image above by julia rothman
If you’re thinking of a Scottish textile, chances are you’re thinking about tartan. The design was originally based on a simple two-color check, but today you can find an enormous variety of tartan patterns. So pour yourself a glass of scotch (OK – so it’s only 10am and we don’t live on the Mad Men set – but a girl can dream.), and let’s delve into tartan!
Difference between plaid and tartan?
Here’s the million dollar question. And it seems like nothing gets historians arguing quite like tartan! Here’s the basics: historically – plaid referred to a material/garment, while tartan was that checked pattern that we all know and love. A plaid was actually a large long shawl – usually 10 x 5 feet – the kilt was known as the belted plaid. Later the word ‘plaid’ came to mean any fabric that had a tartan pattern.
Clan Tartans
The 18th century painting above of the Macdonald boys is often used to illustrate the point that the association of tartan patterns with a particular family was a 19th century invention rather than an ancient tradition. The boys are wearing three different tartan patterns. (By the way, note the date of 1749 on the painting, we’re coming back to that!) Historians believe that tartans had an association with the location in which they were produced rather than the particular family who chose to wear them. But because the tartans with similar color ranges would have been found in the same location (due to the use of local dyes) those living in close proximity would have worn the same colors and patterns. (So for example, tartans in the west of Scotland were produced in blue, black and green and worn by the MacLeod, MacNeil, and the MacDonalds, while tartans in the north-east used blue or black and green stripe on a red ground and were worn by the local families such as Macintosh, Robertson, and MacGillivary.)
an incident in the rebellion of 1745, david morier
Tartan and Rebellion
In 1746 the English defeated the tartan-clad Scots at the Battle of Culloden. As part of an effort to assimilate the Scottish Highlands and thwart their ability to revolt, the Act of Proscription made the wearing of tartan illegal. (This section was referred to as The Dress Act) Remember I told you to note the date of the MacDonald boys painting? It was painted in 1749, during the time that wearing tartan in Scotland was prohibited by the Parliament.)
george iv by sir david wilkie, 1829
The laws were repealed on July 1, 1782, and in 1822 George the IV wore tartan on his visit to Scotland – it was the first visit by a British monarch since Charles II in 1650. The visit was contrived to strengthen the bond between Scotland and the British king. The novelist Sir Walter Scott organized the ceremonial events – the highlight was the “Highland Ball” where all guests were required to wear Highland costumes. It was a tartan fest – and suddenly tartan was a must-wear item.
the balmoral tartan designed by prince albert intended to be worn by only the royal family
Living with Tartan
When you think of tartans making the leap from clothing to home textiles, two words should come to mind – Queen Victoria. Well, and maybe two more – Prince Albert. Although Victoria was Queen, Albert certainly wore the pants in the relationship. Victoria pretty much did whatever he thought was best. And we can say one thing for Albert, he knew how to manage money. Victoria was the first monarch who never needed to borrow money from Parliament.
balmoral castle in 1956, the new york public library
The couple became so smitten with the Highlands after a trip to Scotland that they purchased the estate of Balmoral Castle in 1847 sight unseen. Albert enlarged the castle and redesigned its interior – in the Scottish Baronial style. He even designed a Balmoral tartan (which is still in use today as the royal tartan) – and tartan was the textile of choice in the castle interior decoration.
above: balmoral castle’s drawing room in 1863, then in 1983.
Balmoral became a favorite summer home of the Queen (although not of her entourage who complained of the cold!) and it is still a royal summer residence.
master h.g.e. gladstone in 1862 by camille silvy (1834-1910) from the v&a museum
Queen Victoria said that she wished to make tartan desirable throughout the world and she certainly did her part to make it a lucrative export. All that tartan certainly did trickle down. Master Gladstone’s tartan (called a Scotch suit) above was a direct result of the Queen’s influence in the vogue for all things Scottish!
above left: duke of windsor photographed by lord lichfield via the windsor style; above right: part of the sotheby’s sale in 1997 – the rothesay hunting tartan lounge suit made in 1897 for his father george v, then tailored to fit the duke of windsor
Edward VIII might have given up the throne for divorcee Wallis Simpson, but this great-grandson of Queen Victoria certainly wasn’t about to give up his tartan. The catalog for the Sotheby’s Duke and Duchess of Windsor auction highlights the tartan lounge suit that was thought to belong to King George in 1897. King George apparently wore the tartan suit to tea after hunting. The Duke credited his father’s retrofitted tartan suit as the catalyst for tartan vogue in the 1950s!
the Duke and Duchess dance as one of the couple’s many pugs looks on via the windsor style
During World War II, in order to escape the London blitz, the future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret Rose spent quite a bit of time at Balmoral Castle. And to this day, Queen Elizabeth II frequently wears tartan when visiting Balmoral.
I couldn’t resist closing out our look at tartan with this image of the Draper kitchen from Mad Men (For an insight into set decoration, see behind the scenes of Mad Men).
