Tartans not of your lineage

[Steve Ashton]

Remember that Tartan tells the world,

Who am I,
Where did I come from,
How did I get to where I am today.

Today there are about 12,000 listed Tartans. There are Tartans for everything and everyone.

A few are named for the Scottish Highland Clans. But far more are named for other things.
There are Tartans for the Scottish famlies, That vast majority of Scots who are not part of the Highland Clan system.
There are Tartans for areas and regions. Many countries other than Scotland have officially adopted Tartan.
States, cities have Tartans.
Companies have Tartans. The Safeway grocery chain, Harley Davidson, UPS all have Tartans.
Clubs, organizations, The Masons, The Ford Model T club.
Even Hello Kitty has a Tartan. (yes it looks like something exploded in a Pepto Bismol factory)

When you wear Tartan it tells the entire world - This is who I am - Today. All of those parts, all of the history, that are combined to make me.

When you think of Tartan like this - as something that does not have to be locked into dim history, it is no wonder that you can walk proud showing all the rest of the little bits and pieces.

Sandwiched alpabetically between the Isle of Skye Tartan and the Ithielian Heather Tartan are - The Italian Tartan, The Italian Amerian Tartan & The Italian National Tartan.