Instantly recognisable, tartan is a type of woven design which uses horizontal and vertical stripes to build a pattern of checks.
Also known as plaid - a word which comes from Scottish Gaelic - tartan is traditionally made of wool, with the hardwearing material known to have been worn in Scotland as early as the third century.
The country’s oldest surviving fragment of “true tartan”, discovered around 40 years ago in a peat bog, has been dated back to somewhere between 1500-1600 AD by historians.
The colourful fabric is matched with an equally colourful past. Tartan kilts went from everyday wear for Highlanders to a symbol of rebellion against the English under Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Following the Jacobites’ defeat during the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the Act of Proscription was passed which suppressed Highland dress. Tartan was restricted - though not entirely banned - until the act was repealed in 1782. However, by that time the everyday connection between tartan and Highlanders and long been severed.
In more recent years tartan has been a symbol of both the traditional and the subversive, with some countries around the world even celebrating Tartan Day.
Here are seventeen facts about tartan you (probably) never knew.
5. The Ogilvie tartan is the most 'complex' one
According to the official Scottish Register of Tartans, the most complex tartan to weave is the Ogilvie with approximately 96 colour changes. It dates back to 1812 and is also known as the Drummond of Strathallan tartan. | Contributed
6. The first colour photograph is of a tartan ribbon
A tartan ribbon was the subject matter of the first ever colour photograph taken by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861. Maxwell was a Scottish physicist accredited for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, he was born in Edinburgh. | Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images
7. Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's husband) designed his own tartan
One of the most exclusive tartans ever made is the Balmoral, which dates from 1853. Said to have been designed by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert, it features grey with red and black. The twisted black and white yarns are said to be reminiscent of the granite seen in Aberdeenshire’s Royal Deeside, where Balmoral is located. This tartan is one of few which can only be worn by members of the Royal family and the Queen’s personal piper with permission from the monarch. | Getty Images
8. Tartan has been taken to the moon
The first and only ever piece of tartan to be taken to the moon was the MacBean tartan. It was taken there back in 1969 by Alan Bean who was the fourth man to walk on the moon's surface. | Submitted