Historical Style Kilts

At Renaissance Faires and meetings of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) you will probably see dozens of kilts that people hope will represent the style of kilt worn during the medieval ages.
You will hear terms like The Belted Plaid, The Great Kilt, and Gaelic sounding phrases like feilidh-mohr and breacan-feile,
These terms refer to a style of kilt that is essentially a large rectangular piece of fabric that is hand pleated each time it is put on. It is believed that this “Great Kilt” was an all-purpose garment that served to keep the wearer warm and dry in the highlands of Scotland and also served as his hunting camouflage during the day and his sleeping bag at night. But there is so much debate on the age of the kilt, the method of wearing it, and the details of how they were made that heated arguments commonly break out among those who wear them.
The truth is no one knows for sure when the kilt was developed.
Every human culture has some form of male clothing that does not have legs sewn in so it can be assumed that the Great Kilt was one of these early garments.
There is evidence that the Scots used a length of fabric right off the looms, without cutting or tailoring, and wrapped it around themselves in a way that was useful to their needs and practical to their lifestyle. This evidence seems to show that the rectangle of cloth was gathered in loose folds or pleats then belted around the waist. In cold weather the folds may have been allowed to hang low, around the ankles, and in warm weather hiked up to the thighs. The ends of the cloth may have been rolled and tucked into the waist forming large pockets in the rear to hold game or supplies and the remainder may have been pinned at the shoulder to form a rudimentary cape. In the rain the pin at the shoulder could be unfastened and the cloth brought over the head to keep the wearer dry. At night, the length of cloth would be unfastened, unbelted, and shook out so that the wearer could roll up in it as a blanket.
This type of garment makes sense for the lifestyle of the wild tribes of the highlands and given the lack of the ability to sew and tailor clothing as we know it today.
Now take another step in history and the wild tribes are settling into villages and what were roaming hunters began to need a garment that was less cumbersome than 4 to 8 square yards of fabric wrapped around their bodies. At some time around the late 16th century or early 17th century some smart highlander may have cut his great kilt in half and only worn the bottom, pleated section. He may have also been able to add some stitching to the pleats so that they would stay in place and not need to be arranged each time. Another development may also have been a drawstring or straps to replace the waistbelt.
By the middle of the 1700’s this Phillabeg or little wrap was in common use and we have numerous illustrations showing highlanders wearing it.
There is a kilt in the Scottish Tartans Museum, Franklin NC dated 1792. This seems to be the oldest known true kilt. It has the pleats sewn down in the Fell and has just a few wide box pleats. The illustrations of this period show Box Pleats, Knife Pleats, pleats that go clockwise, counter clockwise and in both directions at once. They also show that when pleating the kilt the pattern of the Tartan was not paid much attention to.
It must be remembered that the kilt in the 1700’s was a practical and comfortable garment for the highlanders. In the lowlands and in England the average person was wearing clothing with legs in them which better suited their lifestyle. Historically it has always been the practicality and comfort that have been the reasons for wearing the kilt. Whether worn in the fields or for dress in the cities it has always been up to the wearer how he wore his kilt. I am not surprised or worried that some illustrations of kilts show highly inventive and different ways to wear the kilt. The kilt is a very personal garment and men have always liked being peacocks in their methods of dress. Anything new, more colourful, and different have been worn by men throughout the ages and the kilt is no exception. There is no “correct” or “right” kilt. It doesn’t matter if you choose to wear a Historical Style Kilt, a Traditional Style, or one of the more recent developments, the important thing is that you wear it.
In recent years some scholars, historians, and kiltmakers have honestly attempted to resurrect authentic Historical Style Kilts. Using museum artefacts, historical documents and solid research Matt Newsome who is Curator of The Scottish Tartans Museum has started to produce a 4 yard box pleated kilt that is probably the most documented Historical Style Kilt.