What does the Clarke tartan look like?

Answer 1

English families do not have tartans.

True, but then not all Scottish families did either. Tartan patterns tended to be specific to a particular weaver of tartan - so obviously there were close links to familys and clans's - but not the one for one that is much touted. Indeed many Scots would wear more than one style of tartan not just the one - some from the same weaver (giving mutliple family tartans), others from other towns etc.

After the Jacobite rebellion had subsided Scottish emigre's in London wrote to the Clan Chiefs and asked them to confirm their tartans for a definitive list. Only at this point did the tartans get tied into a specific clan. Famously the Clan Chief of the MacPhersons wrote to Wilsons the well know tartan manufacturer (and the first company to formalise and even invent some tartans) to confirm his tartan. They looked up their records and found Tartan no .43 also known as Kidd as Mr Kidd had ordered it but the last order was to a Mr MacPherson in the West Indies. So they sent it to the Chief and he gave it to the Highland Society as the MacPherson tartan where it has been the standard tartan ever since.

Similarly the majority of the Irish tartans were invented in the twentieth century by a single Scottish tartan manufacturer who took the colours from the counties and regions coat of arms and substitued into traditional scotish tartan designs. There is no historical evidence for the Irish wearing the kilt and the only hostorical peice of tartan in Ireland was discovered in a Ulster peat bog turned into scottish made trews! The Irish pipe bands today wear a plain saffron kilt, the colour just about proveable the garment not.

Technically there is no reason why you cannot have your own tartan made up, likewise there is no reason why you can't wear any tartan that takes your fancy. There are over 2,000 of them, company's, football teams etc have registered their own.

If you're clinging to a fanciful dream about William Wallace being your great grandad then I would suggest you look for nearer roots (where were your direct family born); just because the English don't have any exotic attire for men doesn't mean we don't have any history! Or if you have roots in Austria then you're in luck as they had tartans too...

Answer 2

Thre are 100's of Scottish (with 2 t's) tartans.