Wearing kilts of other tartans than your clans.

[Tommy Hunt]

[mod hat off]

Jake,

I never said he didn't...but you must admit that the traditionalists do take a "beating" around here at times.

Am I not allowed to make a statement asking for mutual respect? Do I have to have a reason?

Regards,

Todd

Absolutely allowed. It may have sounded like an admonishment because your mod hat was on. Just a thought.

This is a great thread. It's partly answered my questions regarding the subject. I'm more of a traditionalist I suppose. I couldn't wear another clan's tartan. It wouldn't seem right to me. Like I didn't deserve it. I have a connection to 3 clans and I'm trying to decide whether or not to wear any more than one of them. I don't know yet. Even that seems out of place to me.

[Riverkilt]

Guilty, guilty, guilty....guess I should ummmm, admit...ummmm that to the best of my knowledge I have no Ramsay blood but I did...uhhh, ummm I did buy a Ramsay tartan kilt because I liked the colors...beautiful tartan and all...temptation was just too much...and I wore it out in public...even added a Ramsay kilt pin to it....



Thank God no one knowledgeable ever came up and asked me if I was a Ramsay...would have just gushed about what a beautiful tartan it is and that I'd never dishonor it etc.

Karma finally got to be too much for me and I sold it at a discount to a kiltie who is, in fact, of Ramsay blood. Now I'm much more at ease, and he's very pleased.

So yeah, wear other clans if you wanna but watch out for the historic Karma that'll maybe make you a bit ill at ease....

Ron

[SteveB]

Self colour kilts are never a problem to wear. I have a few and I do wear them. I have some "universal" Tartans and wear them a lot. I have clan Tartans, my mother's clan, because I can document it very well. The supposed clan of my father. Surname is a sept and the line is at best circumstantial. I also have a tartan of a clan that is not at all related to me. The tartan is great looking and I have worn it twice, both times only for a short while and feeling not quite comfortable with it on. My Celtic blood is somehow telling me to be "traditional". I can live with that, and I can live with people wearing a tartan only because it looks good. I also am starting to wear the self colour kilts a little less as I feel more comfortable displaying a tartan traditional kilt.
To each their own. Peace and Chicken Grease.

[Ancienne Alliance]

Guilty, guilty, guilty....guess I should ummmm, admit...ummmm that to the best of my knowledge I have no Ramsay blood but I did...uhhh, ummm I did buy a Ramsay tartan kilt because I liked the colors...beautiful tartan and all...temptation was just too much...and I wore it out in public...even added a Ramsay kilt pin to it....

Ron

Hey Ron !

When will we be seing you in a ... uhhh ummm, well you know, that black and green tartan ?

[ehiker]

I'm Irish by blood, so my next kilt purchase will be an Irish National.

I married into Clan Campbell, so I proudly wear a Campbell tartan.

And now I spit at the MacDonalds, with their wee golden arches and quarter pounders with cheese every time I pass them by. Och, how I hate them MacDonalds!

(I actually do spit at McDonald's every time I pass them by, but only because the food is so God-Awful bad for you... nothing to do with clan affiliation.)

[Dr Mac]

Find myself agreeing with Jock 'way back on page 1 of this thread. I wear the tartan of my paternal Scottish roots, and would feel very ill at ease to wear any other clan's tartan. That's just me. The only other one I have an interest in is the Clergy tartan, being an ordained minister. Not sure I'll ever give in to the yen, though.

[sharpdressedscot]

I'm Irish by blood, so my next kilt purchase will be an Irish National.

I married into Clan Campbell, so I proudly wear a Campbell tartan.

And now I spit at the MacDonalds, with their wee golden arches and quarter pounders with cheese every time I pass them by. Och, how I hate them MacDonalds!

(I actually do spit at McDonald's every time I pass them by, but only because the food is so God-Awful bad for you... nothing to do with clan affiliation.)

So, since I think I'm also both Campbell AND MacDonald, do I spit at myself?

Back on topic: I have a Wallace Sportkilt I wear it because:
1. Really one of the only tartans I could get or wanted
2. I was a big fan of the move 'Braveheart' at the time
3. I felt like it...yeah, what now?

[DTrain]

As Ron referred to, when wearing a tartan that you're not affiliated with, you need to be prepared to justify it. Somebody at some time will recognize that particular tartan and call you out. Wear it proudly and with respect and I doubt that others of that clan will object. Prepare to acknowledge why you wear it and perhaps even understand the occasional annoyance of someone in that clan.

More than clan affiliation, I can understand why military members might object to a non-military guy wearing Army, Navy, or Marine tartan.

[Bugbear]

Reading here, and in other threads, it seems that it may be acceptible to claim links to a clan through one's maternal side of the family. Going by that, I could link my roots to a sept of the MacMillan clan,... and wear that tartan.
I won't out of respect.

[Hillwalker]

I agree with georgeblack7. “I only wear things that I am associated with”.

I currently only have one kilt, and that one is a Clan MacLaren Tartan. I bought that one because my mother’s maiden name is Lowe, and that surname is accepted by the North American Clan MacLaren Association. I have heard on both sides of my family that we were Scottish, as well as English and Irish. It is hard to trace everything all the way back because both sides have been in America for over 300 years. I am related to about 5 other Scottish family surnames as well. But since my mother primarily raised me, I chose the MacLaren in her honor.

In the future I hope to have more than just the one that I presently own. However, I will only buy the tartans of the clans which surnames I am related. Except for the Georgia State Tartan because I was born there and I will always consider that my home, or maybe the US Army Tartan because I served in that branch of the military.

However, these are my opinions only. We live in a free country so in the end you can do what you want.