How many kilts would a Scot have had.

[Robinhood]

Back when scots considered pants unusual, and kilts
normal, how many kilts would a typical one have had.
I would have suspected they would have had two,
as other cultures had one set of dress for worship,
and another for everything else.

I would also have suspected one to wear when the
other is being washed, but I remember reading that
an englishman could tell if a scot was approaching
by the smell. Maybe they never washed the kilts?

Of course it goes without saying that those of
wealth would have as many kilts as they desired.
These people are not the ones I'm asking about,
just the average folks.

[Nick]

I would also have suspected one to wear when the
other is being washed, but I remember reading that
an englishman could tell if a scot was approaching
by the smell. Maybe they never washed the kilts?

Don't know how many kilts a Scot would've had, but the bit about the smell sounds like an old prejudicial statement. It, dare I say it, smells fishy to me.

[macwilkin]

RE: Smell: not necessarily an insult; the fact is that in the "olden days", very few people bathed on a regular basis, even the gentry. Why else would you invent perfumes and powdered wigs?

I remember a quote from a soldier in the US Army during the Indian Wars that said something like: "It wasn't so bad, we all smelled the same."

At one point, it was considered unhealthy to bathe on a regular basis, because you washed away all of the protective layers (ie dirt) -- but these are the same folks who believed that malaria was caused by "noxious evening vapors". :mrgreen:

I'm sure Matt will weigh in on this discussion, but my bet would be that the average Highlander had only one kilt, given the state of the Highlands in Scotland.

Cheers,

Todd

[longshadows]

A look at any older home for even the early part of the 20th century, shows how many fewer clothes (of all sorts) our ancestors owned. When you're talking about Scotland from an even earlier period, I'm sure the numbers would be small--even for the wealthy. The wealthy, by the way, would probably have owned at least a couple of pairs of breeches--for riding, etc.

I'm sure different times, places and social levels would dictate how many kilts a man would have--even today!

[macwilkin]

The wealthy, by the way, would probably have owned at least a couple of pairs of breeches--for riding, etc.

Gie' that man a cheroot! :mrgreen:

Trews, the original trews, which were tartan riding breeches, were the garment of the gentry -- look how many Jacobite officers you see in them.

Cheers,

Todd

[jkdesq]

Clothing ownership and bathing as changed alot in one generation. My mother (born in the 1940's) claims that while she was growing up, she had three sets of clothes: Sunday best and two skirts and two blouses which she mixed and matched throughout the week. Saturday night was bath night. If we consider Scottish clothing and bathing practices of the past, we are without a doubt going to think the practices were substandard.

I wonder if any highlander had outright ownership of any one "kilt". The great kilt was merely a large piece of fabric that was wrapped around the waist by men and worn as a shawl by women. Could it be that a family would have several plaids (ie. the fabric peice that was worn as a kilt or shawl) and they were passed around on a need to wash or a need to wear basis.

As to smell, I think there is more than BO that could cause a smell that the English would notice. Could it be that wool spun in a croft by a different method that the English would retain the natural smell from the sheep. Lanolin is smelly. Maybe substances used to dye the wool could have distinctive and not necessarily offensive smells. I doubt any Scot could smell worse than an English person, peasant or lord. What could smell more like BO than Henry VIII or the Marquis of Bournemouth on a hot summer day? BO can only produce so much of a stench. So, either there was a smell from a different source or the English were just being anti-Scot bigots.

[davedove]

I would almost bet the the poorer folk only had one set of clothes, kilt or otherwise, much like the rest of Europe. If they had more than one of something, it would have been the shirt, as that was worn against the body and thus got dirty more often.

[macwilkin]

As to smell, I think there is more than BO that could cause a smell that the English would notice. Could it be that wool spun in a croft by a different method that the English would retain the natural smell from the sheep. Lanolin is smelly. Maybe substances used to dye the wool could have distinctive and not necessarily offensive smells. I doubt any Scot could smell worse than an English person, peasant or lord. What could smell more like BO than Henry VIII or the Marquis of Bournemouth on a hot summer day? BO can only produce so much of a stench. So, either there was a smell from a different source or the English were just being anti-Scot bigots.

Again, an astute observation. During the Civil War, before the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, in early 1862, members of the First Missouri Confederate Brigade were given undeyed wool uniforms, which were cream in colour. The Missourians almost had to be forced by bayonet-point to wear the uniforms, because of the colour and the fact that when wet, they smelled like wet sheep, much to the enjoyment of fellow soldiers from other states!

Ironically, CW reenactors today pay top dollar for a reproduction of this uniform to be authentic. What would their predecessors say? :mrgreen:

T.

[Schultz]

Ironically, CW reenactors today pay top dollar for a reproduction of this uniform to be authentic. What would their predecessors say? :mrgreen:

T.

I think about this every single time I go to a CW reenactment of any kind and can't help but shake my head and laugh, because I know our ancestors would be doing the same thing!

[Andrew Breecher]

I'll tell you, as a long-distance hiker, once you and everyone else you're with smells (and you smell BAD) it doesn't matter anymore. You stop noticing it, unless something extreme (like someone taking off their shoes) happens. In fact, you start to recognise individual people's natural smells, and can tell who's around you by that. You can start to smell "day-hikers" up to a mile away depending on the wind (for real!) by the soap/artificial scents they're wearing.

Andrew.