Quote Originally Posted by Jock Scot View Post
As a Scot,can I confirm that the kilt is rarely seen as "every day"wear,weddings,funerals,highland games and formal dinners would be the "norm".I as am a member of the "older generation"(not old)and from a somewhat traditional background,I find the wearing of many tartans difficult to comprehend.I wear my clan tartan proudly and that is fine for me,and I think many resident Scots of all generations would adhere to that convention.You colonials(no offence intended)have a happy knack of adjusting conventions to suit yourselves and quite right too!I also think that there are some of you colonials(sorry)who get very hot under the collar over what is correct,yes and some Scots too,but on the whole, wear what you are happy with seems pretty sensible to me.
One analogy I have found useful over the years is that of Sports liveries.
I'll use American Football (NFL), as that is something many feel extremely passionate about (though Football/Soccer works equally well).
If one wears green and yellow, one KNOWS they pull for the Green Bay Packers, while teal and orange is for the Miami Dolphins. If one wear the opposing teams colors in a game, one is brave or foolish. Likewise, if someone is wearing green and yellow because "they like the colors," they are likely to be ridiculed or looked at daftly by the sincere fans.
People feel passionate about "their team." One friend, who is a HUGE Buffalo Bills fan one BURNED a pullover shirt after I once kiddingly called his "Dolphins shirt" because it was orange with teal trim.
One can wear ANY team's jersey and gear they like, but it best to have a REASON to pull for them.

(Not the best telling, but gets the point across-> I did it better in the "Allowed Tartans" thread, page one.)

Each tartan has a "meaning" and one should take that meaning into consideration when choosing tartans. In some cases, one may pick because it is SUCH a great deal. In most, one has a STRONG tie to what the tartan symbolizes, usually blood ties.

Of my present tartans, 3 are blood ties: Gordon (by Todds), MacNeil (by Neels), and Wallace. 2 are geographic: Carolina and USA Bicentennial. One is through internet forum: X Marks. 3 are "general:" Caledonia (one of my FAVORITE tartans), Warrior (PV-> not yet made), and Black Watch (in honor of distant Grant and Campbell ties, as well as in memory of ancestors who fought for the government).
There are a dozen more I have either familial or geographic ties (and one through my Miata/MX-5 club membership) which are on a "wish list."

So, I have numerous tartans, but ties to ALL of them.

Colonial (yes, I had ancestors here who WERE colonists-> religious exiles from Scotland),