Is it OK to wear a dress tartan casually?

**Riverkilt** · 15th August 08, 07:34 AM

Hey Andrewson - HELLYA!!

Red works well too

Ron

**davedove** · 15th August 08, 07:53 AM

A kilt is a garment that you can take from formal to casual, no matter what the tartan. It all depends on how you accessorize it.

My MacIan tartan at different levels of dress.

Formal:

Business Dress:

Casual:

**robthehiker** · 15th August 08, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by davedove

A kilt is a garment that you can take from formal to casual, no matter what the tartan. It all depends on how you accessorize it.

Casual:

Yeah but everything goes well with Hooters girls!

**Andrewson** · 15th August 08, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Riverkilt

Hey Andrewson - HELLYA!!

Red works well too

Ron

Yes, I think my mistake was to wear a black shirt. That's what got me thinking it was dressy. I agree that if I had added black hose - as you do in the first photo - and worn black shoes, it would have looked fine - just too hot for a summer's day, though. Barelegged in sandals it obviously "needs" the red top too.

But can I come back to the general question: If a tartan is designed to be a "dress tartan" doesn't that imply it should be worn formally? Or is "dress" just as suspect as a descriptor as "hunting" or "ancient" or "modern" when it comes to naming tartans?

**Monkey@Arms** · 15th August 08, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Andrewson

But can I come back to the general question: If a tartan is designed to be a "dress tartan" doesn't that imply it should be worn formally? Or is "dress" just as suspect as a descriptor as "hunting" or "ancient" or "modern" when it comes to naming tartans?

Really, they are all just names. As I recall usually dress tartans have white in them replacing another color (often red), but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Best regards,

Jake

**northernsky** · 15th August 08, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by Monkey@Arms

Really, they are all just names. As I recall usually dress tartans have white in them replacing another color (often red), but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Best regards,

Jake

Amen to that. I'm not old enough (yet) to be called Ancient, but I wear my Ancient Mackinnon tank for both formal and informal occasions. I'm not a hunter, but I wear a Hunting Mackinnon (well maybe I'm hunting for gold when I wear it Dragon Boat paddling...) As the man said, they're just names. Wear and enjoy!

**sharpdressedscot** · 15th August 08, 03:11 PM

If I remember correctly, I don't even think Dress tartans are even made for dress purposes...most of the time.

**Jock Scot** · 16th August 08, 04:21 AM

I am not wishing to split hairs,but the MacLeod of Lewis(loud MacLeod) tartan is both the day wear tartan and dress tartan for that branch of the MacLeod clan.So you will be fine to wear it as daywear. The "Loud MacLeod" is the dress tartan for the MacLeod of Harris,the "senior",part of the clan and as you probably know, they wear MacLeod of Harris tartan for day wear. These days, though, few members of the MacLeod of Harris clan seem to bother to wear "Loud MacLeod" as dress wear.

**davedove** · 16th August 08, 04:48 AM

Actually, I believe the "dress" label did not necessarily apply to a more formal tartan. By substituting white into the tartan, it made it more feminine and thus ladies wear.

Of course, you can wear whatever tartan you want whenever you want, but it all has to fit your own individual taste. While there may not be any "right" situations for the wear of a particular tartan, there is always "right for you" and only you can decide that.

**Andrewson** · 16th August 08, 06:13 AM

I have now done what I should have done in the first place. I have consulted the oracle. James D. Scarlett, in Tartan, the Highland Textile (Shepheard-Walwyn 1991) has this to say about the growth in popularity of tartan following the 1822 visitation of George IV to Edinburgh which led to its mass production for the first time:

Page 42 Mass-production does not only make production in large quantities easy, it makes production in small quantities impossible or at least uneconomical. Manufacturers needed to sell as much tartan as possible and the best way to do this was to convince people that they needed to have several different patterns. The strident colours of the early analine dyes made 'hunting' tartans an almost natural development, ... and in an age when everybody (or everybody who could afford the finery) 'dressed' for dinner, 'dress' tartans found ready acceptance. Some clans were lucky enough to have two tartans and in such cases a dark one could be called 'hunting' and a bright one 'dress'.

So yes I am free to wear the loud MacLeod as daywear and as casually as I like. Now where did I put that red shirt ....