Wear of Clan Tartan by non-Clan Members

[creagdhubh]

I think the Harley example is a bit off... as a teen, I wore many harley shirts and never owned one. I simply liked the bikes and supported "team harley" over "team honda".

If you continue down this road / line of thinking, you arrive at the sports team metaphor. If I wear a Philadelphia Flyers jersey, will people think I'm on their roster or work in the Flyers front office? No, but I support the team. Will they be disappointed or upset to learn I'm not on the team? Likely not.

The Rabble sucked you in, Rocky! Hahaha! Just kidding mein Deutsche freund.

Prost,

[RockyR]

The Rabble sucked you in, Rocky! Hahaha! Just kidding mein Deutsche freund.

Prost,

I know... I have an issue with keeping my mouth shut.

OK... turning off the computer and finishing the Baird kilt I'm working on. I PROMISE this time.

[Tobus]

I think the Harley example is a bit off... as a teen, I wore many harley shirts and never owned one. I simply liked the bikes and supported "team harley" over "team honda".

Your reasons for wearing it may have been that, but can you be certain that everyone else understood it that way? That's my point. Whether you mean to or not, your clothing choice will cause people to make assumptions about you that you may not have meant. And if you were just a kid at the time, I doubt anyone thought of you as a motorcycle owner. But I see it all the time in the adult world. If I wear a Harley shirt, people will ask me what kind of Harley I have. (I used to own two of them!) It's just the natural assumption that people make when they see you advertise a symbol on your clothing. They assume you're part of a group. It would be the same if I wore my late grandfather's Jaguar jacket. He always drove a Jaguar, and loved them. But if I wore the jacket, people might assume I drive a Jag, and it would just be really weird. I don't want to misrepresent myself that way.

The Harley example may not be perfect, nor the Masonic example. But you get my point, I hope. Symbols on clothing are used as identifiers, and to identify yourself as a part of a group when you aren't a part of a group (whether it's one that's earned, or chosen, or hereditary doesn't really matter) will cause confusion at the very least, and possibly anger at the worst. A sports team logo is a bit different, as no one will assume you're on the team. But they will assume you're a fan if you're wearing that logo. Why else would you wear it, unless you are identifying yourself as a fan of the team? See, right there, you've told others that you're part of a group. If you wear a Baltimore Orioles shirt, but when approached by fans you tell them you're not a fan and you just like the picture of the birdie on the logo, they'll think you're weird. Know what I mean? They'll also think you're a bit strange if you tell them that you're not a fan, but you wear it to honour your great-grandfather's cousin who was an Orioles fan.

It's not the exact same thing with clan tartans, but it's very similar. Wearing a specific clan's tartan just because you like the colours is your choice, but others may think it's odd because it's a symbol that actually means something to them. That's all I'm saying.

In the end, what they think doesn't really matter.

[rondo]

...but you wear it to honour your great-grandfather's cousin who was an Orioles fan...

In the end, what they think doesn't really matter.

ROTFLOL... ... I absolutely love that! Great Granpaw was an Orioles fan! Too freekin' much!

We tend at times to over think these things... how about "I'm related on Grams or Gramps side" and just leave it? No one is going to ask for your pedigree, and if they do... do you really want to associate with them?
Rondo

[kilted scholar]

As I and others have commented on previous threads, what about tartan ties, shirts, blankets - and how about ladies' skirts? The question of the OP has a certain relevance in particular contexts in terms of etiquette, but it can get ridiculous if elevated into an absolute principle.

[MacLowlife]

A couple of quick points: Most rules can be enforced with a varying degree of strictness and I find that people expect to be able to enforce them against OTHERS perhaps more strictly than they expect them to be enforced against themselves. This is a variation on the German engineers, /English policemen/ French cooks idea. Thus, if you believe in the necessity of an association before you can wear a kilt, chances are, your ideas of how close an association is required might vary depending on whether it is a tartan you choose to wear, or a tartan some jerk just showed up in... I expect this is how the present state of affairs came to be.

Second, a person might adjust the restrictions and expectations a little when one considers the availability of the tartan and the breadth of its distribution. When you get serious, you will notice that a dozen tartans probably account for 75-90% of the tartan goods you will see. If every scrap of Royal Stewart and Black Watch tartan were to disappear in five minutes, there would be a lot of exposed flesh, not to mention picnic coolers, cookie tins, and luggage suddenly spilling their contents. If your name is Hunting Ross and you encounter someone wearing the Hunting Ross Tartan, you might be excused for expecting a connection. If you expect the same from every guy with a wax jacket lined in Dress Gordon... well, you get the idea.

I am willing to bet that some canny Scot will observe that owning just one kilt makes things a lot easier...

PS, wasn't there a "So, you play for the Mets...?" skit on SNL based on this idea?

[Meggers]

As I and others have commented on previous threads, what about tartan ties, shirts, blankets - and how about ladies' skirts? The question of the OP has a certain relevance in particular contexts in terms of etiquette, but it can get ridiculous if elevated into an absolute principle.

I treat my skirt the same way I would treat a kilt because, to me, it's my gender's version of a kilt (I know this might not be the same for other ladies here--especially ladies who are pipers, but that's how I treat mine). I wouldn't wear a ladies skirt in a tartan that I didn't have some sort of connection to.

[Zardoz]

We tend at times to over think these things... how about "I'm related on Grams or Gramps side" and just leave it? No one is going to ask for your pedigree, and if they do... do you really want to associate with them?
Rondo

I'm with that idea, tell 'em it's to honor your great great grandmaw.
I've never made a lot of assumptions about people's heritage, hobbies, employment etc.. based on clothing logos. I was wearing a Taggart Transcontinental shirt while running around yesterday, and I doubt anyone assumed I worked on a fictional railway.
I can comment with a little authority on the Harley shirt deal, the Harley shop I worked at years ago used to sell over $600,000 a year in t-shirts. I assure you not everyone buying them owned a Harley!

[Chas]

I equate this to tie wearing, as they are both articles of clothing. I wear a Royal Air Force tie, because I spent 12 years of undetected crime serving. I would not wear an army tie or a navy tie, because I did not serve with them. Likewise an old school tie and a university tie, why would I want to wear somebody else's university tie? I wouldn't. And clubs and societies and associations that I am not a member of - why would I or anybody else want to do that?

The only answer I can think of is 'Not for good reasons'.

Regards

Chas

[Zardoz]

Well the ties are a good example; I recall a discussion (I think on another forum) where some folks were talking about finding ties in their school tie and service branch colors/patterns at regular shops.
I think it's safe to imagine that there are folks running around in ties that might have some special meaning to certain folks, but they just liked the colors!
Indeed, I have a tie in my unfortunate school colors I bought at Sears, it gets worn maybe once a year at alumni stuff where ties might be worn. If I ever see somebody out and about wearing the same tie, I might question his fashion sense, but I wouldn't automatically think we went to the same college.