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A tartan is a specific woven pattern that often signifies a particular Scottish clan in the modern era. The pattern is made with pre-dyed threads woven to form alternating stripes, and the resulting blocks of color repeat vertically and horizontally in a pattern of squares and lines. Kilts almost always have tartans, and tartan is also known as plaid in North America.
Tartan patterns have been used in Scottish weaving for centuries. For many centuries, the patterns were associated with the weavers of a particular area. The naming and registration of official clan tartans did not begin until the Highland romantic revival of the 19th century was fostered by Walter Scott and spurred by the pageantry he invented for the visit of King George IV of Great Britain to Edinburgh.
The tartan of a Scottish clan is a sequence of colors and shades unique to the material, authorised by the clan society for use by members of that clan for kilts, ties, and other garments and decorations. Every clan with a society, has at least one distinct tartan. While "heraldic" in the sense of being visual representation of blood relation, they are not "Scottish heraldry", strictly speaking. In Scotland, heraldry is protected under the law by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, and there are penalties for bearing an unauthorised Coat of arms. On the other hand, there is no blanket legal prohibition against wearing the "wrong" tartan. It is considered proper to wear a clan tartan if the wearer is associated with the clan by name, by blood or by legal adoption.
In addition to the clan tartans, tradition reserves some patterns for use by Scottish Highland military units of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries.
Those associated with the British Royal Family use the Royal Stewart tartan regardless of whether they are affiliated by blood to the Stewart clan. This is because of the Royal Family's Stewart ancestry through James VI of Scotland.
However tartan is pretty inclusive. There are tartans for military forces like the Royal Canadian Air Force, commercial companies, special interest groups like Amnesty International, cities, football clubs, commemorations and regions of the world where people of the Scottish Diaspora live. As a result most people, whether of Scottish ancestry or not, can find some tartan which is significant for them. There are also general fashion tartans for those who do not care about the significance.
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A Pattern System, Not Just a CheckA tartan is not a decorative check chosen for looks: it is a code. Each tartan is a defined sequence of colored threads, counted in a specific order — the threadcount — that repeats in both warp and weft so the crossing bands produce the same sequence vertically and horizontally. Because the colors are dyed before weaving, the pattern is structural, locked into the cloth rather than printed on it, and a weaver reproducing the threadcount reproduces the tartan exactly. That precision is what allows a pattern to stand for a clan: the tartan of a Scottish clan is a sequence of colors and shades unique to the material, authorized by the clan society for use by members of that clan for kilts, ties and other garments and decorations. Every clan with a society has at least one distinct tartan, and the visual identity is treated as quasi-heraldic — a visual representation of blood relation — without being Scottish heraldry in law, which is protected by the court of the Lord Lyon and governs coats of arms, not cloth. From Weaving Districts to Clan IdentityTartan patterns have been used in Scottish weaving for centuries, but for most of that history the pattern belonged to a place and its weavers, not to a clan register. The romantic revival of the 19th century, driven by Walter Scott's pageantry for George IV's Edinburgh visit, turned local patterns into clan symbols and began the naming and registration system that continues today, with new tartans registered for families, institutions and causes. Tradition reserves some patterns for Scottish Highland military units of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, and the Royal Family uses the Royal Stewart tartan by Stewart ancestry through James VI of Scotland regardless of other affiliations. In dress, tartan is carried by the kilt above all — kilts almost always have tartans — and then by ties, scarves, skirts and jackets in both clan and fashion tartans. For a buyer, the distinction matters: a fashion tartan is a pattern chosen for its colors, while a clan tartan is a registered identity, and wearing it is a statement of association in the sense the definition describes — proper by name, blood or adoption, and open in practice to anyone who finds a tartan that is significant to them. Common QuestionsWhen were clan tartans named and registered?The naming and registration of official clan tartans did not begin until the Highland romantic revival of the 19th century, fostered by Walter Scott and spurred by the pageantry he invented for the visit of King George IV of Great Britain to Edinburgh. Before that, tartan patterns were associated with the weavers of a particular area rather than registered to a clan. Is it wrong to wear a tartan you are not related to?There is no blanket legal prohibition against wearing the 'wrong' tartan, and tartan is inclusive: there are general fashion tartans, and tartans for military units, companies, groups such as Amnesty International, cities, football clubs and regions of the Scottish Diaspora. It is considered proper to wear a clan tartan if the wearer is associated with the clan by name, blood or legal adoption — and most people can find a tartan significant to them. What is the difference between tartan and plaid?Tartan is the specific pattern system — in Scotland, a named sequence of colors and shades woven in a set order — while plaid in American usage is the generic checked pattern, and in Scots the word plaid means the blanket-like woollen garment itself. Every clan tartan is a checked pattern, but most checked patterns are not tartans in the clan sense. More to ExploreMore from Apparel Search: Fabric Definitions | Clothing Industry Glossary | Fashion Terms | Apparel Search Home
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