Ghillie Brogues

[OC Richard]

Revival? Carranes were still about at that point in common use amongst the rural poor, at least in the Isle of Man and it's reasonable to say most likely in Scotland and Ireland at that point. Of course they still had fur on the outside.

I've not seen 18th century or early 19th century images of people wearing Ghillie-like things with Highland Dress. Perhaps I've overlooked them? But all the 18th century images I've seen of men in Highland Dress show ordinary black shoes.

Around the mid-19th century is when Ghillie Brogues first appear in photos of men in Highland Dress. In the photos they appear to be black, while in The Highlanders Of Scotland portraits they're usually tan roughout. (There's only one pair of black ghillies in The Highlanders Of Scotland, and they have buckles.) I've only seen one photo of the rough tan ghillies, which I posted above. Taken together the imagery suggests that they appear in the mid-19th century as rough rural footwear, though popular with pipers in black. By 1900 they've moved indoors, are always shiny black, and often have nonfunctional decorative buckles stuck on.

About Ireland, the pamputai are the traditional footwear of the Aran Islands men:



But as far as mainland Ireland they seem to have disappeared around the 15th century along with the rest of the traditional Irish costume, the brat, leine, and the rest.

The pamputai seem obviously related to the verbal description we have of ancient Highland deerskin shoes, but my impression of Victorian Ghillie Brogues as a revival rather than a survival is due to the lack of the continuing presence of Ghillies in imagery from our earliest images of Highland Dress to the invention of photography in the 19th century. For kilts, sporrans, bonnets, and all the other components of Highland Dress we do have this unbroken consistent presence in imagery.

The Victorian period was a time of revival. Suddenly Book Of Kells style Celtic knotwork decoration appeared everywhere though it had been unpopular or absent from Highland Dress for centuries, dozens of bogus new "ancient" tartans were created and accepted as genuine, fake ancient building were constructed, bogus "ancient" Gaelic poetry was written, and on and on. Knowing about all that stuff make one suspicious of anything that suddenly appears in Victorian times, anything that lacks established provenance in imagery.

BTW this sort of ancient European footwear also survives in the Balkans, the Opanki.



Good eye about the Wilhelm photo! You can see he's wearing the same belts and armour. I do wish we could see his shoes in the earlier portrait. That strengthens my opinion about the rough ghillies being a Victorian revival. Hopefully more old photos will come to light showing earlier ghillies.

[kingandrew]

It would be my guess that the Kaiser and the man in the other photo Richard posted probably were photographed at the same studio. The photographer likely had his "standard set" of highland props. We've certainly seen in the "soldiers or posers" thread that highland dress portraits were popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods on both sides of the Atlantic.

I really can't imagine there were too many of those simulated armor shirts running about. It's such an excessive look. Most of the old photos are a bit closer to something a chap might actually wear outside the studio, even if they do mix and match military and civilian items in a tossed-salad sort of way.

Andrew

[Mel1721L]

If you look on EBay U.K you can often find Army Surplus brogues. These are as issued to the remaining Scottish Regiment. Some are used, some are new. Often they are hubnailed as these are parade shoes. Warning, hobnails in paved or tiled surfaces can be dangerous, I'd advise getting them without. The soles are leather so can be mended. Just do a search for army surplus brogues.

[Allan Thomson]

I've not seen 18th century or early 19th century images of people wearing Ghillie-like things with Highland Dress. Perhaps I've overlooked them? But all the 18th century images I've seen of men in Highland Dress show ordinary black shoes.

Around the mid-19th century is when Ghillie Brogues first appear in photos of men in Highland Dress. In the photos they appear to be black, while in The Highlanders Of Scotland portraits they're usually tan roughout. (There's only one pair of black ghillies in The Highlanders Of Scotland, and they have buckles.) I've only seen one photo of the rough tan ghillies, which I posted above. Taken together the imagery suggests that they appear in the mid-19th century as rough rural footwear, though popular with pipers in black. By 1900 they've moved indoors, are always shiny black, and often have nonfunctional decorative buckles stuck on.

About Ireland, the pamputai are the traditional footwear of the Aran Islands men:



But as far as mainland Ireland they seem to have disappeared around the 15th century along with the rest of the traditional Irish costume, the brat, leine, and the rest.

The pamputai seem obviously related to the verbal description we have of ancient Highland deerskin shoes, but my impression of Victorian Ghillie Brogues as a revival rather than a survival is due to the lack of the continuing presence of Ghillies in imagery from our earliest images of Highland Dress to the invention of photography in the 19th century. For kilts, sporrans, bonnets, and all the other components of Highland Dress we do have this unbroken consistent presence in imagery.

The Victorian period was a time of revival. Suddenly Book Of Kells style Celtic knotwork decoration appeared everywhere though it had been unpopular or absent from Highland Dress for centuries, dozens of bogus new "ancient" tartans were created and accepted as genuine, fake ancient building were constructed, bogus "ancient" Gaelic poetry was written, and on and on. Knowing about all that stuff make one suspicious of anything that suddenly appears in Victorian times, anything that lacks established provenance in imagery.

BTW this sort of ancient European footwear also survives in the Balkans, the Opanki.



Good eye about the Wilhelm photo! You can see he's wearing the same belts and armour. I do wish we could see his shoes in the earlier portrait. That strengthens my opinion about the rough ghillies being a Victorian revival. Hopefully more old photos will come to light showing earlier ghillies.

Online there is a letter written dated 10th November 1899
Written by a Mr Edward Faragher, a Manx speaker the letter is in English and described how he made three sets of Carranes for a Scottish Gentlrman who had come to document the Manx Language. For him to be able to do this the skills and knowledge have to have survived and be in such common useage that the skill was easy for him to perform. It also indicates that the Scottish Gentleman was familiar enough with Carranes to request several pairs to be made for his collection.

There is also in the Manx Museum a pair of Goatskin Carranes datrd again late 19th early 20th C, featuring the hair on the outside of the shoe.

Given that the rural economy of the Isle of Man and the level of subsistance was similar to that of the people of the Highlands and most certainly of the Islands I feel it is reasonable to hypothesis that forms of rural dress in the 19th and 20th Century would have been very similar.

I'd suggest the lack of illustrations or images of the true style of Carrane which is very different to the modern Ghillie Brogue, but closer to the rawhide exanples shown in some paintings of mid 19thC Highland attire is probably related more to the level of affluence and the lack of noteworthyness of the garnment. A poor person struggling to survive would be unlikely to be in a painting,drawing or photograph. And anyone well off enough to be pictured would not be wearing the dress of the rural poor in its purest form..

[OC Richard]

I don't know anything about the history of clothing on Man.

With anything I study, including Highland Dress, I choose to be guided by evidence, and IMHO it's iconography uber alles.

I would love to see pre-revival images of men in Highland Dress wearing ghillies. Let them come forward!

If they do not, I apply (as always) the "space alien" yardstick. Though absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, if we have just as many images of something as we do of space aliens from the same period, I am a skeptic until evidence comes to light.

[Allan Thomson]

I don't know anything about the history of clothing on Man.

With anything I study, including Highland Dress, I choose to be guided by evidence, and IMHO it's iconography uber alles.

I would love to see pre-revival images of men in Highland Dress wearing ghillies. Let them come forward!

If they do not, I apply (as always) the "space alien" yardstick. Though absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence, if we have just as many images of something as we do of space aliens from the same period, I am a skeptic until evidence comes to light.

Maybe look at the dress of the rural poor of the countries and not just Highland dress? My point is thCat the carrane was an item of rural footwear worn by the poor into the late 19th C in the celtic countries and the evidence is there to show it. And the hypothesis that the same applies for the highlands is hardly a leap into fantasy unlike ancient space aliens.

Given that I have indicated the evidence for my hypothesis I will si ilarly ask can you produce any genuine unromaticised, unposed photographs or picture of the rural poor?

[The Q]

Pictures of back then had to be posed, if anyone moved the picture blurred. Photographic Film then needed Long exposures, even in a studio.

[neloon]

Here is a Highland mercenary soldier painted by de Heere circa 1573 wearing cuaran - slippers with holes to allow water to run out after wading through streams. Modern brogues etc are generally patterned to imitate these holes.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/287597126174472412/

Alan

[Allan Thomson]

Here is a Highland mercenary soldier painted by de Heere circa 1573 wearing cuaran - slippers with holes to allow water to run out after wading through streams. Modern brogues etc are generally patterned to imitate these holes.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/287597126174472412/

Alan

Thankyou, I have seen that image several times, I was more meaning in the 19thCentury. There seems to be some contention that the Carran was not an item of footwear amongst the rural poor in the 19thC, I am saying I have produced evidence that back up my contention it was.