Why gives tartan and tweed their universal appeal?

Tweed is considered as British as tea and is associated with a sophisticated life full of outdoor pursuits such as shooting, hunting and horse riding.  At least two Dr Who actors have immortalised the classic tweed jacket and who can forget Sherlock Holmes’ infamous tweed cape and deerstalker cap?

Tweed appears to have a rough, unfinished texture though it is quite flexible and soft. Its durable, moisture resistant fabric makes it ideal for outerwear. The story goes that it was named after River Tweed, which forms part of the border between England and Scotland.

Tartan has a rather rocky past linked to Highland warriors and Scottish clans. It all sounds dangerously romantic to imagine those rugged soldiers facing battles in kilts, but the Scots were hardly the first clan to weave these colourful patterns.

The first tartan-like leggings were found on a 3000 year old mummy in Western China. Other examples date back to pre-Roman times so it’s likely that tartan was popular throughout Northern Europe.

The earliest tartan found in Britain dates back to 3^rd century AD, but tartan as we know it didn’t appear until the 16^th century. It was soon adopted by the military and at the end of the 1700s; tartan had become a national symbol for Scotland.

It didn’t hurt that English royalty stepped in to support the nostalgic identity of Scotland. The popularity of tartan was truly cemented when King George IV visited Edinburgh in 1822. He was the first reigning monarch to visit Scotland in 171 years. In preparation for his visit, Sir Walter Scott said, “Let every man wear his tartan.” Apparently, they did.

The next royal visit occurred more than 20 years later and they were the true trendsetters for tartan. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert not only visited Scotland, they bought Balmoral Castle and designed their own royal tartan design for clothes and interior decoration.

Eventually families and clans began to adopt distinct tartan patterns as their own. This usually had more to do with the local weaver and the dye that was available, but the trend snowballed. Now there are approximately 3500-7000 registered tartan designs, each one distinguishable from the next.  About 150 new designs are created each year, including the classic 1920s Burberry Check and the British Airways Benyhone as seen on the wing of some of its airplanes.

Tartan and tweed have come a long way and, judging from the creative new fashions, they still have a long way to go in the world of fashion and design. You could say its nostalgia or a clan thing, but mostly likely people just like the way it looks. And there’s nothing wrong when history and tradition appeal to a universal sense of fashion.