Every Isle differs from
each other in their fancy of making Plaids
as to the stripes in breadth and colours. The humour is as different through
the mainland of the Highlands, in so far that they who have seen those places
are able at first view of the man’s Plaid,
to guess the place of his residence.
Martin Martin, writing in 1703
Tartans are representative of heritage. Most people are familiar with the tartans that represent the great Scottish clans and families -- MacDonald, MacGregor, Campbell, MacLeod and the like. But tartans can also represent other things, and one of the oldest traditions is for a tartan to represent a place. These are the district tartans, and they can be worn by anyone -- with or without a clan -- to honor the place that they represent.
Though they began life in Scotland, the list of places with district tartans today includes Ireland, England, other European countries, Canada and the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and places more exotic.
Long overlooked in favor of their "clan cousins," district tartans are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. This web site is the only one of its kind to bring these district tartans to your attention, and make them available for you to own and wear proudly.
Clicking on "About District Tartans" will provide you with a brief history of these fascinating tartans.
Clicking on "About This Site" will tell you more about this web site, what our goals are, and why it was established.
Clicking on "The Book" will get you The Compendium of District Tartans, now available on CD-ROM for $14.95.
Clicking on "News" will bring you the latest news in the world of District Tartans, plus current shop specials.
Clicking on "Tartan Shop" will bring you to our gift shop, where you can browse either by product or by tartan.
Clicking on "Find a Tartan" will enable you to browse the district tartans by region.
Clicking on "SDFA" will give you information about the Scottish District Families Association.
A project of the Scottish Tartans Museum
