History and proper use of the kilt ribbon question

[OC Richard]

Any civilian could put them on his kilt. No rules about them in civilian dress. They show up in many 19th and 20th century images of civilians.

In the five post-1809 kilted Highland regiments only the 42nd and 93rd wore them. They were worn by sergeants and officers, including pipers who were sergeants and above; in other words there was no special usage by pipers. On the Black Watch/Government/Sutherland tartan of the 42nd and 93rd the ribbons were grass-green, the same colour as the binding around the top of all military kilts. On the Royal Stewart kilts of the Black Watch pipers (the Pipe Sergeant and Pipe Major) they were matching Royal Stewart tartan (the binding remaining grass-green).

The earliest image I have to hand of the 42nd wearing them is a contemporary print from 1833, of the 93rd, 1834.

As far as non-kilted regiments go, the pipers were the only ones kilted anyhow, and in some regiments all the pipers wore them regardless of rank. In other words they seemed to be regarded as part of the kilt, one could say.

I use ordinary dictionary usage when speaking of them, calling the things made like a bow and shaped like a bow a "bow" and the things made like a rosette and shaped like a rosette a "rosette". In this, I fly in the face of the sometimes quirky military terms.

Now of those five post-1809 kilted regiments only the 92nd wore kilt pins.

The pipers of the Scots Guards wear both kilt pins and rosettes, all of them regardless of rank



Pipers of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, just kilt pins for all



Here's an interesting vintage kilt, most probably civilian, with a vaguely Argyll-ish thing going on



You see rosettes like these on old civilian kilts fairly often



About the history, here are early ones that seem to actually be tying the kilt together