The MacNeil tartans

It is a general principle in Highland dress that it is the chief's sole perogative to determine what is and is not a proper tartan for his clan. Unfortunately, most of the clan chiefs have not made their wishes known in this regard, or if they have, their clansmen remain ignorant of it.

That is why I will, from time to time, feature in my blog a particular clan for which the chief has gone on record regarding the clan tartan or tartans. A few weeks ago we discussed the tartans for the MacGregor clan. Today we will discuss the MacNeil tartans.

In 1997, the chief of the clan MacNeil, Ian Roderick MacNeil, addressed a letter to the members of Clan MacNeil gathered at the International Gathering on Barra in 1997. In it he laid out expressly his views on the clan tartans. That letter is reprinted on the Clan MacNeil web site. As the chief has desired to make his views known to the clan at large, I trust he will not mind if I again reprint that letter here.

My comments will be in italics.
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The purpose of this note is to clarify the confusion which seems to have arisen respecting Clan Macneil tartans.

There are two - and only two - Clan Macneil tartans recognized by the Chief of the Clan, who by custom and in Scotland by law, determines what the clan tartan or clan tartans are. [The MacNeil here is certainly correct that long-standing custom has established that the chief is the one with the authority to determine a clan tartan. However, I am not aware of any actual laws in this regard. Someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.]

These are:
1. Macneil of Barra.
The tartan of the Macneils of Barra is the familiar black, green, and blue tartan with narrow alternating white and yellow (encased in black) stripes. (Donald C. Stewart, the Setts of the Scottish Tartans, No. 166.) This has been that standard Macneil of Barra tartan for well over a century.

[This is perhaps the most familiar of the MacNeil tartans. It was actually recorded first by James Logan (without the black tram lines) in The Scottish Gael in 1831. In 1850 it was recorded by William and Andrew Smith in The Authenticated Tartans of the Clans and Families of Scotland, with the black lines. The MacNeil of Barra tartan was also woven by the firm Wilsons of Bannockburn and included in their 1819 Key Pattern Book, but with much broader black lines than are seen today.]

2. Macneil of Colonsay.
The tartan of the Macneils of Colonsay, which has also been in use for a very long period is somewhat similar, but has two white stripes quite close together rather than alternating yellow and white equidistant stripes (Stewart No. 168)

[A version of this tartan was included in Wilsons' 1819 Key Pattern Book, though it differs somewhat from the modern version produced today. Apparently it underwent some changes in the nineteenth century. MacLeay's 1868 portrait of Murdoch MacNeil has him in this tartan, with the note that it was the "newly designed MacNeil of Colonsay tartan." The MacNeil of Colonsay tartan that was submitted to the Highland Society of London in 1815 is quite different from this one, incorporating red into the design.]

(The shades of these tartans vary a great deal, from very dark to very light, and from soft to bright. Confusion is engendered by terms like ancient and modern to describe these differences, thereby implying that they are different tartans. They are not. A tartan is determined by its sett, i.e. colour thread count, not by the shades of its colours.)
[I applaud the chief for pointing this fact out! Illustrations of just what he means here can be found in my article on tartan colors.]

As is the case with many clans, there are also a number of other tartans associated in some way with the Clan Macneil besides those recognized by the Chief as the clan tartan or tartans. These are Stewart Nos. 165, 167, and 169.
[165 is the so-called "red-line MacNeil" described below. 167 is the same as MacNeil of Barra, as recorded by James Logan with no black lines. 169 (pictured here) comes from the Vestiarium Scoticum (1842), which has long been exposed as a forgery. This last tartan has never received general acceptance by the clan, however a version of it appears to have been included in the Clans Originaux, a tartan sample book put together in Paris around the year 1880.]

In the 1930's Robert Lister Macneil of Barra adopted one of these tartans, Stewart No. 165, as a tartan for himself and his immediate family. It is quite comparable to the standard Macneil of Barra tartan, but has a narrow red stripe on each side of the white stripe. This tartan has never been recognized by a Chief as an official tartan of the Clan Macneil. [As an interesting bit of history on this tartan, it was included by D. W. Stewart in his book, Old & Rare Scottish Tartans, (1898) as an old MacNeil tartan. Consequently, it is typically sold under the name "Old MacNeil" today. However, it was included in Wilsons of Bannockburn's Key Pattern Book No. 4, from 1847, as "New MacNeil," and I have been able to examine a mid-nineteenth century tartan sample book from Scot Adie that was offering it under that name.]

I have now been told that, without consulting me, a number of members of the Clan Macneil have decided to wear the red-stripe tartan, after discovering that the Chief had never taken formal steps to restrict its use to his immediate family.

I feel strongly that the Clan should have only a single tartan for each branch - Barra and Colonsay - and therefore have no intention of recognizing the red-stripe as a Clan Macneil tartan, except for use by the Chief and his immediate family. (I do not intend myself to wear the red-stripe tartan, because I believe the Chief should wear the same tartan as the Clan.)

The Macneil of Barra
28 July, 1997
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So there you have it. The present chief of the clan currently recognizes but two MacNeil tartans, the Barra and Colonsay (which also happen to be the two MacNeil tartans typically available on the market). The position on the red-line MacNeil is plain. He is adamant that it is not to be considered a clan tartan, to be sure. But he does reserve the right of the chief and his family to wear the tartan (though he, himself, chooses not to). Is this, then, a "chief's tartan," so to speak?

Certainly the chief or his family may wear any tartan they want. I would say that, currently, since the chief doesn't appear tofavor the tartan at all, then it has no standing, strictly speaking, with the clan. Future cheifs may change this, however. Apparantly the last cheif to wear this, in the 1930's, made no moves to restrict its use just to his own immediate family. You can still buy this tartan retail today.

There are also a few more known tartans bearing the name MacNeil, but since the chief does not mention those, we may assume that they are unofficial tartans. This would include a Dress MacNeil tartan that was found in the Paton collection. This collection was largely put together in the 1830s, with some additions in the Victorian Era.

Until next time!

Black v. Brown

When selecting accessories for Highland dress, one is always advised to match your leathers (sporran, belt & shoes). The recieved wisdom has always been brown for day wear and black for evening wear. You can also think of it as brown leather for casual wear and black leather for formal occasions. I have repeated this advise often myself, and by and large this is a good rule of thumb. Follow it and you will never go wrong.

However, like most rules of fashion, it is permissable to bend or break this one so long as the general principles are understood. I have, within the past recent months, acquired for myself a black casual kilt belt and simple black leather sporran, and have been occassionaly wearing them as part of my daily dress with great success.

Some of the kilts in my wardrobe, I concluded, would look better -- even in casual wear -- with black leatehr accessories. For instance, one of my kilts is the Mull tartan, which has a large black stripe as one of the pivots. The other two colors in the tartan (green and azure) are both rather light, so the dark black really stands out as a visual feature of this kilt. Another kilt I have is modern Armstrong. The main colors of this tartan are black, dark green, and navy blue. A red stripe is the only bright feature of this otherwise dark tartan. I also have a kilt in a dark charcoal grey Harris tweed. While brown leather looks fine with any of these kilts (especially a darker brown on the dark green of the Armstrong), I couldn't help but think how nice black leather would go with all three of these.

So now I have in my wardrobe a black leather sporran, belt, and sporran strap as seen in the picture at right (worn here with the Moffat tartan). These work great, in my opinion, for casual daily wear. And they also allow me to wear certain accessories that I wouldn't otherwise with my brown sporran and belt. For instance, I now have a pair of black garter flashes that look stunning worn on either lovat blue or green hose with my Mull kilt. I have a lovely black casual short sleeve button shirt that goes great with many of my kilts, but matches the black leather much more than the brown.

When selecting black accessories for casual wear, here are some guidelines to keep in mind. You are looking for casual wear and not formal wear. Black is the color for formal wear and so a lot of the black leather accessories being sold will be for formal wear. I would avoid what is marketed as the standard kilt belt (black leather kilt belt with a separate rectangular buckle, usually nickel plated). This is the style seen most often worn with the kilt (the top belt on this page, and the buckles shown beneath it are examples of what I am talking about). You'll find that this is the most common style of belt seen at Highland Games, worn even with very casual wear. I've seen this style of belt worn frequently with t-shirts and other ultra-casual wear. So if this is the only belt you have, you won't be out of place wearing it to the Highland Games or other Scottish festival. Still, I'd like to see this style belt reserved for more formal occasions.

For casual wear, a belt like I am wearing above (listed as a "clansman" kilt belt on our gift shop page) is more suitable. Something with a traditional buckle like this is ideal. A lot of belts sold for re-enactors, colonial era, Revolutionary War, and the like, will work for this purpose.

As far as sporrans go, something simple and plain like you see above is what to look for. Any of the ones shown on this page will work. For daily wear, you don't want fur, silver, or anything flashy. Some ornamentation is fine, but don't go over the top. The simpler sporrans shown on this page will work fine for casual wear, but keep it as simple as possible.

Some fur might be ok, so long as the rest of the sporran is simple, like this model:

Likewise, some silver decoration might be fine, so long as it does not go over the top. The below one would be acceptable, in my opinion:

This one, however, I would deem too much for casual wear:

And sporrans like the ones listed here (example below) are strictly designed with formal wear in mind.

Little things like wearing an all leather black sporran belt instead of the more usual chain also help to keep the overall look of the outfit toned down, and thus more suited for daily wear. And that is the goal in casual Highland attire. Keep it neat. Keep it simple. Keep it understated.

How to Wear the Kilt -- literally

You'll have to forgive us long-time kilt wearers. Sometimes we take certain things for granted, and just assume that everyone automatically knows how a kilt should be worn. We forget for the first time kilt wearer just how different this is from the usual mode of dress.

Then we see a picture on the internet of some poor misguided, but well intentioned soul, and we are quickly reminded that some people need a bit of help!

Seriously, though, I do occasionally get phone calls or emails from people who have just received delivery of their first kilt that go something like this: "Hi, I just got my kilt that I ordered. It looks great! It's a real work of art; excellent craftsmanship; a thing of beauty! ...so, er... how do you put the thing on?"

So I thought it might be useful to go over How to Wear the Kilt (ta-dah!). No, I don't mean the proper way to match accessories and the "correct" time of day or night to wear this jacket or that sporran. Much has been written on those topics already (too much!). I mean the physical nuts and bolts of how the kilt is worn.

This is how I get dressed in the morning.

1. Put on your shirt. Whatever shirt you are wearing, be it a button down, polo shirt, t-shirt, whatever.
2. Put on your kilt. It may seem obvious, but the pleats go in the back! (Some people do need reminding of this). The two flat aprons overlap in the front. On most kilts, there will be a leather strap at the end of the right-hand apron. This will cross over in the front and pass through a hole in the left side of the kilt and fasten to a buckle at the outer left waist. (I make my kilts a bit different: see here). The top of your kilt should come up well above the belly button. Make this as snug fitting as is comfortable. It needs to be snug enough to keep your kilt in position -- you'll stand straighter, as well!
3. Now cross the apron to your left over to the right and fasten with one or two leather straps there. It is important to keep things even. You want this outer apron to lie smooth across your belly. In a well made kilt, where the straps and buckles are placed evenly, this means that you should position the straps on both the left and right equally. In other words, if your left-side strap is on the second hole, then you need to wear your right-side strap at the second hole, as well. This applies for the straps at the waist. If your kilt has a third strap down on your right hip, take care to fasten this only as tightly as necessary to allow the apron to lie flat and smooth. People have a tendency to wear this strap too tightly and this creates a pull across the front apron. (Or you could just follow my suggestion and have this superfluous third strap removed and not worry about it!).
4. The kilt is designed to sit up high on the waist. Most civilian kilts are made with a 2" rise. This means that (on most men) the bottom of the leather straps (the upper straps, if your kilt has a lower one on the hip) will be at your natural waist line, at the top of your hip bone. The top of the kilt itself should come to just under your rib cage. On thinner men, this will be the natural place where the kilt feels comfortable. Larger men, with a waist (belly) larger than their hips tend to want to wear their kilt at the hips, below their belly. Avoid this temptation! Nothing looks worse than a man with his beer-belly protruding out over the top of his kilt. Wear your kilt high, above your belly button. Believe me, it looks a lot better and more fitted.
5. Most well-made kilts will have one of the pivot points of the tartan (the point at which the pattern mirrors itself, often a dominant stripe) at the center point of the front apron. See that that line is centered, and line up the buttons on your shirt to that line.
6. Reach down underneath the kilt and give your shirt a little tug to get it in place, and smooth the shirt out. If you need to during the day, you can repeat this little maneuver to neaten up your appearance.
7. If you are wearing a belt, now is when I would put it on. If you plan on wearing a vest or waistcoat (or a cummerbund for as part of a formal ensemble), then you will not want to wear a belt. Most kilt belts are between 2" and 3" wide, with the average being about 2.25" to 2.5". I'll do a different post later on about formal/casual styles of kilt belts. Your kilt may or may not have belt loops in the back. These belt loops are actually a relatively modern addition to the kilt. They are not necessary and many kilt makers (myself included) still do not put them on. It is the straps and buckles that will keep a properly fitted kilt up, not the belt, which is purely decoration. If your kilt is sans loops, just put the belt on at the natural waist. Some are of the opinion that the belt should come up even with the top of the kilt (so that you cannot see any kilt above the belt). J. C. Thompson advocates this in So You're Going to Wear the Kilt! I find this very impractical to maintain, however, without the belt slipping off the top of the kilt, and see no reason for it. The belt should cover the leather straps on the kilt, and it's perfectly fine if the top half inch or so of the kilt shows above the belt. If your kilt does have belt loops, go ahead and run your belt through them. So (again, Thompson being an example) say that since these belt loops are a new addition, made originally for the sporran strap (true) and therefore should not be used for the belt. So they say to wear your belt on top of the belt loops. If you want to do this, I won't argue with you. But I will say that to most who see you it just looks like you missed your loops when you put your belt on.
8. The belt should be snug fitting (but not so tight as to bunch up or crease the kilt!). A snug fitting belt will stay in place (and help the kilt stay in place on those men with no hips!). A loose fitting belt will work its way south during the day and the next thing you know your half inch of kilt showing above the belt has turned into three or four inches, and nothing looks sloppier.
9. Again, make sure everything lines up -- your belt buckle should be even with the center line of the kilt apron (and the buttons of your shirt).
10. The next thing I put on are the hose. When you put them on, pull them all the way up, over the knee. Take your garters and fasten them above the calf, below the knee. The flashes (the colored cloth ribbons) should be on the outside of your leg, positioned just slightly to the front. (Just FYI, the elastic band is a garter, the colored ribbons are the flashes, and together they are referred to as "garter flashes." They are not called "flashers" or "flashings" -- both of those things will get you arrested!). Garter flashes in place, the top of the kilt hose now folds down, hiding the garters, with the bottom few inches of the flashes showing. Don't get too hung up on how many inches the fold over of the hose needs to be. Just use your best judgment. Some kilt hose are designed to be folded over two or three times for a thicker top. Most just fold over once.
11. Next I usually add the sgian dubh. This just gets tucked into the top of my right kilt hose (because I am right handed), on the outside of the leg. Too many people wear their sgian dubh with the entire handle sticking out of the hose. This is uncomfortable, and you may loose your sgian dubh that way! All that needs to be showing is the top half or one third of the handle -- enough to grab it when you need it.
12. If you are wearing a tie, now is when I normally put it on. You will have to tie it a bit shorter than you normally do with your trousers, because the kilt has a much higher waist. If you wear the tie at the same length, it will come down too far below the waistline of the kilt. You want to tip to be just a bit below the top of the kilt, but not too much.
13. Now you are ready to put on your sporran. Adjust your sporran strap so that the top of the sporran is a few inches (not too much! I'd say no more than 3" or 4") below the belt. If your sporran moves around too much, feels like it is slipping, or feels uncomfortable in any way, you are probably wearing your sporran strap too loosely. If you want to run the strap through the belt loops in the back of your kilt, feel free. That is what they are there for. Most men won't need to do this, but again, if your waist is larger than your hips, this may help keep everything in place. Some men with larger bellies have a problem with their sporran hanging down below their gut and creating an unsightly pull in the front of the kilt. One solution to this are the handy sporran slings that are being sold now, allowing the sporran to hang from the main kilt belt. These will keep the sporran in the correct position no matter your waistline! Again, make sure your sporran is centered.
14. If you are wearing a vest or waistcoat, now is the time to put it on.
15. We are almost done! Time to put your shoes on. I don't have time to go into detail about the proper way to tie the ghillie brouge laces, other than to say there are about half a dozen "proper ways." Here is one way that works. Unless you are dressing formal, you don't really need to wear your ghillies, anyway. Just wear comfortable shoes.
16. Lastly, before you head out the door, put on any outerwear. This means jacket and/or bonnet.
17. One minor word about the bonnet. No matter if you are wearing a balmoral or a glengarry, the ribbons should be centered in the back, with the hat cocked ever-so-slightly to the right, highlighting your crest badge. On the balmoral, it is customary to wear the ribbons tied into a bow. (This is a remnant of the old broad bonnets that were sized with a draw-string). With a glengarry, the ribbons are left loose.

And that's it. You are dressed! Wow, what a long post about a relatively simple subject. With practice, it will all come as second nature and not take more than a few minutes.

Have fun!

Viewing tartans online

Viewing tartans online has long been problematic. Part of the problem has to do with the vagaries of tartan color. Letting alone the confusion that arises when people speak of modern, ancient, and weathered color schemes, different mills offer slightly different colors and variations of tartans, and you never knew what you might be looking at.

But most of the available online tartan web sites don't use photographs of actual woven tartan samples, but rather utilize computer generated images. This has advantages and disadvantages, the chief disadvantage being that the colors of the graphic file usually do not adequately reflect the depth and subtlety of woven cloth.

One of the best resources for finding a tartan image on line is the web site of the Scottish Tartans Authority, where you can browse the International Tartan Index. This site utilizes computer graphics for the tartan images, but the upside is that it contains well over 4000 tartans.

Most commercial tartan sites (those who show the tartans in an effort to sell them to you) are of course going to only show you the tartans they have readily available. The good thing about non-commercial sites, such as the STA's, is that they can show you a much wider variety of tartan samples. What if you want to see what the district tartan for Wagga Wagga, Australia, looks like, for instance? Think you'll find that one listed at your local Highland Dress retailer's web site?

However, there is another aspect to browsing for tartans on line. Not everyone is looking for strictly academic tartan information. Most people are looking for tartans to buy and wear, and they most definitely are interested in what the actual cloth they are purchasing will look like. Of course the best way to be certain that you get the tartan you want is to request a sample swatch from the mill. But this requires work and much patience. Not everyone wants to write to three different woolen mills requesting multiple tartan samples and then wait weeks for them to arrive in the post.

Most of the large tartan mills have web sites. If you go to Lochcarron's web site, for instance, you can view actual photographs of their tartan cloth. The same goes for Strathmore. However, while The House of Edgar lists all their available tartans, they only illustrate a representative few. (The same was true of Strathmore until recently -- maybe Edgar has plans to soon add tartan images to their site. Let's hope so.)

As the two mills I use most frequently when I order cloth for my kilts are Lochcarron and House of Edgar, and my clients had the ability to preview the Lochcarron cloth on line before purchasing, guess which mill got the most orders? Sometimes it is all about convenience.

However, I recently discovered a great online resource for viewing tartan cloth at www.TartanWeb.org. This web site is a branch of the ever-growing Viking Technology/Gaelic Themes conglomerate that is quickly becoming the dominant on-line supplier of Highland Dress, with dozens of retail web sites to their name. However, this is not a retail site per se. It seems to be mainly informational. And part of the information provided is the ability to quickly view and compare actual photographic samples of tartan cloth from many of the major woolen mills.

Go to their web site, and under "Quick Links" use the "Browse Tartans By Range" feature. There you can easily see all of Lochcarron's Strome cloth (16 oz premiere kilting weight). You can also see every House of Edgar range, including the Old & Rare and Irish County tartans. Stathmore's tartans are there, as well, along with Batleys and Marton Mills (I don't have personal experience with these latter two).

Not every tartan has a photograph (most do) and not all the photographs are perfect. But hey, it's much better than most similar sites. And if you are wondering whether you want your next kilt to be Lochcarron Strome cloth, Strathmore's W60, or perhaps Edgar's Regimental weight, then you can preview them all here within minutes. And while nothing can take the place of examining an actual sample cutting, this can help you at least cull the choices down before waiting weeks for that sample swatch to arrive!