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Highland Dress
for Men
The Belted Plaid
As late as the middle of the 16th
century, the commonest dress for men in the Highlands was said to be the
leine - a volumnous saffron shirt comprising more than 20 metres of
material. That was gradually replaced by the belted plaid - in
Gaelic it was the Féileadh mór (pronounced feela more) - the big kilt.
This was a long rectangle of tartan measuring about 1.35m wide by about 5.5m.
long. It was really two very narrow strips sewn together because the Highland
loom only made cloth up to 70cm wide.
Traditionally, the story has
been that to wear it, a Highlander would lay his broad leather belt on the
ground and then lay the plaid on top of it. He would pleat or bunch the lower
end of it and lie down so that the edge reached between the middle of his thighs
and his knees.Then he would pull the flat bits of the plaid around his waist
forming a kind of skirt and fasten the belt. When he stood up, the bottom
part of the plaid would look almost like today's kilt and the spare material
would hang from his waist down to the ground.
Then he would gather up
the spare material, bunch it around his waist and hang the spare end over his
shoulder. To keep it in place he would fix it to.GIF) his shirt or jacket with a
large silver bodkin ( a kind of pin) or a round brooch often decorated with
precious stones.
This method of donning the great kilt would be all very well given sufficient
space and time. However, frequently he would have neither and it's fairly
certain that he would have had some belt loops sewn into the inside of this
great plaid so that he could put it on a hurry when the Redcoats were hammering
down the front door of his croft or Black house. See Jamie Scarlett's
article on the The Belted Plaid
.
Regardless of how he got it on, the Highlander would find his belted
plaid was very comfortable to wear and very practical since it could be pulled
up over the head in bad weather and used as a cape. It was also very valuable
when he was travelling and had to sleep in the open air at night. He
would take off the plaid, lay it on the ground and wrap it around
himself or just curl up in it as in the illustration so that it acted as a
mattress and a duvet.
It was reported that in very bad weather - high winds, frost or snow - the
Highlander would dip his plaid in water and then lie down in it. We're told that
wetting it like that made the wool swell so that the plaid would give better
protection against the wind and cold air. Wrapped up like this with his head
under the blanket, the Highlander's breath would then create a warm and moist
atmosphere around him which would keep him cosy during the night! As you can
imagine, if the poorer Highlanders worked and slept in their plaids they must
have been pretty smelly as reported in 1726 in a letter from Captain Burt, an
English engineer. " . . . the plaid serves the ordinary people for a cloak
by day and bedding at night . . . it imbibes so much perspiration that no one
day can free it from the filthy smell . . ."
For the modern remnants of the Belted Plaid see Long Plaid
and Small Plaid at the end of this article.
Highlanders were out in all sorts of weather, bare legged and frequently
bare-footed and one of the names given to them was Redshankes -
shanks is an old word for legs and the red legs were caused by exposure
to the winds, rains and snows of the Highlands. In 1543 a Highland priest called
John Elder wrote a fairly detailed letter on the subject to Henry VIII.
In 1688 the Governor of the Isle of Man wrote a description of Highlanders:
"Their thighs are bare, with brawny muscles . . . a thin brogue on the foot,
a short buskin of various colours on the legg, tied above the calf with a
striped pair of garters. What should be concealed is hid with a large
shot-pouch, on each side of which hangs a pistol and a dagger. A round target on
their backs, a blew bonnet on their heads, and in one hand a broad sword and a
musquet in the other."
The Small Kilt
The beginnings of the small kilt - the one
which is worn in modern times - has caused lots of arguments over the years.
There are many people who like to think that something so Scottish has to be
really ancient but it is generally agreed that the little kilt
(Feileadh-beag - pr: feela beg ) is really quite modern having first
become popular about 270 years ago.
One of the commonest tales is that it came about in the 1730s at
an ironworks at Glengarry in Argyll. The manager there was an Englishman called
Thomas Rawlinson who wore the kilt himself and noticed the
inconvenience of being unable to remove the top half when it became soaking wet
with rain, without having to take the bottom part off as well. So he separated
the top half and got a tailor to sew the pleats permanently into the bottom
half. The Chief of Glengarry - Iain MacDonell - saw this, thought it a
great idea and copied it.
There are of course other explanations and the truth of the matter probably
is that the small kilt developed in various places over a period of years but
no-one thought to document its evolution - apart from in the case of Thomas
Rawlinson. The objections that many Scottish historians have
made - vehement at times - usually seem to revolve around
the fact that it was an Englishman (Shock . . . Horror!!!) who
seems to have been credited with it - a regrettable example of jingoism
trying to overturn history perhaps!
Trews
For many hundreds of years, the better-off in
Scottish society wore trews (triubhas pronounced troovash). These were very
tight trousers - a bit like thick ladies' tights - usually worn when horse
riding or in the winter when kilts were a bit draughty. Some ordinary
Highlanders also wore trews according to observers at that time.
In 1637 it was reported that "In the sharp winter weather the Highland men
wear close trowzes which cover the thighs, legs and feet. To fence their feet
they put on rullions or tan leather shoes."
(close - tight, fence - protect,
tan - undressed hide)
  The Sporran
Since Highlanders didn't have any pockets in their kilt they needed
something to carry their bits and pieces in - including the lead shot for their
muskets - and the earliest sporran was a plain draw-string bag of cloth or thin
leather that was hung around the waist. More affluent Highlanders decorated
their sporrans with a silver top and tassels.
As time went on the sporrans became even fancier and by the late 1800s the
sporan molach or hair sporran appeared — made of animal skins such as otter,
badger, goat and seal. In Victorian times the sporrans got so huge and fancy
that they almost covered the front of the kilt.
Hose
Most Highlanders went around in bare feet but when
they started wearing stockings, they were made of cloth and not knitted like
modern ones. The pattern was usually a red and white check which was called cath
dath (pr: kaa dah) - war pattern. There was no elastic in those days and to keep
the socks up the Highlander originally would tie some plaited hay or straw
around the top. As time passed garters were woven on a special small loom and
got a lot fancier. They were about a metre long and ended in a special knot
called the Sniomh Gartain (pr: snaime garshtan) This knot was said to be a bit
like that on a tie. Even with the fancy garters those old diced hose were pretty
shapeless and fell down frequently if you didn't have a good sized calf muscle
and they were eventually replaced by knitted stockings which clung to the legs
much better.
Footwear
As you read above, shoes were not worn very
often by the poorer Highlander but when they were, they were pretty rough! The
Highlander would wrap a piece of deer skin or cowhide around each foot and hold
it on with strips of narrow leather called thonging. . You would think that
shoes were supposed to keep the feet dry, but the Highlander's shoes were not
waterproof - especially when they went tramping through burns and rivers so they
cut holes in them to let the water out! These simple deerskin shoes or brogan
(pr: brogan ) are the forerunners of today's brogues where the decoration is an
outer layer of leather in which holes have been punched.
It has been suggested - fancifully perhaps - that the word moccasin possibly
had its roots in Scotland. The word comes from the American Indian mockasin
which the Indians may have got from early Scottish settlers speaking in Gaelic
and refering to their shoes as mo chasan (my footwear).
Captain Burt whom we read of a little bit earlier, had something to say about
the Highlander's shoes: "They are often barefoot, but some I have seen shod with
a kind of pumps made out of a raw cow hide with the hair turned outward. They
are not only offensive to the sight, but intolerable to the smell of those who
are near them. By the way, they cut holes in their brogues though new made, to
let out the water when they have far to go, and rivers to pass; thus they do to
prevent their feet from galling." (becoming sore).
To read another interesting letter about shoes written to Henry VIII in 1543,
read Reddshanks.
Belts
A Highlander's leather belt was usually made of
cowhide and was 80 to 100 mms wide with a brass or silver buckle. If a
Highlander was on a long trip and was short of food, he would tighten his belt
which made his stomach feel less empty. Some belts were reported as being highly
decorated with silver ornaments intermixed with the leather like a chain. The
better-off had even more ornate belts and sometimes the end that went through
the buckle would be metal or silver that was highly engraved and decorated with
fine stones or pieces of red corral.
Hats
Many writings mention the Highlanders' bonnet -
Boineid (pr: bonaje) which came to be called the Tam o' Shanter. This was
knitted or made of cloth and was worn tight around the brow and very loose on
top with a toorie for decoration - a bobble or pompom. Bonnets were mostly blue
but were also made in brown and grey. In time it became smaller and was known as
the Balmoral - boinead biorach (pr: bonaje beerach) which sometimes had a diced
band (checked like a chess or draughts board) and the toorie on top. The ribbons
at the back were for adjusting the headband so that it fitted all head sizes.
Tradition has it that in the army, Lowlanders (those Scots who live south of the
Highlands) let the ribbons hang free whilst Highlanders would tie them in a bow.
Over the years, some wearers of the Balmoral wore it puffed up on the head
and then creased it down the middle. This produced a new style of hat called the
Glengarry. By late Victorian times almost all the British Army wore this type of
hat when they were in their working uniforms. The 'tradition' that the number of
eagle feathers worn in a hat showed a man's standing in his clan is a Victorian
invention probably copied from the American Indians.
For another detailed description of the Highlanders by the English Captain
Burt - one of Marshal Wade's road building engineers in the 1720s - read Captain
Burt.
Jewellery
Highlanders were said to be suspicious of
money and preferred to carry what wealth they had in the form of jewellery and
embellishments to their weapons. Solid silver buttons were one of their
favourites and these would often be passed down from father to son. If the
Highlander died away from home, it was important to him that he had enough
valuables with him that would pay for a good funeral and a headstone.
Long Plaid
This is a full length plaid which consists of
approximately three and a half yards of 54inch wide tartan (3.2 metres x
137cms) with the ends fringed. In Scotland this plaid is worn almost exclusively
by pipers in Pipe Bands, either civilian or Regimental. It is very rarely worn
by the individual as it is rather clumsy to wear.
Its origin in history was
that the long plaid was the upper part of the kilt or feile mor which was used
to cover the head and shoulders in bad weather. When not in use it was wrapped
around the body of gathered on either shoulder at the back to prevent impeding
the movements of the arms as much as possible.
Small Plaid
This is a small plaid which is made from
approximately 2 yards of 54 inch material (1.8 metres x 137 cms) which is
fringed all round and has a corner piece to allow it to be fastened at the left
shoulder. This is a modified form of plaid which was designed to take the place
of the long plaid when used for evening wear. You can imagine that a person
would have great difficulty in enjoying an evening's dancing at a Highland Ball
with a long plaid wrapped around the body. Another obvious example of its use is
once again referring to Pipe Bands, where you find the drummers having the
belted plaid as against the pipers wearing the long plaid. The drummers require
plenty of freedom for their arms and a long plaid would impede that. Plaids are
quite independent of the kilt these days.
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