This White House Piper is dressed in a traditional Scottish kilt in the official tartan of the White House Historical Association. The tartan design is a tribute to the Scottish stonemasons who traveled to Washington in 1794 to embellish the sandstone selected by George Washington for the White House. Thirty-four American presidents, from James Monroe to Donald Trump, have claimed Scottish heritage.
The five colors woven into the Association’s tartan represent the most fundamental colors associated with the architectural fabric of the White House itself. Three colors represent the iconic formal parlors on the State Floor: the Red Room, Green Room, and Blue Room. The gray represents the Aquia sandstone and the artistry of the Scots stonemasons. The white represents the white exterior of the White House, first whitewashed by the stonemasons to protect the porous sandstone, and later painted white, inspiring the name by which the house is known today.