Wearing another clans Tartan?

[RockyR]

Tobus,

I respect the articulate way you've addressed the subject and we mostly agree. However, the stress on considering your audience makes me a little uncomfortable. My mother likes to say, "character is what you are in the dark". To me the logic of "just don't wear MacOnion at a MacOnion gathering" amounts to, "It's ok to do it as long as you don't get caught."

I think the objective of good etiquette is founded in respect. It's not just to avoid the hassle of being accosted by someone you have offende. Rather, it's having the good taste and class not to behave offensively in the first place....

Also, keep in mind in today's day and age of cell phone cameras and facebook posts and YouTube videos, one's audience could be the whole world.

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.