By EDDIE AITKENEpoch Times Staff

I was married in a tartan kilt and sensed the tradition and stature it symbolized. It’s a McDonald tar-tan as my mum’s families were Donaldson and Hay. “Mac” is the Gaelic “Mhic,” signifying “son.”

Until my wedding day, I had kept clear of kilt-wearing even though my relatives spoke of our family tartans and I had visited Armadale Castle—the clan seat of McDon-ald, Lord of the Isles.

I can’t remember ever seeing a photo of my father in a kilt, other than his regimental uniform when he served with the Gordon High-landers during the war. He was a tank driver in India. My broth-ers, as far as I am aware, have not worn the kilt. When going to wed-dings and the like, my father wore a suit, shirt, and tie. My father is from Aitken and Massie. Although Aitken is from the Viking times, it was in existence when the tartans were being linked to names.

My mum regularly wore tartan skirts and brooches and even had fridge magnets of her family’s coat of arms.

A Brief HistoryIt seems you cannot talk about tartans without clans, as the two are historically intertwined. How-ever, according to the official Web site of Scotland’s national tourism organization, “The use of differ-ent patterns and colours of tartan to identify different families and clans is a very contentious issue amongst historians.

“In the absence of any real evi-dence to the contrary, it seems that this practice dates back only as far as the early 19th century. Prior to this, clansmen of all standing seemed to have worn a mixture of tartans without any sense of a standardized ‘clan’ design,” reads the organization’s Web site, Vis-itscotland.com.

Tartan probably comes from the French word “tiretaine” or “tire-tane,” and would not refer to the pattern but to a particular type of fabric that was part wool, part linen.

tArtAn registry If you look at the Scottish Register of Tartans, the Web site of which was launched this February, you will see that clans, families, and names are but a small part of the classification of tartans. Other cri-teria include district, company, or organization, any branch of the armed services (including volun-teer regiments), and tartans with a direct royal connection. There are also tartans taken from illus-trations or artifacts, or worn for a particular occasion, and fancy tartans for the fashion trade.

For a fee, and if it passes certain criteria, you can register your own tartan. At present, there is a short list of 10 new designs from nearly 100 entries submitted by fashion and design students in Scotland for the “Bringing Home the Tar-tan” competition.

The Register of Tartans is a gov-ernment offshoot. It intends to in-clude all tartans by combining The Scottish Tartans Authority and the Scottish Tartans World Register.

everydAy tArtAnsMen from different clans are un-likely to quarrel because of tartan identification, but there can be great warmth between two peo-ple when they find they are from the same clan.

There is no hierarchy of clans, but there are historical events that sometimes cause a clan to be frowned upon; however, most of that is recognized as being in the past.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, there were still some tartan traditions in the highlands and islands, but now they remain excuses for celebra-tions, tourist attractions, or affir-

mations of a landowner’s status.The highland games bring out

tartan-clad Scots who wish to take part or simply dress up for the occasion. There are many of these contests all over Scotland. The Braemar Games, regularly at-tended by the royal family, are the most widely recognized.

A Scottish tartan links more than a clan

By MIRIAM SILVERBERG

Excuse me, ma’am, but it doesn’t fit. Even without seeing you, I feel comfortable saying it because most women wear clothes that don’t fit. Usually they’re too small, but some-

times too big. I, myself, sometimes wear things too big. If you happen to be built like me, very petite, you know it’s hard to find clothes that fit.

So many women wear clothing that’s a couple of sizes too small. As a result, it bunches up at the waist be-cause it can’t go over the hips. This is not attractive, and it doesn’t make them look thinner. In fact, it makes them look heavier. A jacket that’s too tight becomes much more flattering when it’s let out so it fits over the hips. Or, better yet, try to buy it in the right size in the beginning.

If you’re wearing pants, you should be able to breathe. I know it’s expensive, but you may have to buy pants to fit your hips and then bring them to the tailor to take in the waist. (And don’t let people see the outline of your panties.)

Unfortunately, having things altered can be very ex-pensive. No one knows that better than I. There are many things that no matter how beautiful they are and how much I love them, I just leave them on the hangers and won’t buy them. A dress or skirt with a beautiful hemline can only be shortened by taking off the waist, shortening it, and then putting the waist back on. This is a very big job and you’ll pay a lot to have it done. You’ll have to decide whether it’s worth it.

I remember buying an expensive suit that was too big. I had it taken in. The tailor took it in too much. The skirt was then too tight across the hips, so I took it to someone else to be let out. You guessed it: The second tailor let it out too much. Finally, I gave it to charity and vowed I’d be more careful in the future.

If something has to be shortened, make up your mind to have it shortened or do it yourself immediately. Oth-erwise, you’ll wear it and never really be happy.

Miriam Silverberg is a freelance journalist and the owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique publicity firm in New York City. She can be reached at silverbergm@mindspring.com.

If it doesn’t fitSpeaking of fashion

Inglot: the theater district’s well-kept beauty secretBy CHRISTINE LINEpoch Times Staff

NEW YORK—This is a place New Yorkers might not even know about. A few blocks north from the thick of Times Square is In-glot, a Polish makeup chain that opened up just five months ago. Though the brand is well estab-lished in Europe and Australia, this well-lighted oasis on the cor-ner of 48th and Broadway is its only store in America.

Inglot was born 20 years ago under the guidance of chemist Wojtek Inglot. (The name is Ger-man, so resist the temptation to drop the “t”.) It utilizes advanced technology to create its unique formulations. Take for instance its O2M, the line’s new “breath-able” nail polish based on poly-mers in breathable contact lenses. Increased oxygen is supposed to reduce the likeliness of fun-gal infection, according to the company.

Fancy technology aside, Inglot has almost 50 colours in the O2M nail polish collection alone, and many more in its matte and clas-sic nail polish lines. Any colour you can imagine, Inglot has it in nail polish and a matching colour in a lipstick. What you won’t find here is a prescription—Inglot will not sell you on colour theory, only plenty of colour. If you fancy red eyeliner and black lipstick, you’ll find it here, but neither is there shortage of ballerina pink.

I met Sharie Henderson, Inglot makeup artist and sales associ-ate, on a Thursday afternoon. She gave me the full walk-through of the line and then did a look for me. The small boutique’s layout is simple: The main makeup line is presented on an island in the middle of the floor. Nail and lip products take one wall, and the rest is glass walls.

The best way to judge a makeup brand is by its eye shadows. Inglot has one of the most bedazzling arrays of colours and finishes I’ve ever seen. These colours, which are largely bright and shim-mering, are not for the faint of heart. The company has over 200 shades in pearl, double sparkle, and pure loose pigment finishes. All of the colours are delicately silky and saturated—as if they were plucked straight off the skin of an apple or from Times Square’s brightest LCD screen.

A hallmark of Inglot’s line is AMC (which stands for Advanced Makeup Components). Products bearing this label contain high-performance ingredients that make the product last longer and remain true under strenu-ous conditions such as moisture and high heat.

“They’re great for stage, mov-ies, and photography,” said Hend-erson, who came into makeup after completing her theater major. Though Inglot’s products are suitable for stage and camera, they are not heavy. Each powder or pigment is so packed with col-our that a featherlight application

does the job.Here’s where it gets fun: cus-

tomability. Inglot’s Freedom Sys-tem allows the user to create cus-tom palettes. “Everything in the store is represented right here,” Henderson said as we approached the Freedom System station on the back wall. “Anything can go into any palette. If it fits, you can have it.”

When Henderson says “any-thing,” she means it. Concealers, eye shadows, lip colours, blush, brow wax—you could literally build a complete travel kit in one of these slim palettes.

Prices across the line are phe-nomenal for the quality. A pearl eyeshadow contains 2.5 g (0.09 oz.) of product and goes for $12, palettes start at $16 for a three-pan; the largest palette is $50. Foundations run from $16 to $21. Nail polishes are $10–$14. Lipsticks are $12.

Unfortunately, Inglot doesn’t have a Web site (yet), so a pil-grimage to the store is still the best bet. Inglot is located at 1592 Broadway on the corner of 48th St. (212) 247-8169

stAr ProductsO2M Breathable nail polish and nail art pens. Usually you’ll have to order from professional suppli-ers if you want to draw your own nail designs.

AMC lip glosses look like holo-grams in the tube and when ap-plied, enhance and modify the underlying colour.

Duraline is a gel that trans-forms and waterproofs shadows so that they may be used as cream colours or liner.

Inglot’s cream blush avoids the pitfall of so many cream blushes on the market—feeling like a cream that sits atop the face. This one blends out to a dewy, non-sticky glow.

BUILDING BLOCKS: Eye shadows and other products are available for palette-building as part of the Freedom System. Colours come in rectangular and round pans. Christine Lin/the epoCh times

Epoch Times Staff

Two dramatic dresses—one from the Wills India Fashion Week, the other from Athens Fashion Week—give us the chance to celebrate femininity in motion. Maybe there is a great holiday dress out there waiting for us.

PERFECT FOR DANCING: Athens Fashion Week offered this design by Nikos Takis on Oct. 25. Aris messinis/AFp/Getty imAGes

Beauty Box

DELIGHTFULLY DRAMATIC: Designers Hemant & Nandita present this design at Wills India Fashion Week in New Delhi, Oct. 27. mAnAn VAtsyAyAnA/AFp/Getty imAGes

Across

1 Skit 4 Head of Islam 9 Regions 14 Downwind 15 Excuse 16 Internalflap 17 Ailing 18 Gadget 19 Small island 20 Notion 22 Pleaserespond

24 Press 25 Antelope 27 Call 31 In __ (together) 32 Parsonage 33 Pastry 34 North of the Beehive State 36 Book by Goethe 38 Largeplanet 40 Children’s card game (2 wds.) 42 Horse 43 A Hindu’s red dot

44 Sky 45 Accustom 47 Springflower 51 Harvest 53 Want 54 Financial obligation 55 Am not 57 Again (2 wds.) 59 Potter’s needs 62 Maliciousperson 65 Miner’s goal 66 Typeofpeaceprize 67 Marry secretly 68 Tell a tall tale 69 Lark 70 What a mob does 71 Make lace Down 1 Defenses 2 Dieter’s vegetable 3 Tattle (2 wds.) 4 Animal house 5 First letter of the Arabic alphabet 6 Movie star Taylor 7 Computermakers 8 Sea inlets surround by cliffs 9 Tel__(Israel’scapital) 10 Rasping 11 Wing 12 Average (abbr.) 13 Jell 21 Egg on 23 Take to court 25 Genghis __ 26 Card game 28 Musicalcomposition 29 Hope

30 Lease 32 Impair 35 Failure 36 Future Farmers of America (abr.) 37 Japaneseself-defense 38 Toss 39 Air(prefix) 40 Beltup 41 Bullfightcheer 42 Pouch 43 Day of the wk. 45 Hotel 46 Below 48 Rebel 49 Europeanpeninsula Spain’speninsula 50 Boulevard 52 Recipient 56 Island 57 Department(abbr.) 58 Mined metals 59 Nervous system 60 Snip 61 Abridged (abbr.) 63 Boxer Muhammad 64 Also

Crossword

Today’s Solution

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33

34 35 36 37

38 39 40 41

42 43

44 45 46 47 48 49 50

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55 56 57 58

59 60 61 62 63 64 65

66 67 68

69 70 71

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACTCALIFAREASLEEALIBIVALVEILLGIZMOISLETBELIEFRSVPIRONKUDUYOWLSYNCMANSEPIE

IDAHOFAUSTSATURNGOFISH

STEEDTILAKAIRINUREIRISCROPNEEDDEBT

AINTDOOVERCLAYSHATERORENOBELELOPELIESPREERIOTSTAT

The Donaldson tartan http://www.sCotLAndshop.net/

The Hay tartan http://www.rAmpAntsCotLAnd.Com

The Massey tartan http://www.tArtAnreGister.GoV.uk/

StyleP14 November 5 - 11, 2009The Epoch Times