Being a clansman or woman entitles you to wear the tartan associated with your clan. The Chief of the Clan chooses the tartan of the clan and therefore some have several different tartans attached to them.
Clans people can also wear a badge, encircled with a strap and buckle, depicting the Clan Chief’s Crest and bearing his motto or slogan. The Clan Chief is the owner of the Clan’s Coat of Arms and is therefore the only person entitled to use it.
If your family tree has no clan roots or allegiances (perhaps your ancestors were from the Lowlands of Scotland and not the Highlands), then maybe your family wore a district tartan that is associated with the area they came from, such as Lennox or Strathearn. Perhaps you should wear a general tartan such as Jacobite, Caledonia or Black Watch.
Once we have gathered this information for you, and should you desire it, we will provide images of your tartan(s), your Clan Crest and, if possible, the web address of your Clan.
Although the role of the clan as it once was no longer exists, clan membership still gives people of Scottish descent a sense of identity and feelings of kinship and common roots.
* If this is something of interest to you then Discover Your Past can conduct this as part of your Family history package or as a separate project (extra fees may apply)
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Modern day Scots, contrary to popular opinion, do not tend to wear tartan every day but reserve it for special occasions such as weddings and formal dinners. However, less formally, some followers of the Scottish football team (aka the Tartan Army) wear the kilt casually with a replica Scotland football shirt and boots.
