Bermuda has a small but colourful place in the world of tartan, with three island-inspired designs listed on Scotland’s official tartan register.
The designs were connected to local retailers including Trimmingham Bros Ltd, H.A. & E. Smith, and the English Sports Shop, with the colours said to represent elements of Bermuda including the sea, sky, coral, cedar trees, white rooftops and reef structures.
The earliest of the three, Bermuda Plaid, dates back to 1962. According to the register, it was designed by Peter Macarthur Limited of Hamilton, Scotland, and marketed on the island by the Trimmingham Bros Ltd. The colours were said to represent “the sky, the sea, the coral and the cedar trees which grow on the island.”
Bermuda Plaid | 1962
A second design, Bermuda Blue, followed in 1965. The register states that it was developed by Peter Hamilton from the design of N.H.P. Vesey Jr., President of H.A. & E. Smith of Bermuda. Its colours were listed as light blue for the sky, dark blue for the sea, red for coral and green for Bermuda’s cedar trees.
Bermuda Blue | 1965
The third, simply named Bermuda, was registered in 1986. It was marketed by Ingles Buchan Textiles and made for the English Sports Shop in Bermuda. The register states that the tartan was sold at the Hamilton shop with an explanation of the colours: blue for Bermuda’s waters, green for cedar, white for the island’s rooftops and coral for the reef structures.
Bermuda | 1986
