Colonial Kilts

[davedove]

Rare, almost exclusively military, and not too practical in most situations on the frontier.

See Stuart Reid's 18th Century Highlanders by Osprey for a depiction of a "field expedient" modificiation to the uniform by a Black Watch other ranks. In the depiction, the soldier in question is wearing Indian woolen leggings under the kilt.

There is a model at the Scottish Tartans Museum showing what the typical frontiersman of Scottish ancestry would wear. It is the same buckskin outfit that you always see.

The undergrown wilderness of the New World was quite different from the moors of Scotland and so different clothing was required.

As Todd points out, those with a kilt as part of their uniform made other adaptaions.