On a kitchen table in Glasgow, Scotland, a little boy stands, growing tired with every new fold, tug and pin of his kilt. Although it may only be a few dozen minutes, for the boy it feels like hours. His grandfather – a former Regimental Sergeant Major with the Cameron Highlanders – doesn’t notice the time passing. With military precision, he gets the boy ready for an outing.
***
On a living-room floor in Canada’s Capital, a teenage girl kneels, growing frustrated by the pile of clothes that surround her. She’s been tasked with packing her aunt (a naval officer) uniforms, baselayers, boots and snowsuits into just one suitcase. Her aunt would need to look respectable for her assignment, which is to report and recommend to the military whether or not women should serve in the far North (conclusion: yes). Formal wear for dinner meetings would be important; so the teenager needs to find something elegant, yet warm. She had just the thing: a long tartan kilt.
***
These two scenes may be time and oceans apart; but for me they exist together. They are memories my parents tell me of their tartans.
Yet tartans are not just a memory; their ubiquity stands the test of time.
Traditionally only certain clan members could wear particular tartans. If your family was a blend of two clans, you may be entitled to wear more than one; or so my parents tell me. But in the name of fashion, today anyone – and anything – can sport any pattern.
Unlike my mom’s Canadian view of keeping tartan as a somewhat special dress, my dad tells me that in Scotland “people used to wear them quite commonly. They weren’t kept necessarily for special occasions, they were for everyday wear; they were worn more regularly.”
Suggestions throughout the print issue show you don’t need to be militant about your use of tartan—no matter your age, occasion, or clan!
Jump into summer with this tartan high-waisted bikini made of recycled plastic bottles. This ‘kini is “damn” special!
Timeless tartan bikini is available at the DamnMag store!