Help Me Choose a Tartan!

[guitarmatt]

So here's my dilemma:

I need a kilt. And by a kilt I mean of course another kilt. And by another kilt I mean of course a tank. I'm in a bit of a sticky situation because there's no real obvious tartan choice for me, so help me choose!

A little background. My background is Welsh, English and German, with my family name, Price, being Welsh. Bruce has been used as a second (middle, for the Americans out there) name for men in my family for generations but I'm not sure if there's a Scottish connection. In fact, I didn't think much about Scotland until I moved here unexpectedly with my wife nearly 4 years ago. We had our first child here and it's become about the most important place in the world to me.

The problem: There's a Price Welsh tartan which would suit me very well, except that it doesn't really look like a traditional tartan, and I feel a bit weird buying a pattern I know was made up only recently in order to drive sales to sentimental pseudo-Scots (which I may or may not be, I'm not really sure yet.) The other problem is that the quality of the fabric from the Welsh mill is not that great, so I'd have to have it woven in Scotland, adding to the cost.*

Other options I've thought about are the Bruce tartan, since the name is important in my family, or the Wallace tartan, since Wallace does mean "Welsh", and my son was born on 11 Sept. (You know why that date's important, right?)

I'm going to do a little more poking around in my genealogy, I realize I may need a bit more to go on before I make this decision. What are your thoughts? What do you think about Welsh tartans in general? What sort of reasoning do those of you without Scottish blood have for the tartan you wear?

*Scotweb's website says they have some 16 oz Price Welsh tartan woven by Bately in stock. I read that mill shut down last year, so I assume they've only got a limited amount left. If I go with the Price family tartan, that could save me special weaving costs. I should add that my wife really likes the Price tartan.

[Paul Henry]

You are right about the Welsh tartans being very recent, and being made essentially for marketing reasons, however many if not most of the Scottish ones were made for exactly the same reason, Wilsons( the weavers) were great salesmen, admittedly some time ago, so time lends authority!
I've used theWelsh tartans, they are made in Wales by one mill( with one exception) and I wasn't really very impressed with the quality, it's lovely wool, but really a bit of the soft side to be as hard wearing as other mills tartans!
The bottom line is, if you feel an association with, or you like a particular tartan, choose that one.
~Paul

[Tobus]

The problem: There's a Price Welsh tartan which would suit me very well, except that it doesn't really look like a traditional tartan, and I feel a bit weird buying a pattern I know was made up only recently in order to drive sales to sentimental pseudo-Scots (which I may or may not be, I'm not really sure yet.)

Honestly, if you're going to wear the kilt, which is not necessarily part of your family history anyway, I wouldn't worry about the "sentimental pseudo-Scots" thing. Pretty much everybody who dons the kilt that didn't grow up in the Highlands is kind of doing the same thing. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Wearing a kilt was originally a very localized tradition, and the idea of a tartan being tied to family lineage is a relatively modern concept. But we can all honor the Highland traditions by incorporating them into our lives.

If it's your family name, and you like the look of the Price tartan, go for it. It's the one you're most "entitled" to, anyway. Whether it has centuries of tradition is meaningless. GIVE it meaning! When someone asks you what tartan it is, it's always most acceptable to tell 'em it's the tartan of the family whose name you bear. No matter who designed it or when.

Just my 2 cents.

[ThinBlueLine]

guitarmatt,

I agree with Tobus. I am Welsh through an Owen in my ancestry and possibly even closer, depending on whether my own surname is German or Welsh and I would have no problem wearing a Welsh tartan. I say go with what feels right for you.

[wildrover]

I like that you're seeking a tartan that means something to you, vs just picking one you like the looks of.

Bruce has been used as a second (middle, for the Americans out there) name for men in my family for generations but I'm not sure if there's a Scottish connection.

Scottish or not, that's interesting enough IIWY I'd find out more about it. That's pretty cool...no such traditions in my own family that I'm aware of.

We had our first child here and it's become about the most important place in the world to me.

Is there an overall Scottish regional tartan, similar to the state tartans in America, or the various "American" (red/white/blue themed) tartans?

my son was born on 11 Sept. (You know why that date's important, right?)

Yeah...your son was born then . That actually seems more important than any geopolitical force, because it's family...and tartans denote familial, tribal, and cultural connections in one sense or another, right? Unless you have another connection to that date you're not mentioning.

I'm going to do a little more poking around in my genealogy, I realize I may need a bit more to go on before I make this decision. What are your thoughts? What do you think about Welsh tartans in general? What sort of reasoning do those of you without Scottish blood have for the tartan you wear?

I have no opinion on Welsh tartans, but IIWY I'd look at regional tartans. You could even have a tartan designed for your family, based on a regional tartan that holds some significance for you (for example, the locale where your son was born, or where you currently live, etc). Personally, I think that'd be pretty cool.

Just an idea...take it for all an opinion is worth ;).

-Sean

[bricelythgoe]

I took a little different route. For example, recently I purchased an 8 yard pv kilt from Skye Highland Outfitters (they offer 8 yard tanks as well). I chose who was going to make my kilt FIRST and then I chose my tartan from what they had available. I decided Josh from SHO was going to do it, then I looked at the tartans he offered and settled on the one he liked. He had the right price on the kilt I wanted and a good selection of tartans. Not only that, but it helped me narrow down the list of tartans to choose from. Not sure if that helps or not but that is how I do/did it.

I also looked at ALL the genealogy from both my side and my wife's. Luckily, there was a lot available on from the LDS Genealogy website. I wrote down a good portion of the last names that I could find in my genealogy and used the Scottish Tartans Authority to link them to certain tartans. With that list I new what ones I had ties too, even if the tie was 4 or 5 generations ago, I knew I had the link. This is probably a little un-orthodox, but it worked.

Brice

[IDScot]

*Scotweb's website says they have some 16 oz Price Welsh tartan woven by Bately in stock. I read that mill shut down last year, so I assume they've only got a limited amount left. If I go with the Price family tartan, that could save me special weaving costs. I should add that my wife really likes the Price tartan.

Just FYI, the mill seems to back into operation.

[creagdhubh]

Go with the Price tartan-your wife likes it! Also, you could refer to Black's "The Surnames of Scotland," to further investigate whether or not your surname has any Scottish connections. Or...you could always go with the ever handsome Macpherson hunting ancient tartan!!! HA! See me below at a games in Dunkeld, Scotland in 2006.

[NewGuise]

If you're not sure about a clan tartan, for any reason (including availability), why not go for one of the many non-clan tartans? There is a Welsh National tartan, for instance, and I personally find the Edinburgh Regional tartan attractive, but there are also many "fashion" tartans out there even less specifically tied to place. I'm one of several on this forum who has a kilt in Highland Granite (various shades of grey), and my next is going to be Highland Cathedral (named after a famous pipe tune written by Germans!) ...

[guitarmatt]

I took a little different route. For example, recently I purchased an 8 yard pv kilt from Skye Highland Outfitters (they offer 8 yard tanks as well). I chose who was going to make my kilt FIRST and then I chose my tartan from what they had available.

I'll almost certainly have my kilt made by Celtic Craft Centre here in Edinburgh. I've gone in for a few things and they've been really nice and helpful, and their kilts are gorgeous. They can get pretty much anything, at least that's the impression I got looking through their swatch books.

Unless you have another connection to that date you're not mentioning.

I was thinking of a particular event in 1297.