Tartan suggestion(s) solicited

[Taffy Jack]

You could look into the Scottish Wildcat Tartan


I would also say Isle of Skye is a good choice

Excellent choices, both. Thank you.

[Taffy Jack]

Any thoughts on, or (better) thoughts accompanied by pictures of MacLeod Lewis Dress Weathered?

[Arnot]

That Hunting Stewart Weathered picture immediately caught my favorable attention.

I like it well enough that it begs another question to the Rabble-at-Large. When I looked that up on USAK's "kiltfigurator" (thanks for the reminder, Karl!), the name "Lewis" appears under known septs of the Stewart clan. How much borrowed affiliation might a guy hope for from his born surname being a "known sept?" Should there be a clear lineage back to clan association (I couldn't claim that)? For that matter, are Stewarts who hunt picky, or tolerant, about the wear of their tartan by hangers-on?

If you were to choose the Hunting Stewart, these things would not be an issue as it is rather more universal and often recommended for those without a clan affiliation.

[Tomo]

Wildcat and Skye are good options. I would also have suggested Holyrood.

How about hunting manx:

[Karl R]

How much borrowed affiliation might a guy hope for from his born surname being a "known sept?" Should there be a clear lineage back to clan association (I couldn't claim that)?

That varies. It not only varies with the clan, but also with the sept. For example, my wife is a McEathron (originally MacEachern), so the MacDonalds clearly recognize her as a sept of the clan by name alone. My mother's maiden name is Brown. She would only be recognized as a sept of the MacDonalds if she could prove that Brown was originally Brehan from Ireland who then relocated to the territory of the MacDonalds.

The Clan Broun association, on the other hand, will accept any Brown, Broun, Brownlee, etc. of Scottish ancestry.

[Taffy Jack]

How about hunting manx:

Oh, I like that quite well.

[Taffy Jack]

These are both good ideas. Or how about something in a Weathered palate?

That is the direction I'm leaning at present.

Or a District or State tartan that means something to you? For example, if you were an artilleryman, (I was too!) you must have spent some time at Ft. Sill, OK. There is an Oklahoma Tartan. Many other states have official and unofficial tartans associated with them. See if your home state has a particular tartan.

I have, indeed, spent time at Ft. Sill... two AITs and a year-plus stationed there. I don't feel much of a "pull" from either Oklahoma or its bright and modern tartan, however. Will look into some others. I was born in Oregon, have lived much of my life in Washington, but have also spent noticeable stints in California, Idaho, Georgia, etc. I'd love to get a tartan from my alma mater (WSU), but it seems to be locked down hard and used exclusively for novelty apparel in the student bookstore.

Washington (state) and Seattle each have tartans, but both are very blue and green, thus not enough different from current kilt.

I was in a similar boat as you when choosing a second kilt, and I went with a weathered MacDonald of the Isles Hunting. The weathered palate lightens everything up to what you mentioned you were looking for. Kilt #2 should be here in a few more weeks, and I can't wait!

Mazeltov on your incoming kilt! And thanks for the tips. Redlegs need to stick together.

Cheers,

Jack

[OC Richard]

Any thoughts on, or (better) thoughts accompanied by pictures of MacLeod Lewis Dress Weathered?

The traditional MacLeod tartan (a blue & green tartan with narrow yellow and red lines) looks fantastic in Weathered colours:

https://www.lochcarron.co.uk/macleod...tartan-fabric/

The yellow Allen Brothers' MacLeod (one of their several three-equal-stripes tartans) wouldn't be my choice on both historical and artistic grounds, though being in Weathered colours would tone it down quite a bit.

BTW the Allen Brothers titled their creation "MacLeod" (well actually 'Mackleode' and 'Clann-Lewid') with no of-anything suffix.

(For those not aware, some Allen Brothers designs:

[Tomo]

The traditional MacLeod tartan (a blue & green tartan with narrow yellow and red lines) looks fantastic in Weathered colours

I have to agree - I used to own a company called Trinty MacLeod and use the weathered tartan as part of its trade dress - I still have some business cards with this on the reverse!!

[Benning Boy]

For gun bunnies there is an artillery tartan called Fires, or at least has Fires in the name. It is worn by a pipe band at Fort Sill, so theire might be yardage available. It is a bright tartan when compared to all the others mentioned above.