Quote Originally Posted by Burly Brute View Post
I blame the Dress Act of 1746 as to why more of the world is not kilted. On the other hand, repeal of said act did generate a revival, correct? Or am I wrong? ....Oh gosh, I can feel even further derailment already! *cringe*
Actually, the defeat of the Jacobites probably preserved the kilt.

Suppose Bonnie Prince Charlie had won. Suppose this return of the Stuart dynasty had ushered in an era of unimaginable prosperity for Scotland. What would have happened to the kilt? Do you think the Highlanders would have clung to their tartan rags, or would they have embraced the latest of European ideals and fashions?

Human nature being what it is, I suspect the kilt would have been consigned to the dust bin of sartorial history in the rush to bring Scotland into the 18th century.

The "revival" of the kilt had very little to do with the repeal of the Act of Proscription, and everything to do with Sir Walter Scott making a romantic vision of the Highlands popular, and Queen Victoria making all things Scottish suddenly fashionable.