Fly Plaid - Which Shoulder??

[Cygnus]

I shall not go into the merits of MacLeay's portraits and what was and wasn't artistic licence and the fact that we can't see the back of the gentleman that you have cited neither proves or disproves the facts.

You may not be able to see his back, but if you look closely at his left side (just above the hose on his left foot), you can see the fringe from the plaid hanging down. Unless the fellow on the right has a bit of fringed tartan tucked into the back of his kilt, the only explanation for that is that the chap in the middle is wearing what is essentially a fly plaid.

I highly doubt that MacLeay would have added that had the plaid been belted, though I suppose it's a possibility.

As for your interpretation of a described half belted plaid as a fly plaid, I'll leave those jumps in description to you. I refer you to Matt Newsomes New Highland House site for excellent description and photos of a half belted plaid

I didn't realize I had interpreted the half-belted plaid as a fly plaid - my intention was to recommend it as a less-cumbersome alternative.