Tartan of Holland: Dutch wearing kilts?

[Gerhard Schreurs]

First:
Wear whatever tartan you like; there are no restrictions.

2:
Not many Scots can actually recognize more than a few tartans.

3:
Dutch accents may be distinctive to a linguist's ear, but not to the average man in the street.

4:
No-one will ask you to justify what you wear -- they probably won't even notice, anyway.

5: Find out about your fellow Europeans' experiences -- they may be different from the Americans'.

Martin
in Grenoble, France,
proud owner of 15 different tartan kilts, only one of which corresponds to a family tie.

Greetings from Amsterdam to Grenoble, Martin! Thank you very much for your helpful tips, especially number 5. There may be some differences in American and European thinking. I often found a slightly more free-spirited way of thinking in Americans rather than in Europeans on matters like these. Even in liberal Holland there is a rather sober sort of ambivalence when traditions and heritage are concerned. On our streets one would be considered oddball when wearing traditional garments from Dutch heydays in the past, those are only accepted without comments during festivities. People wearing them weekdays are perceived as either tourists or eccentrics or merchants exploiting tradtitions, like the Alkmaar cheese bearers, the specialist Dutch whisky shopkeepers in kilt or hired staff in Golden Age Rembrandt-style clothing to persuade visitors to enter the Rijksmuseum. And that's only Dutch in Dutch clothing. So it's okay for commercial reasons, but ordinary Dutch civilians in kilts are frowned upon when they express honour to Scotland or just show their fondness. What's wrong with Holland, the country you were born in? Still, your tips are all the more an invitation to go against the grain. After all, there is no harming anyone in pursuing this. Thank you and all the best! Gerhard

[macwilkin]

Gerhard,

You might be interested to know that the Clan Mackay has a long-standing connection to the Netherlands, and there is even a "Dutch Mackay" tartan to honour that association. I do not have my copy of Teall & Smith's District Tartans handy, but their entry on the Dutch Mackay tartan details the connection. Basically, the Mackays supplied soldiers who fought for the Dutch, and then remained in Holland.

Probably the most famous "Dutch Mackay" was Baron Aeneas Mackay, who was the Prime Minister of Holland in the late 19th century.

So the Mackay tartan, especially the Dutch Mackay tartan, would be appropriate for you to wear.

Here is a picture of the tartan from the Clan Mackay USA's web site:

http://www.clanmackayusa.org/images/mktartns.jpg

Second on the viewer's left. Notice the use of the colours of the Dutch flag.

Regards,

Todd

[Gerhard Schreurs]

from South Wales UK!

Gerhard - there is no problem about wearing any tartan in Scotland (with the possible exception of the Balmoral which is limited to royalty and those given the privilege by royalty) and there are so many tartans that few Scots would recognise many of them.

And the tourists are just so glad to find someone wearing a kilt to pose with!

Most Scots will assume that anyone kilted on a weekday is a tourist or visitor anyway.

Greetings from Holland, Trefor! Thank you for your help and kind words! I have fond memories of Wales, by the way. Together with my brother we toured the west coast up to Snowdonia, after entering the country south from Cardiff. A visit to Aberystwyth stands out, for we met some very nice people there, explaining to us some of the Gaelic words that, for instance, make up town or region names. I went back alone a few years after that, combining a holiday in Wales with a trip to Dublin. I took time to walk around in Anglesey and i know the name of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysilio gogogoch (no peeking, just checking that all 58 letters are there) by heart. Only i do not know how to pronounce it! After returning from Ireland, i managed to be on time to travel by steam train along the north coast line from Holyhead to Crewe, a trip one could never forget. The engine was the Glasgow built Jubilee class 45596 Bahamas and the coaches were also ex LMS. Very special as well are the beautiful Welsh ladies, with black hair and blue eyes, a probably Celtic combination that one can also encounter in Brittany (France) but which cannot be found in Holland. These are all very fond memories indeed. I thank you for your advice and wish you all the best. I also greatly enjoyed your Edinburgh pics in one of your other posts. Cymru am byth! Gerhard.

[McClef]

Just a quickie Gerhard - the correct word is Scots not Scotch.

Hope you don't mind me pointing that out.

Scotch is used for whisky and pancakes only.

[Galician]

First off from coastal North Carolina. To answer your question, the Holland tartan would be considered a fashion tartan, as are the various state tartans here in the USA, the provincial tartans in Canada, the county tartans of Ireland, and my homeland's Pride of New Zealand tartan. Wear the Holland tartan with pride, and if anyone asks, you know its history. As to wearing a kilt in Scotland, I've never been queried in several trips there. Brian

What is your basis for calling them that, as opposed to District tartans? Doesn't the Tartan Authority list the various regional ones under the category of "District?"

[macwilkin]

What is your basis for calling them that, as opposed to District tartans? Doesn't the Tartan Authority list the various regional ones under the category of "District?"

it really depends on whether the tartan is officially recognized by a government agency; for example, the Iowa state tartan has been officially recognized by the IA State Legislature, while none of the 26 Irish county tartans from the House of Edgar have been, to my knowledge, recognized by any local county council, etc. Same with the Irish "National" tartan, which has not been recognized by the Dial as the national tartan of the Irish Republic.

That doesn't take away the symbolism, though, of a tartan for a particular place.

T.

[Gerhard Schreurs]

Welcome, Gerhard, from the former New Amsterdam!

I would respond to your comment on District tartans by pointing out that using them, especially for ones outside of Scotland, would be like wearing a cap with the name of that region. It can either mark a resident or someone who wishes they were one!

I think that your wearing a kilt, regardless of the tartan, is the biggest barrier. Given that, your wearing the Holland tartan would be perfectly appropriate. Do you intend to wear your wooden shoes with it, though?

Btw, a photo of a kilt in that tartan would be appreciated.

Hi and greetings from old Mokum, Galician! (Mokum is slang for Amsterdam, like Apple is for NY). Indeed, the Peter Stuyvesant case, the former sea farer and governor responsible for the name New Amsterdam, haha!

Thank you for your advice! I would not dare to wear clogs underneath a kilt, that would be worse than sneakers or cowboy boots. It would be an interesting fusion style though, like cajun cooking combined with Chinese wok or jazz with grunge, but most of all it would be an insult to the kilt. Clogs are footwear made mostly from poplar wood, being both cheap and lasting and blessed with thermo-insulating qualities in winter. Clogs are associated with farmers in Holland and in the eastern agricultural province of Gelderland where i was born, clogs are still being made and worn on a daily basis by many farmers and garden enthusiasts. But they do look like you drag dog houses around on your feet, don't they? They're like the prehistoric Frankenstein beta-version of the contemporary cork and wood health sandals. The Dutch nickname Farmer's Nikes is quite apt, really.


I have no pics available of Holland tartan kilts myself, but there are some websites where they are shown. The site www.tartanofholland.nl was set up by the originators, two brothers active in the book publishing business. They brought out many Dutch whisky book translations for the growing market of Dutch whisky afficionados, and for that reason had many connections in those circles. Examples are the writers and connoisseurs Michael Jackson (not the dancing/singing one), Dave Broom and Jim Murray, the Dutch whisky writers and Scotland enthusiasts Hans Offringa and Robert Brillemans and the Scottish professor of economics and also whisky specialist Dr. David Wishart. The latter runs the site wishart.org and was responsible for the design of the Holland tartan. His site shows this process, as well as persons sporting a Holland kilt, like Hans Offringa did for the occasion of his wedding. The added pics give a good impression of how the woven pattern in those particular colours look in a kilt. The vivid mix may come across as rather bold and loud at first and certainly takes some getting used to, but i think that after a while the result looks fresh, with the risky un-Scottish orange being counteracted in a clever way by the royal blue. The impression from a distance is a speckled hue of autumn leaves brown and only gets at your throat when viewed from close-up.

Because there is some whisky aspect in the way this whole effort was initiated back in 2005, there is some serious marketing of Tartan of Holland products going on in all circles connected with the marketing of Scotch whisky, books and tourism. The most notable occasion is the Dutch Whisky Festival in Leiden (there are more similar festivals in Holland, but this is the best known), where the originators of Tartan of Holland promote their efforts and product range between all the distillers' and other Scottish fare stands. And surely there are many visitors who sport their kilts in Holland tartan during these festivals. But i, if i were wearing one, would rather be seen doing so in Scotland than in Holland on occasions like these, which i find to commercial for a reason. Allthough meant to express heartfelt feelings towards Scotland, i think such effort is better at home in Scotland itself. I compare this with the Four Day's Walks of Nijmegen, where people from all over the world visit Nijmegen every year in the summer, to join this truly sportive effort and walk 4 times 40 kilometres. Entire military units join this march, showing colours and flags from both Holland and their own nation or regiment, expressing a relation between the two. There is a reason for anyone to be filled with pride when watching those expressions, for those efforts are genuine and really what this is all about. It matters to be part in this and to join in, there is a true international spirit.

I met Dr. Wishart last year in the Leiden festival, he signed my book copy of Whisky Classified. Michael Jackson did me the same honour with his book Whiskies of the World. A wonderful and gentle person, who alas is no longer with us since last August.


And indeed, i consider wearing a kilt a bit of a barrier in Holland . "If you're so damned fond of Scotland, why not go and stay there? You resemble a soccer player with foreign interests! What's wrong with the country you were born in?" The Dutch are rather cold sober on subjects like these. Especially on city streets, it's okay for visiting Scots but less so for Dutch, certainly without Scottish background. "What makes you wear something like that? You don't see us -your dutch compatriots- mince around in clogs, let alone adopting some foreign attire!" That will be the general opinion here.

So that will take some change in my mind-set, i think.

Never mind that, your advice was helpful and much appreciated. Thank you very much indeed and best regards! Gerhard

[McClef]

Glad you are enjoying the pictures Gerhard and that you enjoyed your trip to Wales!

I have yet to visit the Netherlands - must correct that soon.

[McG]

First:
Wear whatever tartan you like; there are no restrictions.

2:
Not many Scots can actually recognize more than a few tartans.

3:
Dutch accents may be distinctive to a linguist's ear, but not to the average man in the street.

4:
No-one will ask you to justify what you wear -- they probably won't even notice, anyway.

5: Find out about your fellow Europeans' experiences -- they may be different from the Americans'.

Martin
in Grenoble, France,
proud owner of 15 different tartan kilts, only one of which corresponds to a family tie.

"Not many scots can actually recognise more than a few tartans"
Says wha! that statement wis absolute bollocks!!!

[Chef]

Gerhard,

I want to thank you for joining and also for bringing my attention to the Holland tartan. I am not of Dutch descent, I was born in Scotland and I now live in NY. However I am a member of Holland Lodge #8 in New York. One of the oldest Masonic Lodges in NY it was originally a Dutch speaking lodge. I wear a kilt regularly to our meetings but I now have a every intention of getting a kilt in the new Holland tartan to wear specifically for our lodge meetings as I feel it would be very appropriate, so once again thank you very much.

Of course I now need to find someone who carries the tartan