Kalistan

[Doc]

Question: How did House Ananto become associated with Red and White Tartan?
Hint: It has nothing to do with Artania
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
August 25, 5692


Her Highness, Princess Regent Nicolette Ananto-Collins in what has become standard Ananto Dress, featuring a Red and White Tartan Pattern

It is said, in fashionable circles that all tartans are plaids, but not all plaids are tartan. While fashion designers know this, as weavers have known it for centuries, the Kalistani Monarchy seems to pay specific attention to it: Many of our monarchs and regents have adopted the tartan as a go-to fashion choice for generations. Specifically the red and white tartan: They will choose this pattern for their dress while it is almost no where else found in Kalistani Fashion. In fact, the symbol of Kalistani Nobility is ordained as the Red and White Tartan plaid in the rules of the Eternal Order of the Grey Smoke, where all Kalistani Knights and Ladies Companion must wear a red and white tartan sash to identify their nationality, while members from other nations may wear sashes with their own national colors in whatever pattern they like.

So we got to wondering: Where did this fascination for the Red and White Tartan plaid come from, how did House Ananto adopt it specifically, and why that and not something more similar to most Kalistani fashion which is either almost exclusively solid colors and floral prints? Its so radically different that it must have been imported at some point from Artania, where tartan is more common--If this is the case, though, what is the Royal Family's connection to a place like Belizua where you might see more tartans signifying family ties or political alliances? How did it get here? What does it mean here? We asked House Ananto to fill us in.

"The Tartan wasn't borrowed from Beluzia or Artania or anything," said House Ananto Director, Dame Allison Ananto-Westmoreland. "I mean, surely the pattern was theirs before anyone in Kalistan heard of it, but at the beginning, I think it was just a fashion choice. Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina I Ananto's Foreign Minister, Dame Jacqueline DuMont, was very fond of wearing plaids as a contrast to the Anantos: You will recall, Empress Pavlina, the Black Empress, wore only black, just solid, black for most of her life, and her daughter, Carolina, though she modernized her wardrobe and started dressing more colorfully, still dressed very conservatively, in solids, very Brethrenist, not attempting to show off in her dress at all. Dame Dumont often wore a red and white tartan pattern to the National Assembly, and she was seen as a very stylish and sharp dresser. And perhaps in imitation of Dame Dumont's style sense, Carolina herself began dabbling in plaids, including a famous tartan coat she wore to Gaduridos when she went to secure the nation for the Empire."

Ananto-Westmoreland said it would be a while thought before red and white tartan would become the go to pattern for Kalistani Royals. "The tartan says sophistication and elegance to the Anantos," said Dame Ananto-Westmoreland. "That's really the only way to explain it. My great grandmother (Carolina I) did eventually begin sporting a red and white tartan suit when she would go to speak to the National Assembly on occasion, but again, this was more an imitation of Dame Dumont's style sense, rather than anything conscientious--Carolina always preferred simple flat colors, embroidered floral patterns and rich but understated fashion."

But Carolina was also a keen politician and formally adopted the pattern later in her reign, by institutionalizing it during her reform of the Chivalric Order known as the Ancient Order of the Gray Smoke. "When people think of Kalistani colors, they tend to think of orange white and wine purple," said Dame Ananto-Westmoreland. "And of course, with imperial colors its that same Purple and white. But the orange, white and burgundy are actually Ananto colors, while the Colors of Kalistan Proper are scarlet and white. The tartan then is a pattern of sophistication and class, and its colors are a tribute to Kalistan Proper. Carolina adopted those colors to symbolize her nationality, to suggest that Ananto and Kalistan are indeed one people, and the Empress in Kaliburg, Ananto, was as Kalistani as any of her subjects living in Kalistan Proper. It was a conscientious political statement on her part, and was institutionalized when the Order of the Gray Smoke was reorganized in 5593."

Princess of the Empire Michelle Ananto-Sandoval wore the Tartan pattern even after leaving the regency, such as to events at the Dulnerstaad National Aquarium

The Princess Regent Michelle Ananto-Sandoval's regency saw the red and white Tartan becoming more than just a chivalric device. "During my great Aunt's regency, the tartan became a staple for women in House Ananto. Michelle wore the Tartan on a regular basis, both as a coat and as a dress. But not only that: Michelle's sister in law, Lady Monica DeLaurentis, who was Mary's mother, also wore plaid, though she preferred midnight blue and white or gold. That pattern was also adopted by Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Jennifer I Ananto as well, as a conscientious reservation of the red and white for Anantos. We also saw Ananto women increasing wearing Red over white solids when they weren't wearing tartan plaids."

Empress Mary I Ananto, now Her Highness, the Princess of the Empire and Dame Ananto-Westmoreland's aunt, solidified the tartan's place in Kalistani Imperial Fashion. "From a very early age, she adopted red and white tartan plaid as a regular fashion," said Dame Ananto-Westmoreland. "Mary was very conscientious about wearing that pattern, even as a kid, as often as she possible could. She frequently wore red and white tartan plaid to official functions (Her first public photo shows her in a red and white tartan plaid dress at her father's funeral), wore it abroad, wore it to meet dignitaries, and of course wore it at Order functions. She made the tartan a symbol in the Empire and put the official imperial stamp on it--Those associated with the royal family frequently wore plaids and tartans, but only the Empress wore the red and white tartan (except in Order functions where all Kalistani Members are required to wear it). To the point where it became so associated with her that non Ananto women in the nation almost stopped wearing red and white tartan plaid all together in deference to the Empress. There is no law limiting its use in society, but when people wear it now, they think of Empress Mary, who wore it as often as she could."

Mary's dresses were made either of wool or cotton, finely woven and very soft and comfortable in all weather. Mary was well known for not wearing synthetic fibers. "By all accounts, Mary loved the finer things in her life," said Dame Ananto-Westmoreland. "Her reign was quite consequential for fashion in Kalistan. It was during her reign that the couture industry really burst into the mainstream. Mary was almost always better dressed in finer clothing, in more glittering gems, in more elaborate and elegant hair than literally everyone around her. She really did so much to encourage fine textile production, and then to show it off, and at the center of all of it was the red and white tartan. Whether she was wearing it as a warm winter dress, or a pretty light summer blouse and skirt, Mary symbolized elegance, class and femininity with her fashion choices. Most of all, by associating the Tartan with the Crown, she also associated the pattern with authority, further separating it from common usage."

Empress Mary I Ananto cemented the association of the red and white Tartan with the Ananto Monarchy

Since Mary's very consequential reign, we have seen the red and white plaid and red and white tartan plaid on Empress Jennifer I Ananto, and now both Her Highness the Princess Regent Nicolette Ananto-Collins and Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Carolina II Ananto, who recently combined the tartan pattern with the red and white combo worn by other powerful women in Kalistan. "We are fairly certain that Her Imperial Majesty, Carolina II Ananto will set her own course in terms of fashion," said Dame Ananto-Westmoreland. "But to be completely honest, I don't anticipate the Red and white tartan pattern going anywhere any time soon. It has become associated with Imperial Authority, and unlike fashion trends that come and go as tastes change, this fashion actually has institutional backing. There is no doubt that Ananto women will continue to use that pattern going into the foreseeable future."

Will men adopt the tartan in their own fashion? "Well, its hard to say," said Dame Ananto-Westmoreland. "Men tend to like to dress more like businessmen or professors. They don't often wear a lot of colors that make a statement. This isn't to say that they never will, but they haven't so far, which suggests that the red and white tartan, which you have to admit looks fabulous on our women, probably will be left to the women. We have seen Ananto men getting a bit more creative with darker plaids, but none have gone full on into bright red and white knit tartan plaids yet. I don't know that they will."

The answer to the question of the strange appearance of red and white tartan in Kalistan therefore appears to have a rather unexpected, but on the other hand completely reasonable answer relating to fashion, authority and a desire to express national unity. The movement has been led and entirely run from the start by a group of powerful, fashion conscious women who conscientiously adopted Kalistani colors in their dress to emphasize connection and Imperium. And as it becomes more institutionalized, it appears to be a fashion, at least among Ananto women which is not going anywhere.

We thank Dame Alison Ananto-Westmoreland, Director of House Ananto, for speaking with us about the roots of the Red and White Tartan plaid in Kalistan.

@LaModa