aberdeenshire let alone Scotland but I welcome any and all to respond with comments on the matter.

[gilmore]

I may be mistaken, since I don't live in Scotland, but my impression is that Scots are more likely to own only one very well-made kilt in their own clan tartan that they wear to weddings and other formal ocassions, and/or to have a very inexpensive "designed in Scotland," made in Pakistan kilt or two that they can wear to football games without having to worry about getting beer spilled on it or worse. The latter are rarely in clan or district tartans, but are more likely to be "Heritage of...," "Flower of....," etc. fashion tartans.

[beloitpiper]

To be fair, though, not all of Aberdeenshire lies in the lowlands. The Gordon Highlanders (and I!) would argue that point.

[Cavebear58]

...Upon doing some research I do not see any mill that makes the Aberdeen tartan in 16oz heavy weight. This got me to thinking, do locals in the Aberdeen area never get kilts in this tartan? I was just curious if it is very uncommon in Scotland to get a kilt made from a district tartan....

I'd echo the comment of Gilmore that most Scots own one kilt in their family tartan which they look after carefully for formal occasions.

I've worked in Aberdeen a fair bit in the past, and in a single week probably only saw one or two blokes in kilts - and then the impression I got was that they were rural types who wore it to come into town. Very few Scots, it seems to me wear a kilt for normal activities. The younger lads do so for gang activities, like going to the football, or a party, and it's these who might wear a cheap kilt in a collective tartan, like the Saltire, the Pride of ... etc. The district tartan, again, purely subjectively, seemed to me to be worn by people for whom that was a 'corporate' one, such as the ladies working in the Tourist information centres, and of course those in a pipe band or the like.

I remember staying in one of the posher hotels one time, and the staff were all immaculately turned out in tartan. The rooms had scatter cushions of which at least one was in this same tartan. Even the chambermaids were wearing a tartan tunic beneath a dark blue apron. When I asked, suitably naively what the tartan was, the doorman looked at me as if I was dumb and pointed out the name of the proprietor.

It did register with me, and if I should ever again be in a position where I am running a business with a handful of staff, I would definitely adopt the tartan as a uniform item - it's so simple to achieve a really unique look.

Best wishes
Graham.

[davidlpope]

This got me thinking, since my family name is a lowland one, Watt, maybe my next kilt should be a district tartan that has a real connection with my family heritage. Upon doing some research I do not see any mill that makes the Aberdeen tartan in 16oz heavy weight.

I think the decision to wear a district tartan is a very good one. From my personal view, I think it is much more authentic to wear a district or fashion tartan that originated centuries ago (or simply wear a tartan that you really like with no claims of familial connection) rather than to attempt the usual genealogical gymnastics ("My wife's step-father's surname was Thomas<<usually Welsh or English>>, which is a variant of MacThomas, which is a form of MacTavish, but I like the Clan Chattan tartan better than the MacTavish so since the MacTavishes were part of the Clan Chattan confederacy I wear it...")

The Aberdeen sett was designed by Wilsons of Bannockburn in the 18th century, making it older than many of the clan tartans out there, although it may have been originally been designed as a fashion sett and named "Aberdeen" in order to increase sales. Over time, though, fashion setts tend to become "adopted" by groups or areas and their original origin is forgotten. I personally think it is a very attractive tartan and has a lot more punch than many modern tartans.

Lochcarron lists Aberdeen as one of the tartans available in their 16oz. Strome range. You can check with your regular highlandwear supplier to confirm this. Another option would be to have a kilt-length custom woven by D.C. Dalgliesh in the authentic Wilsons' colors. If you're into a more historically accurate kilt style, a custom-woven box-pleat by Matt Newsome in the Aberdeen tartan would be hard to beat.

One final note: The Aberdeen sett is very wide, which means that your kiltmaker would likely have to do some creative pleating. If not, the kilt would end up with a small number of extremely deep pleats. This should be no problem for an experienced kiltmaker, but could prevent you from pleating to a specific line, etc.

I'd urge you to check out Matt Newsome's website at http://www.district-tartans.com/. There are lots of choices for someone who isn't that keen on clan tartans.

Cordially,

David

[Woot22]

Awesome, David thanks for the help and the info. I did not know Lochcarron carried Aberdeen tartan in a heavy weight I will definitely look into it.

Thanks Again,

CW

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Just to verify, Lochcarron does stock Aberdeen in their 16 oz Strome range. I have a swatch of it in the museum gift shop. It's a great tartan, dating back to at least 1794, with references to it going back even further than that. Very unusual, and very eighteenth century in its style.

[Jock Scot]

In general terms, I think that you chaps overseas know far more about district tartans than nearly any Scot.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I had been told that Aberdeen tartan was the personal tartan of Lord Aberdeen-- any knowledgeable comments?

[starbkjrus]

snip...

Another option would be to have a kilt-length custom woven by D.C. Dalgliesh in the authentic Wilsons' colors. If you're into a more historically accurate kilt style, a custom-woven box-pleat by Matt Newsome in the Aberdeen tartan would be hard to beat.

...snip

My thoughts exactly!