Wear of Clan Tartan by non-Clan Members

[xman]

Im the stubborn and overprotective type that would be annoyed if some Random was wearing "my clan" (assuming I had a clan) tartan with no reason, but the way your friend does it would not bother me becuase he seems to be recognizing that hes sporting a clan tartan but he's not doing it to falsely represent the clan, AND he's not doing it ignorantly. If someone wore a Walker tartan and said "Im not a Walker but I sure do love those shortbread cookies" then it's really not a big deal to me since they're recognizing that they are not actually representing Walkers and, instead, they are honoring something that has the word "Walker" in it. Idk. Im more or less "thinking out loud" here. I just know that I'm the type that would be like "umm.....whatcha doing sporting my kilt" if I saw it being worn by someone who has no claim to it. The way your friend does it seems to be a very reasonable and non-offensive way to wear a tartan that isn't "yours".

I have had both emotional responses actually. Once at a ren fair I saw a young man sporting Clan Donald and when i approached him it turned out he wasn't a MacDonald and didn't even know what tartan he was wearing. Another time here it was asked if it would be okay to wear Clanranald even though he wasn't Clanranald and I felt honoured. Which way is the wind blowing?

[Kilted Cole]

I have had both emotional responses actually. Once at a ren fair I saw a young man sporting Clan Donald and when i approached him it turned out he wasn't a MacDonald and didn't even know what tartan he was wearing. Another time here it was asked if it would be okay to wear Clanranald even though he wasn't Clanranald and I felt honoured. Which way is the wind blowing?

Would I be correct in assuming then its a matter of outright ignorance vs being respectfull in reguards to wearing clan tartan by the non affiliated party?

[Meggers]

Would I be correct in assuming then its a matter of outright ignorance vs being respectfull in reguards to wearing clan tartan by the non affiliated party?

Id say this is a big indicator of what would make me feel upset and which would make me feel honored. If someone was wearing my clan and didnt know it, I would be very annoyed. If they did it to honor my clan, I would feel great. It just depends on the intention of the wearer.

[David Thorpe]

Would I be correct in assuming then its a matter of outright ignorance vs being respectfull in reguards to wearing clan tartan by the non affiliated party?

Being respectful would mean asking permission from the Chief of the clan or his representative, before wearing his clan's tartan, IMHO.

[xman]

Would I be correct in assuming then its a matter of outright ignorance vs being respectfull in reguards to wearing clan tartan by the non affiliated party?

Yeah.