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  1. #1
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    FIDM Museum c1900 Highland outfit

    Here in Greater Los Angeles we have the wonderful Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing, or FIDM.

    Its museum is most famous for having an exhibit each year of the costumes of all the films which received Academy Award Nominations for Best Costume. It's an amazing thing to see the costumes up close!

    They have numerous items of vintage and historical clothing including this Highland outfit, purchased from Scotch House, London, sometime shortly after 1900.

    https://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/scotch-house/

    It's really cool as it shows the sort of all-tweed outfit so often seen in vintage photos.

    I would quibble with the shirt and tie, which look too modern to me, and also with the sporran, which I would think probably dates to around 1920-1930.

    Striped hose are often seen in Victorian photos of men in Highland Dress.

    Of course the kilt is shown worn far too low.

    Here's a crop of the photo.



    On closer inspection the sporran is definitely later. The cantle is a quite common pattern AFAIK sold in the 1930s and 1940s, cast in solid German Silver, the ones I've seen somewhat crudely executed. They made crossbelt buckles, waistbelt buckles, and cantles in that pattern.

    I can't find a photo of that sporran cantle at the moment, I know I have (or had) one.

    But here's the matching crossbelt hardware. That cantle is usually seen on long horsehair sporrans, for Pipe Band use.

    Last edited by OC Richard; 7th May 19 at 06:14 AM.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

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  3. #2
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    27th October 09
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    I would also question the jacket. They say the label pins it down to the date range of 1900-1915, which may be true, but the close-up photos show what look like (to me) modern buttons in brand-spanking-new condition. Those don't appear at all correct for that jacket. So at the very least, I think it has had its original buttons replaced. It is a lovely tweed, though.

    Interesting to see the lower civilian style spats, virtually identical to mine, with it. But the hose ! Thank heavens that particular style didn't carry through to modern tradition.

  4. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by OC Richard View Post
    Here in Greater Los Angeles we have the wonderful Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing, or FIDM.

    Its museum is most famous for having an exhibit each year of the costumes of all the films which received Academy Award Nominations for Best Costume. It's an amazing thing to see the costumes up close!

    They have numerous items of vintage and historical clothing including this Highland outfit, purchased from Scotch House, London, sometime shortly after 1900.

    https://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/scotch-house/

    It's really cool as it shows the sort of all-tweed outfit so often seen in vintage photos.

    I would quibble with the shirt and tie, which look too modern to me, and also with the sporran, which I would think probably dates to around 1920-1930.

    Striped hose are often seen in Victorian photos of men in Highland Dress.

    Of course the kilt is shown worn far too low.
    I would argue with the Text saying Englands railways expanded north of the border, It was the North British Railway, the Caledonian Railway, and the Border Union Railway.. they connected already established railways in central Scotland to the lines in England...
    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"
    Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill

  5. #4
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    I'm with Toby on the buttons being too new. They look plastic, where I'm sure antler (even wood) would have been original. I like the heather sprig but wonder where the rest of the watch chain has gone. A railroad watch chain would be a single length maybe.

    Thanks for sharing.

  6. #5
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    It is possible that the buttons were made of pressed or molded horn, which can look very similar to plastic.


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  8. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Scott View Post
    It is possible that the buttons were made of pressed or molded horn, which can look very similar to plastic.
    I did not think of that process. I now remember (from your prompting) figurines made of shredded horn or black Walnut hulls or coconut fibers that were popular during the 1990's. Thanks for triggering my memory.

  9. #7
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    I was looking through old photos looking for some "comps"







    Last edited by OC Richard; 7th May 19 at 05:33 PM.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

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  11. #8
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    It looks newer than 1900 to my eye, the cut, the tweed & the finishings all look mid 20th century to me. Compare it to my recent find.







    Last edited by McMurdo; 18th May 19 at 05:33 PM.

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  13. #9
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    Just a hypothesis, but is it possible that a London tailor made the jacket from a highland pattern? Learning their trade down south they may have used different techniques or just different emphases than their Scottish counterparts, this may explain the differences.

  14. #10
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    12th June 17
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    Quote Originally Posted by OC Richard View Post
    Here in Greater Los Angeles we have the wonderful Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing, or FIDM.

    Its museum is most famous for having an exhibit each year of the costumes of all the films which received Academy Award Nominations for Best Costume. It's an amazing thing to see the costumes up close!

    They have numerous items of vintage and historical clothing including this Highland outfit, purchased from Scotch House, London, sometime shortly after 1900.
    FIDM Museum is absolutely amazing and their exhibits are always worth stopping in for - was in LA in early March and got to see the Academy Award nominees for costuming and costuming design. AMAZING.

    Have not worked through their catalog on line. So great to see this and the discussion.

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