Stuart Erskine quote in and out of context

[OC Richard]

It's interesting to see when a quote from the past is taken out of context and applied to modern situations inconceivable to the person who uttered it.

From The Kilt & How to Wear It by The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine (1901)

"I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed."

My largest caveat is that I don't have this book nor have I ever seen a copy, so I don't know the original context of that quote within the book.

What I am very aware of is the state of Highland Dress in 1901.

"Kilt" meant a traditional hand-sewn kilt of traditional kilting cloth, or tweed, and containing 6, 7, or 8 yards of fabric.

Kilts were invariably worn with dedicated kilt-hose, or shooting socks, even in the silly "play dress-up" studio photos showing people posing in clothes provided by the photographer.

And if a sporran was worn it was a dedicated sporran i.e. made for kilt-wear and for no other purpose.

It's amusing to see this quote trotted out on Facebook in conjunction with Utilikilts (a century in the future) as well as scrunched-down athletic socks, Cowboy hats, Ren-Faire pouches, etc etc.

I've read that Erskine advocated personal freedom in kilt-wearing, but we should be aware of just how limited a range of freedom was imaginable in 1901.

For sure the personal choice message is quite different to what I see in other publications from c1900 to c1939 which are full of words like "proper" and "should" and "must".

BTW I do see an incongruence between the book's title and the quote.

[CBH]

BTW I do see an incongruence between the book's title and the quote.

Exactly............

[geomick]

does anyone here have the book or have access to one (library or such) to get the full context? It could be a case of "I'm not going to say this is how you must do it, but if you don't do it this way it will look off and people will laugh at you" http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/i.../icon_razz.gif

[Troglodyte]

I'm pretty sure that at the time Erskine was writing, everyone knew what was 'the done thing' and his advice would have been taken and applied accordingly.

A later writer of a similar book found it necessary to point out that Highland dress is a national costume, and certainly not 'fancy-dress' as he seemed to think it had become regarded by that stage.

King Edward VIII (he who abdicated so he could marry the American love of his life) when still Prince of Wales, came in for serious criticism when he wore one of his kiltie outfits to a fancy-dress ball. His Scottish subjects felt the insult keenly.

I wonder what these past-times writers would make of what is seen these days...

[Jock Scot]

..............................

I wonder what these past-times writers would make of what is seen these days...

Having grown up amongst a large family of kilt wearers in the 1940's, I am almost certain their comments would be unprintable on this website! I actually find it difficult today to hold my tongue, on occasion!

[OC Richard]

Though much later than Jock's early exposure to kilt-wearing in the 1940s, mine in the mid-1970s was still at a time when "kilt" only meant a traditional hand-sewn garment containing 6, 7, or 8 yards of traditional kilting cloth.

Things like Utilikilts, casual kilts, sport kilts, tactical kilts (!) etc etc were decades in the future.

Highland Dress was still at that time essentially unchanged from the Highland Dress of the 1920s.

So as late as 1975 kilt-wearers could still have read the Erskine quote from within a kilt-wearing milieu not too distant to his.

Today, not so much.

[Father Bill]

I think something similar can be said about most wardrobes these days. So many people show up in public dressed more appropriately for cleaning out the garage than for dining out, walking through a store or down the street. No class, no manners, no respect for others or self. No sense of what is appropriate under any circumstances.