Wearing another clans Tartan?

[Nathan]

I agree, Nathan, but I would point out something: Not everyone who wears clan tartans that they have no affiliation with feel they ARE doing something wrong. It boils down to how the individual feels about it (which is where this conversation usually comes full circle). If you personally don't feel comfortable wearing another clan's tartan, don't. If you do, go ahead. You may be wise to understand there are 200 years of history surrounding the clan tartans (with the understanding that they were 'made up' by a mill to move cloth), but ultimately, the decision is up to the individual.

Where I tend to veer slightly off the path of the discussions laid out here is in the use of clan tartans in other articles of clothing. Not sure why someone would be uncomfortable wearing a Dress Godron kilt, but boxers or shirts are completely fine. If it b/c it's "accepted in society" to wear tartans as a shirt, but when you wear it as a kilt, it's a symbol of who you are? If so, then I would ask when that rule started? It's still Dress Gordon. The tartan and it's meaning don't change b/c one is a kilt and one is a shirt. People fiercely protect clan tartans in kilts, but let it slide in other articles of clothing.

It's the black / white mindset vs. the grey area. Individuals pick and choose what parts of the argument to pull into their beliefs... where on the "tartan enforcement agency" scale they want to fall between "wear any tartan at any time for any reason" all the way to "only ever wear your father's clan tartan, no matter what article of clothing, period". There's plenty of room in the middle of that scale for differing view points.

1. I don't agree with "If you personally don't feel comfortable wearing another clan's tartan, don't. If you do, go ahead." I think it's wrong and don't want people who aren't affiliated with my clan wearing our tartan. I can't stop you legally, but that doesn't mean you are being respectful of the 200 years of tradition and symbolism upon which this is founded. If some westerner wants to dress like a Samurai full time, I can't stop them. It's their right to look like a poser but it would also be right of a Japanese guy with Samurai roots to roll his eyes.

2) I wouldn't knowlingly wear a ANY item in another clan's tartan, although I consider the government sett (Black Watch) to be a generic and open to all and not a Campbell tartan. If I had my druthers, clan tartans would be trademarked by the chief and companies wouldn't be allowed to manufacture items in clan tartans without permission and identifying them as such. Sadly, there is often no way of knowing if your plaid pj bottoms or your table cloth is in a clan tartan or just in a checked plaid fabric designed by an apparel company. To confuse matters further, Burberry recently filed suit against several tartan mills for producing camel Thompson/MacTavish as a violation of their trademark! The sheer gall of it!

3) The fact that the kilt is a Scottish garment means that people correctly percive the plaid in that garment as tartan, where your boxer shorts are percieved as plaid. Nobody can memorize every colour and fabric combination possible for such a ubiquitous fabric, however, if you're wearing a kilt, you can be pretty sure it's a tartan.