18th century highlander

[The Tartan Sparky]

I’m wishing to go historical with my highland dress, I have purchased a great kilt and period correct shirt. I’m wanting to portray a more common man of the time, not the nobles I seem to be finding in paintings. I see reenactors wearing one tartan for the kilt, and another for the vest. Is this based in historic accuracy? And also, would they have worn a sash or fly plaid with something like a Culloden jacket?IMG_0711 Large.jpg

[Pleater]

Not a fly plaid - it is a modern affectation.

For a common man a maund might be more apt - it was also called a shepherds' plaid - there is something about it in Wikipedia where it might be spelt maud.

I grew up in what is now South Yorkshire, formerly the West Riding, and maunds were worn there and depicted in old paintings of farm workers, labourers and suchlike. I think it was about as far south as they were seen ordinarily but they were a home made item .

They were woven from two shades of sheep colour wool, dark and medium maybe dark brown (aka black) and grey a cheap resource as coloured fleeces had zero value back in the day. The processors wanted white wool only.

I never saw one worn, but back in the 1950s there was one on the back of a chair in the front room of the house where my father's maiden aunts lived. The weaving pattern is quite distinct and unmistakeable.

Anne the Pleater