To begin, I'm mixed Polish-Irish right down the middle, pure heritage on both sides of the family. Theoretically, there's some O'Connor on the Irish side with a tartan out there I can't afford. However, a few months ago I was headed to the opening week of the Renn Faire in my black 5.11 kilt and my step-mother saw it. Rather than laugh at it like all my other relatives have, which is just fine as I'm a bit of a joker, she immediately asked if my father's had a tartan. Explaining we had none, she casually said 'Oh, Joanie's family had two, you can wear one of those.' Joanie was my step-mother's recently deceased mother, and let me just say she was a firecracker of an old bird I miss dearly. This step-family is a simply wonderful group I'm very close to, my father and I stand out being only legally related but are on extremely good terms compared to my blood relatives even. Her family was originally the Christies, as in the Christie Medical Centers, and they are known for a very colorful scatter-patterned tartan. They also had Farquharson ties, and wore them interchangably. Farq (I have to copy and paste that name every time I type it...) is a rather common tartan, and low and behold USA Kilts has a casual kilt in that pattern which I can afford after my job hunt pays off.

I did a Facebook post featuring the Christie, Farq, Masonic (I'm a Mason but don't like the pattern), and American Heritage tartan (I just love it) asking which one was most appealing to casual onlookers. Surprisingly, I had some older gentlemen asking about my heritage, and they strongly encouraged me to only pursue the Masonic pattern because my bloodlines weren't directly Farq or Christie. While I know there are Universal Tartans, I'm in a point in my life where I'm seeking ties to the past to figure out who I am as I get my career started. I admire the tartan system because it's pride in heritage and identity. Is the blessing and encouragement of the family enough to warrant a non-relative wearing the colors? Does it all not matter, seeing as the tartan system isn't that ancient truly? Should I wait until I can afford something rarer that I'm directly allowed to wear and take pride in that?