What Tartan Sash Should I Wear to a Reeling Ball?

The tartan sash is the most distinctive feature of women's highland dress, and also the most confusing. The rules sound arcane, the etiquette feels impenetrable, and most people arrive at their first reeling ball quietly hoping nobody notices they've got it slightly wrong. This guide should help.

Who can wear one, and which tartan

The first and most important thing we should say about the rules around tartan is that they are made up. There is plenty of etiquette and snobbery around which ones to wear but you are unlikely to go to jail for wearing the wrong one. 

Sashes are most often worn by clanswomen of Scotland, and wearing a registered tartan to which you have no connection is considered inappropriate - rather like photobombing someone else's family portrait. If you aren't sure which tartan to wear and read no further than this, try to pick one whose name matches your (or a direct family member's) surname. 

That said, you absolutely do not need to wear a sash at all. Most people without a family one skip them all together. The Scottish Register of Tartans has more detail on entitlement and wearing etiquette on their website.

Please also note that tartans are actually not just available to the Scots; the counties of Ireland, the states of America, and many other regions and groups across the world all have their own registered tartans. Most people could probably find one they have a legitimate claim to, if they looked hard enough. The difficulty is that obscure tartans can be hard to source and expensive to have woven.

Fortunately there are several "universal" tartans. All citizens of Britain and the Commonwealth have a right to wear Royal Stewart and Hunting Stewart, as these are the tartans adopted by the Windsors, and we all count as part of the royal clan. The third is Black Watch. We at Ballavimus are unsure why this one is an exception to the already weird and arbitrary tartan etiquette, but you can wear this one as well. The advantage of these three tartans is that they are easy to get hold of, so a sash won't cost the earth. 

How to wear it

Most sashes are worn from the right shoulder to the left hip, with a brooch at the shoulder. You will see a great many traditional Celtic-style brooches, but there is no rule about this - wear whatever takes your fancy.

If your broach is at all valuable make sure to use the fastening chain if it has one. Broaches can be knocked off mid-dance by spins and turns. A borrowed kilt pin can often be used as a broach at a pinch too. 

Styling your sash with your dress

Tartans tend to have a lot of ‘visual texture’, meaning the alternating strong colours create the impression that some colours project, while others recede. This gives the illusion of texture to a flat fabric, but does present a difficulty matching your sash with your dress. To get this right you want to think about two things: 

• Colour: avoid an obvious colour clash with your dress and the ground of your tartan. It can be great if they compliment, but the traditional white or ivory reeling gown has the advantage of being able to take even the most lurid mustard tartan. 
• Texture: because tartan has its own visual texture, it is happiest when balanced against other textures. Lace, eyelet cotton, a slub dupion, embroidery, brocade, and velvet are all good options to create a harmonious outfit. Satin and chiffon are also options,but it can be tricky to avoid the scarf-on-a-prom-dress effect.