The Ghillie Shirt

[MacCathail]

I have one. I wear it once a year. I'm part of an RSCDS dem team and our dance mistress/choreographer wants the men to wear it for one of our annual performances. I'm not terribly fond of it but it's part of the gig. I occasionally play pipes for one or two of the dances and it's really a bad choice for that; baggy sleeves are not ideal for keeping the bag solidly under your left arm. Not impossible. I've done it. But not ideal. I plan to suggest that, as the piper, it would not be out of place for me to wear, say, a nice white dress shirt.

[Allan Thomson]

Patrick....

The thing is you keep talking about "Jacobites" but the "Jacobite" period covers over 50 years from at least 1690 to 1746. Fashion massively evolves over a 50 year period.

So your Highlander beating Mckay's Army at Killiecrankie (or getting thrashed at Dunkeld…) probably only wearing a shirt with his plaid discarded) was equipped and dressed in a different way to those who faced (and fought in too) the Government Army at Drumossie Moor.

Around the late 17thC the amongst well to do highlanders depicted in portraits the vogue was predominantly for doublets of one colour (as opposed to Tartan though I have seen images of some heavily embroidered ones) with (and this was anachronistic at that time) lots of slashes in it to show off the fine lace that was beneath (and with your tie hatred I have to break it to you that a lace jabot would have been included as well as a show of wealth).

Later jackets tended to evolve to become more like cut down for kilt length versions of the 18thC Frock Coat generally made from tartan (as the 45 army used Tartan as a sort of uniform standard amongst the none French Loaned Troops), still worn with a jabot and from what I can discern as said by other posters the shirt worn was a button up Grandad style with slightly fuller sleeves which would have included lace at the front and a jabot. Not a huge oversize collar and laces to fasten (the oversize collar reminding me more of Early to Mid 17th C fashion personally rather than anything in what I would consider to be the "Jacobite period")

Anyway that's wandering off topic slightly but I think that you get my point about what you're wearing not actually resembling anything from the "Jacobite" period in the way you're wearing it.

So you have to ask yourself what are you trying to achieve?

You seem to say you wish to represent your national dress in what you perceive to be a purer form of it than you believe it has become?

In that case you should discard the Glengarry as that's a later invention post 45, a product of the military period of Highland Dress.

Bin the Ghillie brogues because they look nothing like a proper pair of Carrans (indeed I don't understand why the standard for Highland Wear hasn't evolved to Brown Ghillies and Black Buckled shoes because most genuine Carrans are either rawhide, a lot with the fur still left on?). Maybe you could get a cobbler to fashion a pair for you, there are still examples about?

Scrap the White Hose and get some tartan ones cut and fitted on the diagonal from woven cloth. Or at least some coloured ones. (I don't have a problem with white hose myself and will wear them and think the snobbery is a little OTT probably due to the kilt hire stigma but it's not really accurate for the period).

Wear a at least a slashed doublet with that shirt and lots of lace. Or get a Grandad shirt and tartan jackets.

Wear your plaid in a fashion which matches the period - belted about your middle and pinned to one shoulder if wearing a jacket or draped over one arm to form a cloak or over both arms with or without the hood. Or both ends brought up to meet at the shoulder in the "sash fashion".

I'd suggest closely studying what contemporary images you can and building a detailed understanding of the fashion of the time.

If on the other hand you want to create your own style but not appear anachronistic then why not look at the open at the neck short sleeve shirt in a colour suitable for the kilt and nice wooly jumper style which is good for smart casual daywear?

Want to be even more modernistic and revolutionary and you can consider going down the modern fabrics mixed with the kilt option. An example would be for say hill walking use a close fitting wicking long sleeve zip neck top coupled with a softshell gilet and a close fitting waterproof (yes if the waterproof is a quality short one such a berhaus packlite with the drawcord drawn in it can actually look ok, you might want to couple this with a fleece scarf (or a woollen Tartan one). You could wear your glengarry with that and pull it off I think. (we'll not get into the conversation about footwear and sock scrunching, personally I think boots and kilts need puttees to look right and sock scrunching just looks scruffy - rolled may be ok under some circumstances but it's not to my taste). There's actually a few hiking socks with larger turnovers which can double up as nice kilt socks.

At the very least if you want to continue in your current ghillie shirt style I'd say when in phillabeg (without plaid worn in the true belted or sash fashion) then ditch the glengarry if not wearing a jacket and roll up the sleeves plus get a pair of conventional brown brogues for the relaxed situation. But that's my view and you can wear what you want.

I will confess I do own a Ghillie Shirt and a Slashed Doublet and did use to pair them up with belted plaid (or plaid and phillabeg) from my much much younger days and I did wear them to go to a girlfriend's 6th form leaving promenade as well as occasionally wearing it going nightclubbing or to parties (tbh though I found the Phillabeg is much more comfortable and convenient when on the dancefloor in a hot sweaty nightclub than in full plaid). So I don't totally hate them but I think you have to be spot on to pull it off and it's not for everyday wear.

ps I think from personal observation I've had more positive feedback from the ladies when kilted in tweeds and conventional shirt with or without a tartan tie than I recollect in my "pirate shirt", or at least the interaction was of a better quality (not just a drunken what's under your kilt groping) That may be environment specific though.....

[PatrickHughes123]

Get rid of those ghillie brogues, get rid of those white hose and wear them slightly lower, wear your kilt higher, get rid of that shirt, get rid of the feathers, reorganise that military style(shaved and shrunken) of your bonnet and do you really wear that plaid during the day and over both shoulders?

Jock,

Thank you for your most honest advice. I have actually started doing some of this. I have started to wear my hose lower and my kilt higher. As can be seen in the pictures below.

Kilt with blue shirt and yellow tie.



Kilt with ghillie and diced Glengarry.



In both pictures, my kilt is down at mid-knee. Do you see it Jock?

About the feather plume, I regret buying the thing, a military feather plume. It was stupid, I realize that now. I may sell it. As for the fly plaid, I regret that too. I will keep this in mind for next time, when this situation comes again, I will buy a day plaid as it is the informal plaid and is more suitable with the Ghillie Shirt. I also may only buy a day sporran, a hunting sporran or even a semi-dress sporran. I realize now, looking back, that a full-dress sporran is too formal. This is what happens when you don't research before buying, my bad. Lesson learned.

Thank you Jock!

[FossilHunter]

Jock,

Thank you for your most honest advice. I have actually started doing some of this. I have started to wear my hose lower and my kilt higher. As can be seen in the pictures below.

Kilt with blue shirt and yellow tie.



Kilt with ghillie and diced Glengarry.



In both pictures, my kilt is down at mid-knee. Do you see it Jock?

About the feather plume, I regret buying the thing, a military feather plume. It was stupid, I realize that now. I may sell it. As for the fly plaid, I regret that too. I will keep this in mind for next time, when this situation comes again, I will buy a day plaid as it is the informal plaid and is more suitable with the Ghillie Shirt. I also may only buy a day sporran, a hunting sporran or even a semi-dress sporran. I realize now, looking back, that a full-dress sporran is too formal. This is what happens when you don't research before buying, my bad. Lesson learned.

Thank you Jock!

I think the shirt/tie look is much more flattering. Modern dress shirts and ties are also easier to shop for.

[Tobus]

I have started to wear my hose lower and my kilt higher.

It's a start. Probably could do well to keep going on both counts. The kilt is worn to best effect when the knees are clearly visible from almost any angle.

Hose height can vary by leg shape, but generally seem best when they're several finger widths below the kneecap. Or, if you have shapely calves, they can look best when they are just over the widest part of the calf and no higher.

Kilt height is pretty good when it's between the middle and top of the kneecap. However, it can actually look better when worn even higher if your body shape is such that the apron hangs well in front of your knees instead of closer to them. In other words, the further your apron is from (i.e. in front of) your knees, the less people will see of your knees without getting down at ground level. So if you want your knees to be visible (again, kilt worn to best effect), it might not hurt to hitch it a little higher until you find the right spot.

[PatrickHughes123]

It's a start. Probably could do well to keep going on both counts. The kilt is worn to best effect when the knees are clearly visible from almost any angle.

Hose height can vary by leg shape, but generally seem best when they're several finger widths below the kneecap. Or, if you have shapely calves, they can look best when they are just over the widest part of the calf and no higher.

Kilt height is pretty good when it's between the middle and top of the kneecap. However, it can actually look better when worn even higher if your body shape is such that the apron hangs well in front of your knees instead of closer to them. In other words, the further your apron is from (i.e. in front of) your knees, the less people will see of your knees without getting down at ground level. So if you want your knees to be visible (again, kilt worn to best effect), it might not hurt to hitch it a little higher until you find the right spot.

I read on WikiHow, that it's about 3-4 fingers below the knee. So recently I've been doing 3 fingers, but I feel I will need to start putting them 4 fingers below the knee as I don't feel they are low enough. To be honest I prefer to mid-knee, but I think I will need to push them off higher to get that look as I don't think I've been successful with this yet. I can't actually go to the top of the knee because of my body shape and the way it causes the kilt to hang down, so I'll need to lose weight before I can even attempt to pull that off, only the mid-knee look works at the moment. I've tried it at the top of the knee and it looks horrible, because of my round stomach, it goes too wide at the bottom, just stating a fact.

Here is me in the kilt with it at the top of the knee...



Before I make these changes the next time I wear it, I'd like to say, even though the way I wear it now is far from perfect, it is a huge improvement from when I first started wearing the kilt. Here are some pictures of me in the earliest kilt days, when I first got it. Please be prepared, it's horrible.







Obvious errors being; Kilt is worn at where you would wear trousers; Sporran is too loose and it isn't centre because of the unnecessary extension; Aprons are not lined up and look terrible; The pin is in both aprons and makes it look unnatural and bunched up

Thanks for the advice Tobus, it is very helpful.

[YOJiMBO20]

The real shirt and tie are a much better look.

To make things even better, you should tie your brogues a bit lower.

Take a look here: http://bagpipejourney.com/articles/g..._brogues.shtml for one method of tying ghillie brogues to make them look better.

[PatrickHughes123]

The real shirt and tie are a much better look.

To make things even better, you should tie your brogues a bit lower.

Take a look here: http://bagpipejourney.com/articles/g..._brogues.shtml for one method of tying ghillie brogues to make them look better.

I prefer the high front-tie to the low tie or side tie, that's why I do the high front-tie.

[tokareva]

You're doing a great job Patrick, huge improvement IMHO.
I do wish you would consider taking your look to just plain modern casual though, it seems like you are stuck between renfair medieval fantasy and full blown dress for some reason.
I think this chap looks fantastic, and I don't even really like the tartan. Just my 2¢.



Edit: He really looks a little more dressy than I would personally prefer because of the shoes.

[Taffy Jack]

The nearest piece of clothing worn normally today would be the Fishermans / Carpenters / farmworkers Smock. Generally worn over a shirt. But pulled over the head the same way as a ghillie shirt. They are longer than most tops covering down to sporran level. They come with round or collared necks and are mostly made of some sort of cotton twill. I've not seen any with a draw string collar.
http://weir-quay.com/chandlery/smocks

In this part of the world, some loggers wear an item colloquially named a "hickory shirt." It's sort of the shirt version of a pullover or anorak, with a neck zip that doesn't go all the way down. Altogether, pretty good for keeping sawdust out of your pants.

Example: https://www.loggingsupply.com/produc...ong-sleeve-zip

"Hickorys" are practical, hard-wearing apparel, though I suspect that wearing a U.S.-style logging shirt with a kilt would cross a few people's wires -- kinda like wearing your kilt with cowboy boots, or a fedora.

Cheers,

Jack