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  1. #1
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    Tweed Kilt Jacket Colour Timeline

    This topic has come up in a few threads, and I decided to look over the colour images, and texts referring to colours, that I happen to have to hand.

    First, I read online that tweed jackets for outdoor sporting took off in the 1830s and 1840s. This fits with the overall emergence of Victorian Highland Dress.

    By far the largest corpus of colour images of men in this form of dress is The Highlanders Of Scotland. The portraits were painted in the 1860s and are thus capturing Victorian civilian Highland Dress only a generation or two after it evolved.

    Here's a sampling of what would be called Morning Dress in Edwardian times, and Day Dress, Outdoor Dress, or Field Dress by the 1920s.



    Of the men in what appear to be tweed Day jackets, the colours appearing are 11 mid-to-light grey, 4 charcoal grey, 2 brown, and one each black, mid-blue, and navy blue.

    Interesting that green doesn't appear. Also absent are check tweeds, which from photos of around the same period we know to have been not uncommon. (These particular photos are later, but I do have several photos of men in check tweed from the 1860s and 1870s.)



    Now on to the early 20th century when colour books and catalogues become popular.

    On the left is from a 1909 catalogue, centre and right are from the book The Scottish Tartans, published around 1919, however the illustrations clearly show the Highland Dress popular around 1900-1910.

    Interesting that all the tweeds shown are check.



    In an advert from the 1920s judging from the womens' hairstyles we see a lad in brown tweed



    When we come to the 1920s and 1930s colour catalogues abound. Here are the tweeds shown in a couple Paisleys catalogues from the 1930s.



    An Andersons catalogue from the period has no colour illustrations but does mention "Harris Tweed, Homespun, or other suitable tweeds" and states that "blues, Lovats, and browns are largely used." I think it's the earliest mention of Lovat tweed I have to hand.

    My Rowans 1938 catalogue illustrates these tweeds, which it describes as "Scotch tweed" and "houndstooth Harris tweed".

    It also mentions "tweeds and homespuns including those of Harris, Orkney, and Shetland".

    One thing to note is that hose generally match the tweed jacket, something that some of the catalogues specifically recommend.



    Now jumping to the 1950s an R W Forsyth catalogue states that jacket tweeds are "shades usually chosen from fawns, Lovats, blues, and browns to tone with the tartan". Note that "to tone with" doesn't mean "match" as evidenced by a brown jacket being worn with a blue/green based tartan. Note also that the brown jacket isn't "toned with" fawn hose as might be expected.



    And we close out the 1950s with this image in a c1960 catalogue showing traditional Highland Dress continuing as it had been since the 1920s. Who could have known that in 20 years it would be challenged by the Kilt Hire industry and its numerous innovations and muddlings.

    This catalogue (The Tartan Gift Shop, Edinburgh) offers "real Harris tweed in Lovat blue, Lovat green, and fawn".

    Last edited by OC Richard; 7th February 22 at 05:42 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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    My imperfect memory goes back to 1940 and I have many happy memories -----in spite of that unhappy and severely rationed time------of my family and their friends visiting clad in tweed. Often they would be stalking, grouse shooting and fishing. I really don't recall many tweeds in the hues of those shown in your pictures and certainly green tweed would not be a choice of many experienced sportsmen. Why? Green shows up like a sore thumb out on the hill and when wet, looks black which is even worse! I know many estate owners and particularly the game keepers and stalkers who nearly go into melt down if too much green is worn by an unknowing guest.

    I well remember two things about tweed worn in those days. Russet Brown(the sort of shade and type that Glen----"McMurdo"---- wears so effectively) was common place and secondly the distinctive smell of damp tweed. These days the russet brown is rarely(never) seen and the modern tweed does not have the same smell. Yes, it still often has the wet dog, tobacco, gunpowder, gin, port, whisky, fish smells, but that distinctive damp tweed smell is now missing. I seem to recall someone on this website telling me that a certain chemical used in tweed making in the past is not now used in modern tweed making hence the smell is very different.

    As to plain green tweed kilt jackets, they were uncommon all those years ago and in my experience still are. I did see a splendidly cut green herringbone tweed kilt jacket and waistcoat the other day and it looked very effective. Yes greens are within the tweeds of all sorts of patterns and hues , but plain green tweed is unusual, in my experience.

    My own bespoke tweed kilt jacket and waist coat, which must be the best part of 40/50 years old and these days does not fit as well as it might, looks green, but actually has brown hairs lurking within the Harris Tweed. It was made from a length of cloth that had been put aside by my mother(possibly Grand Mother) for some purpose, which failed to come to fruition, so perhaps the cloth itself could be Pre 1940 by some margin.

    My green Harris Tweed tweed, which is fine in my opinion as a kilt jacket but would be a disaster out on the hill.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by Jock Scot; 8th February 22 at 02:00 AM.
    " Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the adherence of idle minds and minor tyrants". Field Marshal Lord Slim.

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  5. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jock Scot View Post
    I well remember two things about tweed worn in those days. Russet Brown(the sort of shade and type that Glen----"McMurdo"---- wears so effectively) was common place and secondly the distinctive smell of damp tweed. These days the russet brown is rarely(never) seen and the modern tweed does not have the same smell. Yes, it still often has the wet dog, tobacco, gunpowder, gin, port, whisky, fish smells, but that distinctive damp tweed smell is now missing. I seem to recall someone on this website telling me that a certain chemical used in tweed making in the past is not now used in modern tweed making hence the smell is very different.
    Jock, I think that that 'chemical' was in fact the continued use of the lichen Dark Crotal, even in commercial Harris Tweed weaving until the 1970s or so. I have a jacket made from cloth dyed, spun and woven by the late, great Marion Campbell; she used crotal and I dare say if I dropped by wearing it, that you would be taken back to a different time.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by figheadair View Post
    Jock, I think that that 'chemical' was in fact the continued use of the lichen Dark Crotal, even in commercial Harris Tweed weaving until the 1970s or so. I have a jacket made from cloth dyed, spun and woven by the late, great Marion Campbell; she used crotal and I dare say if I dropped by wearing it, that you would be taken back to a different time.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Ah yes! I think that was what it was called and now that you mention it, I seem to recall it was a "lichen" Thank you Peter.

    Nice jacket by the way.
    Last edited by Jock Scot; 7th February 22 at 11:50 AM.
    " Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the adherence of idle minds and minor tyrants". Field Marshal Lord Slim.

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