Quick Question

[Paul Henry]

One reason might be that historically the colour red was always difficult to achieve, there are plenty of rusts and browns, but red was always fugitive.Today of course producing red is not so difficult , but is still often the first colour to fade ....

[MacWage]

One reason might be that historically the colour red was always difficult to achieve, there are plenty of rusts and browns, but red was always fugitive. Today of course producing red is not so difficult , but is still often the first colour to fade ....

Red that was "Coca-Cola Red" was very expensive. The owner who could afford a large amount of it used it as a status symbol. Actually,it was not unlike the Mercedes in the USA (and,unfortunately the Hummer-> a GREAT off road vehicle that most off-roaders cannot afford, especially those that actually NEED a vehicle with its cross-country capabilities).
This symbolic nature is shown in how all-red great kilts are worn in portraits. It was their finest and a "humble" way of showing they could afford enough red for a WHOLE plaid. It is also one reason that SO many of the tartans in portraits are prodominantly (or at least a sizable proportion) red.
Most "modern" clan tartans were developed/adopted in the victorian era, when more "subdued" tones were more fashionable. It is striking (to me) to see the brightness of the 18-teens tartans made by Wilson's and recorded at the time of King George's "tartan-fest" visit in contrast to the victorian ones. In the "adoption" period, many of the early ones recieved a duller/darker "hunting" companion, while newer adoptions tended to be darker in tone.
The above are just my observations. I'll leave it to our Tartan scholar Matt, who has spent MUCH more time reading more authoritative sources than I have ever as access to read/see, to expand/correct my own observations.

[auld argonian]

Not that you feel this way but I have a buddy who seems to be teetering on the verge of getting a kilt and he keeps asking about the red tartans...he has stated that he thinks that kilts should be red and that that is one of the things that distinguishes a kilt from a skirt. Just an interesting phenomena...I can only suppose that it has to do with a popular media portrayal of kilts where the notorious Royal Stewart tartan predominates.

Best

AA