"WHY" of modern kilts

[Mr.Charles Anthony]

Readers:
This writer 'learned the kilt' in a Great Kilt. My wife bought me a modern kilt. The modern kilt, I am growing to hate.
The question: How did the kilt de-evolve from the basic, wrap it and go, with all its inherent freedom of movement: to this circa 2011 kilt with its fussy sewing down the ar*se, the 'luggage straps' to hold it on, and the too well overlaid aprons? I feel like I am in a wool barrell!
And related question: if I ever get the shillings to buy an expensive kilt, can/should I ask for the 'style corrections'( no straps, no sewing, ect) to get a happy kilt for me?
Or would it be the far simpler(since I have the skills in sewing, but not modern kilt sewing) just to buy the yardage and make the kilt the way I like it?
Inquireing minds would seek a View(or several)
CSA

[Paul Henry]

Just so we all understand the terms:- by Modern kilt I imagine you are meaning something more of less started in the late 1800's rather than a modern/contemporary kilt, correct?
I don't think there is anything stopping you wearing what you want to, and if you don't want one of the tailored and sewn with overlapping aprons, there is no reason why you should, so perhaps I'm not actually sure why you are asking !
As a kiltmaker , if I am asked for no straps , no fringe, narrow pleats, wide pleats, long or short , I will always talk it over with the client, and if that is what they want well I am generally happy to oblige, I suspect most kiltmakers would feel the same.

So , if you have some sewing skills it seems much easier for you to construct one the way you want it, and also a lot cheaper as well.

[Guinness>water]

Hmmm.... I too have worn a belted plaid, occasionally. I find the belted plaid is very comfortable, perhaps more comfortable than a modern kilt. I still haven’t quiet figured out the best way to handle the upper portion of the kilt but manage. I also have a modern (8yrd. tank) kilt that I wear very often, more often then my belted plaids.

If you don’t want the fell "sewing down the ar*se" nor the "luggage straps" you basically have a feilidh beag, right?

I bought a great kilt with sewn in pleats and a waist band from a outfitter who advertises here and hated it. I wore it once with the above mentioned "improvements" and then cut it all out. I also bought a feilidh beag from them, again with the mentioned improvements, and equally disliked it. It seems to me you either have a modern kilt, with all the straps, sewing ect., or you have a length of tartan.

[RockyR]

+ 1 for both of the above comments. If you dislike the sewn down pleats, the straps, the fringe, etc., what you are left with is a piece of cloth. If that's what you're looking for, then order the cloth, hand pleat it into a feilidh beag, throw on a sporran and go out on the town!

[creagdhubh]

The belted plaid is for reenactors, in my opinion. Too cumbersome for other social events, and most of the men wearing belted plaids in which I have seen, tend to look sloppy. Just my two cents...

Cheers,

[Woodsheal]

A reduced-yardage (3-4 yds) early style box-pleated "philabeg" will fill the bill for the simple, comfortable garment you're looking for. The pleats can be only stitched in place at the top, there is no thick or heavy lining (or 6 yds of wool wadded into the small of your back!), and it can be fastened onto the wearer with simple ties, buttons-and-loops, or what have you.
The very earliest versions may have had drawstrings or beltloops to hold them on. We're not sure. (I doubt highly that philabegs were hand-pleated every time they were put on. That's a "reenactorism.")
Anyways, having worn this style of kilt for years, I can tell you that the comfort and "ease-of-wear" factor is very high. You will NOT feel as if you're strapped into a barrel...!

[McClef]

All I can say is that without all those wonderfully sewn pleats you will never get that swing!

[Tobus]

Yup, to echo the others, the philabeg is what you want.

But to address the question of how today's traditional kilt evolved from the original belted plaid, I would guess there are thousands of theories. It doesn't take much pondering to understand why they separated it into two pieces (today's "kilt" and "plaid" being separate instead of one single piece of cloth). This was for convenience and versatility.

But as for the construction of today's traditional kilt, I would guess that it evolved over time as people got sick and tired of having sloppy pleats, or having the top of their kilt slip out from under their belt and go haywire. Sewing down the fell keeps everything put together in a tidy manner, and helps it conform to your body from the top (waist) down to just above the widest point of your buttocks. This is extremely useful in avoiding constant readjustment, as well as ensuring a consistent fit every time you put it on. And the straps, of course, make it easy to put on and wear without relying on a separate belt.

It's really the combination of the sewed-down fell and the straps/buckles that make the kilt a well-tailored garment that really fits the owner. If it were just a random piece of cloth, gathered with a rope and cinched down by an exterior belt, it can easily get out of whack and look sloppy. So the tailoring of the kilt probably evolved in order to make it a more wearable garment.

I don't find that the stitched fell limits my movement in any way. Maybe it just feels different to you if you're used to it being simply draped from your waist down? But all the moving parts seem to be below the fell, so I'm not quite sure how that would restrict movement. Are you sure your kilt is custom-made to your body, with the proper fell length?

[Whidbey78]

While I can't say that I disagree with anything said so far, Woodsheal made a very good point about a box peat kilt. It seems to me that a box peat kilt would fill a "middle ground" between modern kilt and feilidh beag, and would still look considerably nicer than many other options for most any situation. It's also a historical garment-- in many ways it's more traditional than a modern knife pleated kilt. As a bonus, it would be very convenient, and they are easy to take care of when cleaning or pressing is needed.

[Woodsheal]

Our own Matt Newsome will gladly make you a "simplified" box-pleat (as I'm sure will some of our other talented kilt makers). He did this one for me in 18 oz. Harris tweed tartan:





The pleats are sewn down only a couple of inches, it has a minimal raw silk lining, unhemmed apron edges, and is pleated to the "random." It closes with tape ties on the (external) right side, and I "cheated" with an internal buckle-and-strap arrangement on the left. Very comfy to wear!