Tartan trews in late Victorian - edwardian period

[OC Richard]

I have suddenly realized that I have never seen in period photos a civilian usage of trews for Highland dress. I mean, wearing clan tartan trews as an alternative for the kilt.

So, were tartan trews used only by Scottish regiments?

Do we have period photos that show the use of clan tartan trews in civilian use as a substitute for the kilt?

What a great question!

The first thing that would need to be known is the later history of the trews, meaning the traditional Highland garment quite unlike trousers, hose and trousers all of a piece.

Peter knows the museum collections, which seem to have a number of Highland costumes made around the time of the 1822 Royal visit. Do any of these include trews, actual 18th century style trews? Do any include tartan trousers of the period?

Do we know when actual trews stopped being worn?

As for the Scottish regiments, as far as I know the Lowland regiments wore ordinary British uniform until 1881 when they were put into tartan trousers.

With the Highland regiments a watershed year was 1809 when six of the eleven Highland regiments (all in kilted up to that point) were put into ordinary British uniform.

Retaining Highland Dress: 42nd, 78th, 79th, 92nd, 93rd

Losing Highland Dress: 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 91st

As the 19th century progressed three of these were granted partial Highland identity:

72nd: 1823 given trousers and plaids of Prince Charles Edward Stuart tartan, and feather bonnets.

74th: 1845 given trousers and plaids of Lamont tartan.

91st: 1864 given trousers and plaids of "Campbell" tartan (Black Watch with a red line).

What I don't know is if tartan trousers were existing in the civilian world at this time.

I poured through my Victorian photographs and couldn't find any showing tartan trousers. But my collection is specifically of kilted gents, so the only way a gent in tartan trousers might appear is in a group photo.

The best group photos I have are a number from Oban showing the parade of the Clan chiefs and stewards from the 1890s to the present.

None of the group photos I have show tartan trousers.