Tweed kilts?

[NeighborhoodKiltGuy]

Those of you who have worn tweed kilts, how do they compare to wool? Heavier, warmer, etc? How does it differ from wool? Am interested to learn, thanks!

[figheadair]

Tweed is wool.

How it compares to tartan depends on whether the latter is worsted or woollen (Saxony), whether the tweed yarn is a Harris type or a smoother 'Border type' and what the weight is.

[John_Carrick]

I have a five yard tweed kilt which is very nice to wear, feels warmer than an equivalent tartan kilt. It has hem at the bottom rather than a selvedge. I don't wear it as much because I don't feel as confident going out in in as a conventional kilt which is recognisably a male garment, but I feel the same with my black and Saffron kilts.

That said I am hoping to get a couple more tweed kilts; I've got a green one and fancy one in blue, brown or grey and I love the modern tweed kilt suits that are very popular for weddings and special occasions.

[Jock Scot]

Personally, I would not even consider wearing a tweed kilt outwith the area that possibly might understand the tweed kilt, in other words rural Scotland and even then, I would choose carefully when, where and why I wear it. However, I find in my own mind that the traditional wool tartan kilt will do the same job far more effectively.

As an afterthought, there are of course tartan tweed kilts that are occasionally seen here. To my mind they just look like the owner is trying too hard to be different.

Just saying.

[OC Richard]

I noticed on the Marton Mills site that they have a number of tartan tweeds.

In the photos here they're clearly different from their ordinary worsted tartans

https://martonmills.com/product-cate...wool/lochaber/

[NeighborhoodKiltGuy]

Personally, I would not even consider wearing a tweed kilt outwith the area that possibly might understand the tweed kilt, in other words rural Scotland and even then, I would choose carefully when, where and why I wear it. However, I find in my own mind that the traditional wool tartan kilt will do the same job far more effectively.

As an afterthought, there are of course tartan tweed kilts that are occasionally seen here. To my mind they just look like the owner is trying too hard to be different.

Just saying.

Mr Jock, what is it about the tweeds that gives you that opinion? Am curious. It seems others are also quite hesitant to wear them out, in the same manner as tartan, and I am curious as to why. I simply do not know, and wish to.

[Jock Scot]

Mr Jock, what is it about the tweeds that gives you that opinion? Am curious. It seems others are also quite hesitant to wear them out, in the same manner as tartan, and I am curious as to why. I simply do not know, and wish to.

Just Jock will do nicely!

I love tweed and spend much of my time clad in it in one form or another, as you may have noticed in some of my pictures. For me there is a place for it and there are not places for it and tweed in kilt form does not do it for me. As you may have noticed, I spend a lot of my time shooting and fishing where tweed in the Highlands and in rural UK in general, is everyday attire and very occasionally I see tweed-----Estate tweed usually------ being worn in kilt form. Make no mistake I love Estate tweeds and tweed in general, but even when worn out on the hill I am left with the distinct feeling that it just does not look right in kilt form even in its natural surroundings. So when tweed is worn in kilt form it just looks like someone is tying too hard to be different. I am not impressed by that intent, but then I am not impressed with tartan kilts in general being worn outwith the Scottish Highlands either, and just so you know, I very rarely do.

Alright, thats my upbringing at work influencing my thinking and I know many, most even on this website, will not understand or agree, but there we go. There is a can of worms itching to be opened here, and this subject is closed as far as I am concerned.

[Pleater]

Hmm - I seem to have discovered something which seems wrong - tweed, all kinds, in the traditional patterns - lovely - even if some are close kin to wire wool.
Tweed in tartan - nooooo.
I seem to have uncovered traditionalist bedrock beneath my easy going upper layers.

[jhockin]

A post by Matt Newsome, a few years ago, about Tweed kilts:
https://albanach.org/feeling-the-nee...d-a2d4d75751a9

[OC Richard]

Thanks for that link! Fascinating.

I do wonder about the contention that the majority of 19th century portraits depicting Highland Dress are of members of the aristocracy "dressed to the nines".

First one must establish what is meant by "portrait".

The Victorian period saw the advent of the enormous popularity of photographic portraits. I've seen many hundreds of those and only a tiny percentage are of aristocrats. Even the ones that are, for example Royal portraits, often show outdoor dress (tweed jackets and hats, small plain sporrans, practical shoes, etc).

Now if we exclude the most popular sort of Victorian portrait, the photograph, and limit ourselves to paintings (which had a calamitous decline in popularity) we might make such an assertion if it wasn't for the fact that the largest corpus of painted Highlander portraits, The Highlanders Of Scotland, has only commoners as its subjects.

I do wonder how many Victorian oil portraits exist of members of the aristocracy in full Evening Highland dress. The number would have to approach sixty to out-do The Highlanders Of Scotland alone.

In any case the Ansdell paintings linked to are what I would call genre paintings. They are of a different nature than oil portraits.

People who hire portrait artists to paint them see the work in progress and have control over it. Having such a painting done was a significant investment in time and money (only within reach of the wealthy) and I would imagine that the sitter would insure that their clothing and accoutrements were depicted accurately.

Genre-painting are a different matter. The figures that inhabit the paintings might be based on sketches done on location, but often are based on models who pose in the artist's studio.

I recall reading that the American Western artist Frederic Remington had quite a collection of clothing and props that he would dress his models in (cowboy outfits, Native American costumes, etc).