Highland Dress

[drjones]

another factoid

I am adding the factoid about best men to my looooong list of knowledge. Thanks. VERY interesting. I had not heard that one.

DRJONES

 

[Edward]

I've seen paintings/drawings of highlanders in full dress being heavily armed even at formal occasions (weddings): a couple of pistols, (baskethilt) sword, dirk, and sgian dubh (which, you can only assume is being carried). Normally, the best man at the wedding would be so (heavily) armed, because it was his duty to protect the groom while marrying and fend off all other would-be suitors.

That makes sense to me. Bearing in mind that the marriage of affection is largely a twentieth century innovation... back when marriage was more about political allegiance between families / clans / territories, there no doubt would have been those from rival factions only too keen to get rid of the groom and marry the lady to claim the various allegiances and benefits for themselves. The very concept of the best man has its roots in this situation: if anything did happen to the groom, the best man, being from the same clan / family / etc was there to step in and marry the lady himself, thus ensuring that the political allegiances the wedding was designed to bring about went ahead. I believe that bridesmaids were also originally intended to serve such a purpose on the bride's side.

 

[Beowulf67]

Hi, Panache

Looking good as always. But where is your better half?
I can understand not posting her pics because then you would get the usual "There's a guy in a kilt in that picutre?" response.

 

[Panache]

Hi, Panache

Looking good as always. But where is your better half?
I can understand not posting her pics because then you would get the usual "There's a guy in a kilt in that picutre?" response.

Well Edward was looking for some examples of Highland Dress, I didn't want to make it difficult for people to concentrate on my attire. lol

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Panache]

My take (and a lot of others) on the sgian dubh is that was a small utility knife (unlike the fighting dirk). I have (and have made) sgian dubhs with sharp edges but most often prefer to wear a knife handled bottle opener. At most social functions I have found such to be far more useful

Here are a couple of more pictures if anyone was interested:


Kilts originally were solid colored, tartans came afterwards. Solid color kilts are still a fine fashion option.

Solid Green

Solid Black

Many places sell "Jacobite" or "Highlander" shirts and accessories. Keep in mind that while dashing, this sort of attire is more costume than anything else and best suited for Highland Games or other Celtic events instead of everyday dress:

“Jacobite” Look (Tartan: weathered Lamont variant)

Compare this to regular daywear (Tartan: Royal Stewart)

Another formal one that seemed very appropriate for the Fedora Lounge

"Cocktails anyone?" (Tartan: Galbraith Ancient)

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Edward]

Jamie, you've got quite a selection of kilts there! Are any of the tartan ones a family thing, or just designs you liked? I like the solid ones too, myself. They are, as you say, more historically accurate, and make for a nice alternative too. The main difference I imagine is that the uninitiated are much more likely to mistake your kilt for a skirt.... lol .... but given some of the things I've gone out in, I doubt I'd be much bothered by that.

 

[Panache]

Jamie, you've got quite a selection of kilts there! Are any of the tartan ones a family thing, or just designs you liked? I like the solid ones too, myself.

Edward,

I edited my posts and included the tartan names. One can wear virtually pretty much any tartan (save the Balmoral tartan which is reserved for the Royal Family). There are clan tartans,national tartans, district tartans, fashion tartans, military tartans, corporate tartans, even internet forum tartans! It is generally accepted that if you wear a clan tartan you should perhaps know a little about the clan. "Universal tartans" are meant to worn by anyone.

I list some of the tartans above as "variants" because tartans are listed with the Scottish tartans authority. The thread count of the different colors determines the tartan. The Mcleod and Lamont tartans I am wearing are slightly different than the true clan tartans. For example in the the Mcleod tartan the black boxes should all be the exact same size. Note that the count is more of a proportion recipe than an exact count. This way one can make the tartan pattern bigger or smaller as needed, but the proportions are always the same.

To make things more complicated there are Modern, Ancient, and Weathered colors offered for most tartans (basically these variations are simply bright vs. muted colors and a way for the tartan mills to offer a selection)

The tartans that mean the most to be are the Galbraith, Mcleod, and XMTS. I am a Galbraith by blood so I wear the Galbraith ancient tartan to honor my maternal family line. I married a Nicol, which is a sept (subclan) of clan Mcleod so I wear the Mcleod tartan to honor my wife and her family. I am a staff member of a Kilt forum and show my pride in that place by wearing the XMTS tartan that was designed for our site.

Ultimately you should wear the tartan you like best and has the most meaning to you.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[kiltie]

Everyone else is doing it...

...and since they are, I figured I'd put up some pics of my kit:

Christmas - 'case you couldn't sort that out yourself

St. Paddy's Day Parade in full kit. NO, she doesn't play the bagpipes.

 

[kiltie]

t crown

I'm MagGregor, too ( spelt "Mc" ) extracted from generally the same region in the U.S.

 

[kiltie]

I just noticed...

The kinda VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED look of the first pic. CREEEEEEEEPY!!! If no one wants to talk to me anymore, I understand .

 

[Abyss]

Excellent kilts which you have!

I have a question to throw at you knowledgeable folks, spurred on by the revelation of solid color kilts... what do you think of modern kilts such as the Utilikilt?

 

[kiltie]

uhhhhh...

I hate to come right out and say it, but it is, after all, just an opinion ( stated as fact, as all valid opinions should be ) :

The Utilikilt sucks dirty rat butts! I cannot for the life of me figure out why...Just why?

If I've offended anyone's sensibilities, well, I can't say I'm sorry, but it doesn't mean we can't be friends. Okay, yes it does. But really, buy some shorts. If it takes you a hundred years to save up for a nice real kilt, do that instead.

Had they access to such a forum, these are probably the same words that would have been posted by real "great kilt" wearers when the kilt was Anglicized(sp?) to the now common "little kilt" by the Army.[huh]

Deeeeeep breath...

 

[Panache]

Excellent kilts which you have!

I have a question to throw at you knowledgeable folks, spurred on by the revelation of solid color kilts... what do you think of modern kilts such as the Utilikilt?

I have a Utilikilt and two other modern boxpleat kilts (using the X kilt pattern).

They have their place, they are comfortable, sometimes practical, and can be worn with flair.

But they don't have the ...panache of traditional highland dress

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I have a Utilikilt and two other modern boxpleat kilts (using the X kilt pattern).

They have their place, they are comfortable, sometimes practical, and can be worn with flair.

But they don't have the ...panache of traditional highland dress

Cheers

Jamie

I have two kilts, but they're both the traditional knife pleat. One is pleated to the sett, the other to the stripe. But I've not seen a kilt in a box pleat...and what is the "X kilt pattern"?). Sounds interesting.

The singer Alex Beaton wears a "saltire kilt" that creates the Scottish saltire (white cross on a blue background) on the back, but for the life of me I can't figure out how that is woven...

 

[Edward]

I have a question to throw at you knowledgeable folks, spurred on by the revelation of solid color kilts... what do you think of modern kilts such as the Utilikilt?

There's a Scottish academic I know who wears a kilt four days a week, on average, and he has one or two of these. The quality is certainly there, and if you don't want to bother with a sporran, then I'm sure those side pockets are very handy. It wouldn't be my choice personally.... to me they veer away from the traditional kilt look and more towards the sorts of "male skirt" garments that were popular in some fringes of the British goth scene in the early 80s. Not really the look I'd be going for with highland dress, but certainly practical if you wanted to wear a kilt as a regular repalcement for trousers as opposed to an occasional dresswear item. If I were to go for something other than a tartan, I'd be tempted to head more towards a traditional kilt cut, just in a solid colour with a simpler, leather sporran. I like the look of the plain black one - I'm sure that's a sharp looking item with full evening wear.

Edward,

I edited my posts and included the tartan names. One can wear virtually pretty much any tartan (save the Balmoral tartan which is reserved for the Royal Family). There are clan tartans,national tartans, district tartans, fashion tartans, military tartans, corporate tartans, even internet forum tartans! It is generally accepted that if you wear a clan tartan you should perhaps know a little about the clan. "Universal tartans" are meant to worn by anyone.

Aye, it amuses me how many different ones there are. There's even a Presley tartan, created a few years ago when Elvis Scots roots (a cople of hundred years prior to his birth) were first made public.

To make things more complicated there are Modern, Ancient, and Weathered colors offered for most tartans (basically these variations are simply bright vs. muted colors and a way for the tartan mills to offer a selection)

Yeah, I've seen a lot of these variations. As said above, it seems to me that the historical accuracy of some of these is rather spurious, though taken purely as garments, a lot of them are great looking in their own right. I've not really seen a weathered I particularly cared for - they look a bit 'worn out' to me, but then it's all personal taste on the aesthetics.

Ultimately you should wear the tartan you like best and has the most meaning to you.

Absolutely... my mother was a Blair, and the Blair line in Ireland goes directly back to Scotland. I believe them to have been the Ayrshire Blairs. Although technically lowlanders, I have been told they were allied to the Stewart of Atholl Clan (still trying to substantiate this historically) which would have meant they served in the Atholl Regiments at Culloden, fighting on the side of the Jacobites. That being the case, they have adopted the Highland "uniform" of the kilt, as opposed to the trousers more common in the lowlands. I would intend to start off with a Blair Modern kilt. In future, possibly a Blair Ancient for variation (the lighter colours give it a brighter look which I think could work well for evening wear), maybe, if the Clan affiliation could be substantiated, a Stewart of Atholl. We'll see..... I'd like to sort myself out with a decent quality kilt, and I know they cost. Rather one good one than half a dozen of those low-quality 'dress kilts' I see in many formal hire shops.

 

[Nick D]

Great pics, Jamie! Where'd you get the jacket and the Inverness cape?

Edward, I've been watching eBay UK, and there's a fair bit of highland wear on there of good quality (one seller just had a run of original 1940s Argyll jackets). Of course, it's always a bit of a gamble, but it may be worth a look.

This has been posted here before, but here it is again, in a Scottish context. Formal (tartan is Ancient MacBeth):

Very informal, hiking Tahquamenon Falls, MI (tartan Hunting McLeod):

I have a couple Utilikilts, I'm especially fond of the Workman's kilt. I wear them in situations I'm not going to wear a kilt that cost hundreds of dollars (smithing, mowing the lawn, brushwork, painting, my UK's been through the mill), and I'll never wear shorts outside of a Boy Scout uniform.

 

[Edward]

That's a good look, Nick! Not often you see the frilly shirt (gah, I'm blanking on the proper name). That's the Highland equivalent of white tie, though it seems nowadays to have been mostly replaced by the black tie with Prince Charlie jacket, even on white tie occasions, I gather.

Thinking about it, a good heavy drill cotton traditional cut kilt would be a great (and cheap, presumably) alternative. As you say, if one was going to wear a kilt regularly, there's times when an expensive kilt would not be the one you'd want to be out in. I guess it's like the chocie between jeans and expensive suit trousers!

BTW.... you ever had issues carrying the dirk, or is it just accepted as part of the formal outfit? I'm presuming in Scotland it wouldn't be an issue, but down here among the Sassenachs where they're not so familiar with these things....

 

[Panache]

Box pleats and the X Kilt

I have two kilts, but they're both the traditional knife pleat. One is pleated to the sett, the other to the stripe. But I've not seen a kilt in a box pleat...and what is the "X kilt pattern"?). Sounds interesting.

The 4 yard box pleat kilt is actually the predecessor to the modern 8 yard knife pleated kilt.

Here is a link to A gallery of pictures showing box pleat kilts

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/show_us_your_box_pleated-t25030/index.html?t=25030

Here is a link to an article about them by Matt Newsome, currator of the Scottish Tartans museum

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/whats_difference_between_4_yd-t29086/index.html?t=29086

The "X Kilt" is a free pattern created by my good friend Alan. It is a pattern for a modern/contemporary kilt like the Utilikilt

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/x_kilt_sew_your_own-t20085/index.html?t=20085

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Panache]

I have asked the moderators here if was alright to post a few links to some kilt forums. Again, I urge anyone looking into taking the plunge into kilts to do your homework first to avoid costly mistakes.

Those looking for more information about kilts and highland dress will likely find these helpful:

www.xmarksthescot.com

I am a moderator on this forum and its focus is traditional and modern kilts as well as Scottish and Celtic related activities. There are lots of reviews, advice, links to kiltmakers and sellers of highland dress, and lots of DIY project information. It is a family friendly forum and the rules there and expected conduct of the ladies and gentlemen of our membership mirror that of the Fedora Lounge.

In addition I am member of these two forums

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scotattire/

This a yahoo group dedicated to traditional highland dress only.

http://kiltforum.yuku.com/

This is a European Kilt Forum. Reviews of kiltmakers and highland apparel vendors will be more relevant to those on the other side of the pond.

On all of them I can be found as Panache (or Highland Panache)

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Joan]

Utilikilts

They have their place, they are comfortable, sometimes practical, and can be worn with flair.

You all look very snazzy in your Highland dress, gentlemen. :eusa_clap

I know some guys who wear Utilikilts. It's nothing to do with heritage for them; they're not wearing kilts, really, they're wearing nonbifurcated garments. One of these guys prefers them as daily wear (with a fedora), but some like to wear them for sporting activities (e.g., hiking). The garment has pockets because it's not really a kilt, it's an alternative to trousers. Don't think of these garments as kilts; think of them as khakis or jeans in a different shape.

We now return you to your discussion of proper Highland dress already in progress.