Personally authorized tartans

**pbpersson** · 2nd July 06, 01:57 PM

Okay....so I can only wear certain tartans and if anyone asks I should be prepared to explain why I am "authorized" to wear a certain tartan, yes? Am I on the right track? Here are the ones I have found thus far, tell me if I am thinking correctly. If I can really wear all these I'm amazed, not being Scottish I didn't think I could wear any tartans!

Swedish - I'm half Swedish
German - I'm half German
Chicago - it's where I was born
Illinois - it's where I grew up
Arizona - it's where I will spend the rest of my life
American - my country of origin

Now....I have been looking at this site:
http://www.tartans.scotland.net

and if you look under the letter "U" you will see an entire list of tartans that either say "unidentified" or "unnamed" so are these fair game for anyone??

Phoenix Phil

**Southern Breeze** · 2nd July 06, 02:18 PM

You don't need to be "authorized" to wear a particular tartan. As long as it's worn with respect and a bit of knowledge you can wear whatever you like.

It took some time but I finally found this thread:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...7&page=1&pp=10

**Rex_Tremende** · 2nd July 06, 03:11 PM

What Southern Breeze said - but I also understand the desire to actually have a connection to the tartan.

This is why I started looking at my family tree in earnest, and discovered I'm a heck of a lot more Scottish than I understood myself to be (largely German and English). Besides the MacGregor that I knew about, I've discovered I've got some Abernathy, Blue, Hamilton, Johnston, Nee, and Wylie in me, all of whom can be more or less said to have origins in Scotland. What I thought was English turned out to be Welsh (ap Howell, and ap Hew), but there's still plenty of English to go around. Heck, I've even got some Swiss in me, dating back to the 1600's, that I didn't know about until last month.

I figure this gives me a range of options - if not actual tartans associated with the names, then maybe district tartans representing where families may have lived.

Doing a bit of this research strengthened my sense of identity in ways that I hadn't expected. Should I find one or more tartans that links in some way to my family tree - one that also appeals to me aesthetically - I know that I will be proud to wear it, and happy to state my claim on it.

You also have plenty of generic tartans you can adopt. Consider Braveheart Warrior, Evergreen, or Highland Village (if you can find them).

Phil, you already have a great list to start with. Sounds like you might be planning to branch off from UKs any day now.

Regards,
Rex in Cincinnati.

**Scott Gilmore** · 2nd July 06, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by pbpersson

Okay....so I can only wear certain tartans and if anyone asks I should be prepared to explain why I am "authorized" to wear a certain tartan, yes?

No.

Wear what you like, and as mentioned above, wear it with respect. No one will ever give you grief for wearing a tartan that doesn't have your family name attached to it. And if someone does talk smack, they're a jerk, and who cares what jerks think.

Regards,
Scott Gilmore

**davedove** · 2nd July 06, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by Scott Gilmore

No.

Wear what you like, and as mentioned above, wear it with respect. No one will ever give you grief for wearing a tartan that doesn't have your family name attached to it. And if someone does talk smack, they're a jerk, and who cares what jerks think.

Regards,
Scott Gilmore

Well said, Scott. That's what most of the people here will say.

I do, however, like to have some connection to a tartan, if for no other reason than to guide which ones I buy out of the many choices.

I don't know how long your family has been in the states Phil, but if it is more than a few generations you might be surprised to find a Scotsman (or lady) in the mix.

Also, have you ever been in the military? Each of the services has it's own tartan, although none are official.

What about other states, have you or your family ever lived in any other states? Through what state did your family enter the US.

**Tattoo Bradley** · 2nd July 06, 04:25 PM

[QUOTE=davedove]

Also, have you ever been in the military? Each of the services has it's own tartan, although none are official.QUOTE]

Is this accurate?

I know I created a discussion as far as the U.S. Air Force tartan not being "official." But, I'm pretty certain the Army tartan (which is actually quite new) is an official tartan as well as the USMC Leathernecks tartan.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 2nd July 06, 05:51 PM

Neither the Army or Leatherneck tartans (for marines) are official in any capacity -- meaning that the respective military branches have nothing to say on the matter one way or another.

There is one branch of the US military that does have an officially sanctioned tartan that I know of -- the US Coast Guard.

M

**Tattoo Bradley** · 2nd July 06, 05:56 PM

thanks Matt.

**macwilkin** · 2nd July 06, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by pbpersson

Okay....so I can only wear certain tartans and if anyone asks I should be prepared to explain why I am "authorized" to wear a certain tartan, yes? Am I on the right track? Here are the ones I have found thus far, tell me if I am thinking correctly. If I can really wear all these I'm amazed, not being Scottish I didn't think I could wear any tartans!

Swedish - I'm half Swedish
German - I'm half German
Chicago - it's where I was born
Illinois - it's where I grew up
Arizona - it's where I will spend the rest of my life
American - my country of origin

Now....I have been looking at this site:
http://www.tartans.scotland.net

and if you look under the letter "U" you will see an entire list of tartans that either say "unidentified" or "unnamed" so are these fair game for anyone??

Phoenix Phil

Have a look at Matt's web site on District Tartans:

www.district-tartans.com

You'll see that all of your reasons listed above are pretty much in line with what Matt says on his site.

Many national/district/state/provincial tartans are officially recognized by a state/provincial legislature, or some other government body. Others are not, but that does not make them any less symbolic of a particular place. For example, none of the American tartans have been officially recognized by the Federal government, but that should not stop someone from wearing them.

My avatar, btw, is the Iowa State Tartan, recognized in 2004 by the IA legislature. I also can wear the Arizona tartan, since my father is a AZ native, Prescott to be exact.

Regards,

Todd

**pbpersson** · 2nd July 06, 06:45 PM

Originally Posted by davedove

I don't know how long your family has been in the states Phil, but if it is more than a few generations you might be surprised to find a Scotsman (or lady) in the mix.

What about other states, have you or your family ever lived in any other states? Through what state did your family enter the US.

My dad came here directly from Sweden so no Scottish there. My mother's side of the family was 100% German and they all lived in Wisconsin so no Scottish people there, just lots of Wisconsinites.