Tartan Etiquette

[mookien]

There are a few, a very few, restricted tartans, hence the "nearly"bit. Now without going into endless minute detail about copyrights, convention etc, etc, let us please accept that one way or another that they exist. Tha Balmoral tartan is an interesting example with certain historical "grey" areas, but these days it is regarded as a restricted tartan, but if you could find the tartan maker to look the other way (YOU WON'T! Would you upset Royal customers? Of course not.)then you could wear it, but I suspect if you tried it in the UK or Commonwealth "someone " might have a quiet, but firm word in your ear. ...

Jock: Thanks for the explanation and the Balmoral notice. I would not wear one of those "very few" tartans, and largely for the reasons you state, or that I infer from your comments.

Note that I wrote "firmly in", not "immovably in".

John

[English Bloke]

I regard (and wear proudly) Bruce as my family tartan. There are also other tartans to which I "feel" I have a legitimate familial connection. I like to wear these when attending more formal functions.

When pottering about in Lancashire where convention is less acute and causing offence is less likely, I am happy to wear virtually any tartan, provided it fits well. Whichever tartan I wear, fashion, regional or Clan, I have thoroughly researched what it represents so that should the question of "what's that?" arise (and it does frequently), I have an informed answer. I can literally bore the pants off non-kilties who are unwise enough to step into this arena.

Were I to venture to the Highlands of Scotland from where the traditions stem and mingle with esteemed fellows such as Jock Scot, I would only wear my Bruce tartan. I believe I would be regarded as a bit of a clown and a poseur were I to do otherwise, although I suspect they might think that anyway, given my tenuous connections to Scotland and my selfish reasons for donning the kilt.

It is the causing offence factor that is another reason why I am less inclined to post photos of me wearing clan specific tartans on here, lest I cause offence to members where this aspect of the kilt tradition matters.

I would NEVER wear Balmoral (Royal) Tartan. I toyed once with the idea of Hodden Grey, but thought better of it. I'm glad now I did... It's an odd and inconsistent approach I grant you, but then I'm an odd and inconsistent Bloke.

[Jock Scot]

Actually EB if you stuck to one tartan when in Scotland I doubt any one would ask what tartan you were wearing. Like the other day at Asbourne I took note of your tartan , did not recognise it , and left it at that as a fleeting thought.In passing I also quietly noticed in amongst our wee group , Isle of Skye, Seaforth, Anderson and I think your pal was wearing Black Watch, plus your own, but no comment passed my lips. I and most Scots that I know would never bother to ask. For example though, had we met up the next day and you were wearing another tartan then I would quietly wonder three things. A: Is it another tartan from the same clan? Fine. Or B. Its another Clan's tartan? Not so fine. Or C. Is it an area, unit, fashion, etc., tartan? A bit extravegant but there we go. With each and every unspoken question I might, or might not come upwith the correct conclusion, but I will never know, as there is no way I would ever ask you and in normal circumstances , you would never know what I was thinking!

[Mike_Oettle]

This has been a fascinating discussion, despite (or perhaps precisely because of) the misunderstandings that have led to more detailed explanations.
Like many here, I am interested in all my ancestors and their roots in the lands they came from (all outside Africa before the 17th century), as well as where they have lived during the 3½ centuries of European settlement in Southern Africa.
I take pride in my antecedents who originated in France (Protestants who fled Louis XIV), the Netherlands, Germany (not only my paternal great-grandfather, but also others before him who settled at the Cape under Dutch rule), England and India (who were brought to the Cape as slaves).
But I do not wear lederhosen to express my German culture (it was not done in my great-grandfather’s family), nor clogs for my Dutch ancestors – klompen are worn, like the equivalent footwear of English origin, in low-lying areas where the ground is likely to be wet. The Boer people adopted other styles of clothing and footwear suited to the land they have lived in these past few centuries.
Some Boer traditions are meaningful to me – I have for many years worn velskoene (shoes or boots made of raw animal hide) because they are comfortable as well as hard-wearing.
But others are repulsive because of the excessive emphasis placed on Afrikaner culture in the apartheid years.
Scottish culture, and especially bagpipe music, and kilts and tartan, has far more meaning for me because it symbolises something different from the two main streams of white South African culture: the Afrikaans (with its negative connotations) and the English. In South Africa, English culture is an amalgam, embracing many things, but in many cases it is quite strongly opposed to things Scottish.
Wearing a kilt while serving in my regiment gave me a yet stronger attachment to Scottish culture.
It is hardly surprising, then, that I love wearing the kilt, and am fascinated by the variety of tartans – not only existing ones, but newly designed setts from many parts of the world, and those I hope will one day be accepted as South African tartans.
While there are many South Africans who have grown up in families that belonged to Caledonian societies and have an easy familiarity with kilt-wearing, piping, Scottish dances and Burns Nicht suppers, I come from a family where this was strange.
I have a strong desire to express myself in Scottish ways, by wearing kilts and bonnets, and embracing Scottish culture.
This kind of attitude is strange to Jock Scot because his Scottish roots are pretty well immediate, and he has never been in any doubt as to what clan tartan he ought to wear.
In embracing Scottish culture, I am not trying to be a Scot – I am only too well aware that I am many other things besides. But I feel that the wearing of tartan is something that South Africans could do to a far greater extent.
The kilt is well suited to the South African climate, and there are many South Africans of Scottish descent who have little or no connection with their Scottish roots – Afrikaners especially.
Many South Africans could actually wear Scottish tartans, while others would find other tartans suitable: South African district tartans, or tartans specifically designed for South African families.
Alba go bragh!

And having got that off my chest, I should also make a comment on the Clergy/Clarke group of tartans. My thanks to Matt Newsome for his most informative article on the topic. But in one respect he has erred. He correctly refers to the clergy of Scotland as belonging broadly to the Church of Scotland (known outwith Scotland as the Presbyterian Church) and the Roman Catholic Church. But the third group he refers to, he misnames as the Church of England. The C of E’s Scottish equivalent is the Scottish Episcopalian Church, which is self-governing has no direct link to the established church of the southern realm, although its bishops are invited to Lambeth.
Regards,
Mike

[xman]

I think the 'entitled' question ends when you consider yourself NOT of a highland clan. The 'restrictions' placed on us clansmen by ourselves are our concern. IF we want to play the game this is how it's done. Those of other ethnicities are unaffected by the 'rules' and can dress solely according to aesthetic if they please. I wouldn't want anyone else telling me how I was 'allowed' (and sometimes that's how it's interpreted) to dress.