Kilts, Tartans, Wales and Texas

As my dad’s side of the family originates from Wales, I have some kilt-wearing blood flowing through my veins, but unlike the Scots, the Welsh don’t have a history of using tartans to recognize families or clans. In fact, there’s some argument as to how long the Welsh have worn kilts. I don’t care about the latter, but I did want to see what might be available for a Jones boy in Texas.

Luckily, I have at least two options, one for my last name and one for my home state. The first is the Jones Tartan, created in the late 1990′s (again, no history of tartans), though it is included in The Scottish Registrar of Tartans. The tartan’s designers, Rosalind Jones with input from Peter MacDonald, did an amazing job, and their explanation shows the thought put into the creation:

The design symbolises Jones roots in Wales and the name’s global spread. The heart of the sett reflects the green and white of the Welsh flag with its red dragon. From Wales people with the name of Jones moved to England, represented by pale green together with the red and white cross of St. George. Many Scots bear the name of Jones, and Scotland is represented by the blue and white perimeter. When viewed diagonally this creates the cross of St. Andrew, the Scottish saltire The black band represents the ocean deeps that separate all the people named Jones who now live far from Britain but whose roots remain here.

The second option is the official tartan of the state of Texas, created by June Prescott McRoberts of Salado to celebrate the Sesquicentennial (celebrating independence from Mexico 150 years earlier). It’s based on the Bluebonnet, our state flower, and thus uses a base of blue with a touch of red and green.

While I don’t expect to drop $500+ on a full, official kilt soon, it’s great to know that I have two great options.

I just picked up a modern kilt created by Nation Kilt, in a solid olive cloth, which I am very excited to own and plan to wear throughout South by Southwest Interactive as a part of the Five Kilts crew. There will be many photos posted.

Tartan images from The Scottish Registrar of Tartans

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