How to put on an ANCIENT kilt with Cheat Pleats and strap.

[Robert MacNaughten]

I have tried getting advice on this topic before. Although previous help is appreciated, it didn't help much.

Perhaps I should have explained the issue better:

I recently purchased an ANCIENT kilt (not a Great Kilt) from the Celtic Croft. It has 'Cheat Pleats', so pleating is not required, and it has a strap and buckle, so I dont need a belt. It is absolutely gorgeous and it cost me almost $400. The problem: I have absolutely no clue on how to properly put the plaid on. I can get the kilt itself on, but the plaid part just doesn't work out. I have tried several times and end up looking ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions on how to put it on, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

I should also mention that there was a long piece of fabric included with my kilt. Is this necessary to put it on?

[Highlander31]

A photo of you wearing the kilt would make it easier to determine what is out of place. If I understand Celtic Croft's description of how it is to be worn, the extra piece is designed to fit over the shoulder similar to the Great Kilt. I would think you will need a brooch to secure it to the shoulder. That is the best I can do without seeing the kilt on you.

[Jack Daw]

Not knowing what an 'ancient' kilt is in contrast to the great kilt, I cannot advise. Do you have pics?

[Tony]

Not knowing what an 'ancient' kilt is in contrast to the great kilt, I cannot advise. Do you have pics?

Try here
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/Kilts/ancient_kilts.html

[Mael Coluim]

Hmm. Contact the good folks at Celtic Croft?

[Robert MacNaughten]

Hmm. Contact the good folks at Celtic Croft?

I have contacted them. They haven't replied yet. I'm a little upset about it. It is such a lovely kilt, much better than my other two.

[Bugbear]

My friends had a wedding a few years back where most of the men were wearing small wrapps and a piece of same-tartan fabric over the sholder that sounds a bit like this.

I think they folded pleats into the shoulder fabric at the shoulder and tucked the ends under the belt and kilt. The back of this shoulder plaid was spread out from the pleating so that it wrapped around the sides a bit like a cape tucked into the back of the kilt and only over one shoulder.

This was all costume, though. I didn't wear one because I was dressed in a leine-like tunic as a hermit.

[ChattanCat]

Here are the directions from celtic croft

[Robert MacNaughten]

Here are the directions from celtic croft

Thank you so much

You are my hero for this

And thank you to everyone else for your help and your kindness.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I get frustrated every time I see these so-called "Ancient Kilts" mentioned. The name suggests they are some form of historical dress, but really, they are pure fantasy. There is no evidence that any historic Scottish highlander ever wore a kilt like this. In fact, the first time I saw something like this worn, I was sitting in a movie theater watching Mel Gibson kick some English ****.... and we all know how historically accurate that movie was.

Celtic Croft kinda-sorta admits to this on their site, when they say, "Depending on who you talk to, they may be historically accurate or not," but even this gives the false impression that there is an actual debate in academic circles about whether or not such a kilt was worn, like it was some unsettled issue.

In the pdf file that gives instructions on how to put this on, they even suggest that the invention of striped tartan cloth was to make pleating the "ancient kilt" easier to do! This despite the fact that evidence of tartan weaving in Scotland dates back to the third century AD (and probably is much older than that, even), while the earliest form of the kilt (the historic feilidh-mor) only dates to the end of the sixteenth century.

Sorry, I just get a bit annoyed when misinformation is perpetuated about the history of the kilt.