Whilst the MacLeay portraits are a facinating source of information on the styles of the period there certainly don't represent what the common man wore. All these guys were, in one way or another, employees of the gentry, principally royalty and would have had their 'outfits' supplied by their employer to fit their ideal of traditional Highland dress. The common man simply could not afford such luxury.

The portraits, like those of McIan are more interesting for what they tell us of the style of clothing of each period and how that was influenced by the fashion of the day and/or an earlier era.