Traditional Highland Civilian Dress: A Definition and Guide with Visual Examples

[CMcG]

Colin and Nathan,

Do you think the advent of inexpensive photography- and of photographic illustrations- may have influenced the codification? What about newsreels?

And finally, what about the most recent wave of standardisation wrought by rental shops? Will the rock of THCD be eroded by it, or will it stand firm?

Good questions, MacLl, but I can only guess at answers. macwilkin recently reminded me of Erskine's famous quote about the freedom of Highland attire... he wrote it in 1901 and would have been looking back, but by 1950 things were more codified, so something was going on! Then again, I think that an intimate knowledge of THCD can also clear a path for understanding its ongoing and continued freedom

"The Highland dress is essentially a 'free' dress -- that is to say, a man's taste and circumstances must alone be permitted to decide when and where and how he should wear it... I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed."
-- The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine. 1901. The Kilt & How to Wear It.

Media, broadly considered, do have an impact on culture. With industrialization, the proliferation of both different types of media and efficient means of mass delivery have increased the mediation of society through advertising, entertainment, news, and information. This process probably did play a role in the codification of THCD, but it's hard to say how significant it was relative to other factors.

As Nathan pointed out, the sales strategies (i.e., catalogues) were inextricably linked with evolving production methods (i.e., off-the-peg jackets, sporrans, etc). People were also publishing books about tartans and Highland dress, and older paintings were being re-circulated as prints. I'm not sure how often people dressed in THCD would have made the news?

We might also consider negative pressures. Some representations of Highland attire in the media probably caused cultural cringe and encouraged tradition bearers to shed the more extravagant legacies of the 19th century. For example, in Scotland we could consider the Music Hall antics of Sir Harry Lauder during the early 20th century, and in America Brigadoon hit Broadway in 1947 and was made into a movie a few years later.

As for rental shops, I'm not too concerned about them eroding the rock of THCD. Keep in mind the dictionary definition of tradition is things that are passed down from generation to generation. I would argue that the majority of people who rent kilts aren't regular kilt-wearers and just take the advice of the shop keeper. If their kids then go to rent a kilt—even if it's the same shop—they aren't likely to get same thing as their father because a generation later the rental fashion industry would have moved on. For example, not too long ago the look was white hose, a PC, and fly plaid. Now the dark monochrome style with an Argyll is becoming more common, especially with a younger demographic. The lack of continuity makes it difficult to consider this a tradition. This isn't to say that rented clothes can't look good, but rather that the nature of the business is often more about the latest thing and less about classic style.

To put this in perspective, men's fashion has cycles. They tend to be longer than women's fashion, but nonetheless they are mostly less than a generation. I usually think of a generation as about 30 years, so the time scale of something standing the test of time and being passed down is more like 60 years... but my grandfather was still giving out style advice when he was in his 80s!

If someone buys their clothes, there are different considerations than in a rental. Frugal people aren't going to want to drop a ton of money on kilted fashion that may or may not last. People who own their kit and wear it regularly are likely to be more involved with questions of distinction. By this I mean being able to distinguish between fads and classics, different levels of formality, and the way the clothes fit. The result of efforts to figure these things out in a traditional context connects people to those who came before them and gives them a distinct aesthetic identity i.e., THCD.

My final thought is on the relationship between hyper-media (i.e., the Internet) and tradition. Advances in information technology have allowed a space like Xmarks to exist. Whereas earlier in the 20th century mass media was largely controlled by business, now it is possible for a thread like this to be instantly accessible on the world wide web with a quick Google search. Notwithstanding the power of corporate media, social media is on the rise because people look to those around them for guidance in interpreting the choices presented to them by advertisers, retailers, tailors, etc. Xmarks makes our world smaller and connects people together in a transnational and multi-generational community. Technological mediation of tradition anyone?