Dress Kilts at Funerals

[Keith77]

I will be attending a funeral for a good friend who passed away. He was a prominent figure in the Wisconsin Scottish community and needless to say there will be may kilted at his memorial. I've looked at many sites and posts on proper funeral attire but I haven't found anything pertaining to weather or not a Dress Tartan is inappropriate. I'm wondering if the white background seems to celebratory for such a somber gathering. Does anyone have a definitive answer on this subject? Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
-Keith77

[JSFMACLJR]

I will be attending a funeral for a good friend who passed away. He was a prominent figure in the Wisconsin Scottish community and needless to say there will be may kilted at his memorial. I've looked at many sites and posts on proper funeral attire but I haven't found anything pertaining to weather or not a Dress Tartan is inappropriate. I'm wondering if the white background seems to celebratory for such a somber gathering. Does anyone have a definitive answer on this subject? Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
-Keith77

Well, personally, I don't think a dress tartan is ever really appropriate, except for ladies and Highland dancers. Wear your clan tartan. A little searching online will provide you with a link to pics of the funeral of the late MacLeod of MacLeod. No one is afraid to wear a bright clan tartan there!

[MacLowlife]

I would say to wear your best kilt. If it happens to be a dress tartan, so be it. The rest of your outfit can tone things down. When some freelance kilt cop inevitably asks, just explain that you wore your best in honor of your friend.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Wear whatever tartan you have-- showing up kilted is a mark of respect.

[Kilt_Em_All]

First of all, from Greensboro, NC. I would agree with the opinion that a dress tartan wouldn't probably wouldn't be the most appropriate for a funeral. I did a search of the forums here and came up with this thread discussing appropriate funeral attire.

-Elliott

[davidlpope]

I would hate to think that anyone would look down their nose at you for attending a funeral in a "Dress" tartan, although if you have a darker tartan it would probably better match the occasion.

That being said, I think the bigger question is whether or not wearing a kilt, regardless of the tartan, would draw attention away from the deceased and his family and towards you. If that's the case, I'd attend wearing a dark suit, and perhaps a tartan necktie.

In general, I try to make sure that my clothing choices, kilt or not, do not detract attention away from the purpose of the gathering. If there will be a large kilt-wearing contingent attending the funeral, or if you were close enough to the deceased to feel sure he would have wanted you to be there kilted, then I'd wear a kilt. If that's not the case I wouldn't.

Cordially,

David

[Jack Daw]

The most recent funeral I attended kilted, I wore my Black Watch, but most of everyone else wore whatever kilt they had.

[piperdbh]

All the above is good advice, but here's another wrinkle: will the funeral be a very somber occasion, or will it be a "lighter", celebration-of-life kind of service? That can affect color choice.

My condolences on losing your friend.

[Jock Scot]

It is normal,here in Scotland,to wear whatever kilt one would normally wear in the day, to a funeral.Out of interest in the picture here in post 2, the fellow following the coffin of his father is the present Chief of Clan MacLeod.You will note that tweed day jackets are the norm and the Chief's jacket has leather elbow patches which would only be there as repairs, not as an affectation!

[kiltedsawyer]

I think kilts are by their very nature, colorful articles of clothing, so my advice is to wear the best kilt you have and pair it with a black argyle jacket. The kilt honors the deceased's heritage and the black jacket conveys the somber nature of the event.
All the best,
David