Tartan Terminology
©2008 Matthew A. C. Newsome, FSA Scot, GTS
originally published in The Scottish
Banner, October 2008
The
neophyte to the world of tartan is often confused by the various terms
they encounter – and with good reason. The terms that tartan
specialists often take for granted are not very self explanatory, and
often times are counter-intuitive. That’s why it is good to revisit
the issue of “tartan terminology” every so often. I have touched on
this subject in various articles in the past, but thought it would be
beneficial to address the subject directly.
To begin with, we must deal with the
rather unfortunate terms “modern” and “ancient.” I say unfortunate
because I encounter almost universal confusion as to what these two
terms actually mean. And contrary to what anyone hearing them for the
first time would assume, “modern” in this case does not mean new, and
“ancient” does not mean old.
A better term for “modern” would actually
be “standard,” because that is what it is – the standard colors of
that particular tartan. “Ancient” refers to the same tartan produced
in lighter tones, meant to reflect what that tartan might look like
after years and years of fading. It is very much like the idea of
stone washed blue jeans; purchased new, already looking old. The idea
is that older, vegetable dyed tartans would not be as color-fast as
modern chemical dyed cloth, and fading would happen more quickly over
time.
This has led to a misconception that all
old vegetable dyes tartans were very light in color. This is not
true. Traditional vegetable dyes are quite capable of producing
darker shades.
Because the lighter colors were meant to
represent what an old, faded piece of cloth might look like, the
manufacturers decided to call them “ancient,” and the standard colors
came to be called “modern,” I suppose simply by default. Some woolen
mills, such as Strathmore, choose to refer to the modern colors as
“standard” and the ancient as “old colors.”
This idea of producing tartans in multiple
shades dates back to the early-to-mid twentieth century, and it is not
limited to “modern” and “ancient.” Another very common tartan
appellation is “weathered.” This is an even more dramatic fading of
the tartan, usually reducing the colors to browns and greys, and muted
shades of red. These were supposedly inspired by the colors of tartan
cloth unearthed after being buried in the soil for centuries.
Sometimes this color scheme is referred to as “reproduction.”
These are not the only names one will
encounter. Others include “muted” and “antique.” But the idea is the
same – in all cases these terms refer to the same tartan produced in
differing shades of the same general colors.
Other terms refer to different tartans
entirely, however. The most common of these would be “hunting” and
“dress.” Again, these names give rise to much confusion. The person
hearing them for the first time would naturally assume that one went
hunting in a “hunting tartan” and that “dress tartans” are for formal
occasions. Such is not the case.
Generally speaking, a hunting tartan is
simply a tartan that is based more in greens and blues, and often
browns. Some clans, such as Armstrong or Campbell, do not have
“hunting” tartans – their ordinary clan tartan is already in these
colors. Other clans, such as MacLean or MacKinnon, have a red-based
tartan as their primary one, and have hunting tartans which can be
worn as an alternative. So the term “hunting” here refers to the fact
that these tartans tend to be more muted in color, and has nothing to
do with the actual usage of the tartan. And there is no reason at all
why one could not wear a kilt in a hunting tartan to a formal
occasion. What makes a Highland outfit formal or casual are the
various accessories worn with the kilt – not the tartan of which the
kilt is made.
Which leads to the subject of “dress”
tartans. Again, generally speaking, a dress tartan is simply a tartan
using white as one of the primary colors. There are exceptions to
this rule. The Dress MacLeod tartan is a yellow tartan, for example.
The inspiration for dress tartans goes back to eighteenth century
women’s fashion. It was typical at that time for women to wear an
earasaid (a large wrap) made from a white or cream based tartan.
The modern concept of dress tartans hearkens back to this fashion, and
many dress tartans are simply versions of the standard clan tartan
with a main color changed to white, or extra white added to the
pattern.
For this reason, some have suggested that
dress tartans ought to be worn only be women. Certainly they are the
most popular among women, but there is no real reason why a man could
not wear a dress tartan if he so chose.
Dress tartans are also sometimes called
“dancers’ tartans” because Highland dancers typically wear dress
tartans in their kilts. However, the phrase “dancers’ tartan”
generally implies that the design was created specifically for
dancing, and these will frequently incorporate feminine colors not
usually seen in clan tartans, such as teal and lavender. These are
also frequently fashion tartans.
A fashion tartan is a tartan that is
produced and worn without any authorization from a governing agent.
By that I mean the chief in regard to clan tartans, or a CEO for a
corporate tartan, or a local government for a district tartan.
Tartans with the express approval of such an authority are “official”
in the sense that they are authorized by the body they are meant to
represent. If a tartan has no approval, it is termed a fashion
tartan.
This is sometimes confused with the term “bumbee,”
which is slag for an unnamed tartan pattern, as one might find in a
general fabric outlet, or being used in general fashion. As in, “I
like that flannel shirt you are wearing, what tartan is it made
from?” “Oh, this? It’s just a bumbee tartan.”
Those are some of the terms that one
encounters most frequently when discussing tartan. Hopefully this
little lexicon may help to clear up some confusion among the ranks!
PHOTO: reproduction of the
Christina Young arisaid, c. 1729, on display in the
Scottish Tartans Museum.
