Léine on me?

[Fit2BKilted]

I'd like to get a few of these to wear with my kilt (q.v. The Léine
by Matthew A. C. Newsome) ... I'd be interested in hearing opinions on this fashion from the rabble as well.

Does anyone know a supplier of these sorts of shirts, have a pattern, know a tailor---perhaps I should just PM M.A.C. Newsome himself (since the pattern link is dead on that site)?

I'm specifically looking for something in a linen or linen-hemp blended fabric, preferably (natural or) dyed saffron... Even a hybridized version would be seriously considered.

Reading further, and in more detail, it seems that "Early Highland Dress" is a must-read and imminent purchase; still, I wonder how one might look with a kilt o'er a léine?

[Dall_Piobaire]

Check out some SCA sites, surely they must have contacts. On the otherhand, they can't be too difficult to make, and it's really just a long tunic isn't it?

I say give it a shot!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Check out the museum's pattern page:
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/patterns.htm

The first one on there is for a Man's Leine.

I don't know that I'd recommend wearing this with a modern kilt, though. It's a sixteenth century fashion. It might be great for reenacting purposes, but I don't think for modern dress.

[Fit2BKilted]

Check out the museum's pattern page:
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/patterns.htm

The first one on there is for a Man's Leine.

I don't know that I'd recommend wearing this with a modern kilt, though. It's a sixteenth century fashion. It might be great for reenacting purposes, but I don't think for modern dress.

Thank you very much! However; upon closer inspection of the drawings, I am léining away from the historical version thereof... I think perhaps I'm just looking for a new design shirt with an extra-long tail (that will fall a few inches above the kilt hem) and possibly incorporate a variety of historical and modern collar and sleeve designs... Perhaps I'll become a modern Highland fashion-designer in the process?

[McFarkus]

The second shirt on this page might fill the bill (and it's linen)

http://www.vintageshirt.co.uk/list_shirts.php

[Fit2BKilted]

The second shirt on this page might fill the bill (and it's linen)

http://www.vintageshirt.co.uk/list_shirts.php

SWEET! Now I just need to get it dyed somewhere...

[csbdr]

how about this...

http://celticwarriorkilts.com/cms.html

[Fit2BKilted]

how about this...

http://celticwarriorkilts.com/cms.html

That looks excellent too... To DYE for, literally ;-)

[Dall_Piobaire]

I remember from my Rev War reenacting days that the shirts were aactually quite long, and once you got used to where the shoulders were, were pretty comfortable. I like your idea for "the look", a nice linen shirt with a standup collare and black cravat, say late 18th early 19th century! Only problem then becomes the proper jacket, that won't be cheap by any means

[O'Callaghan]

Matt Newsome's article on the Leine that was linked here is very good and very scholarly. As he noted, the exact style of the leine varied over time, but it generally refers to a linen tunic worn by the Gaels. Sometimes it was dyed yellow with saffron, and sometimes it was worn in the natural linen colour, a sort of 'oatmeal' shade. Some times it had embroidered borders, sometimes not. Sometimes it was pleated, sometimes not. Many renfair people favour ones with very wide flared sleeves, but those only belong to a late period.

One thing Matt seems puzzled over in his article is why leinte (plural of leine) dyed with saffron are yellow and saffron kilts are an orange/brown colour, but it is no great mystery. The dye uptake of linen is extremely poor, so linen dyed with saffron comes out yellow while other fabrics come out orange/brown. This also explains why saffron was used as opposed to any other dye, because other vegetable dyes available at the time just wouldn't take on linen. Of course, with synthetic dyes and linen/synthetic blends this is no longer much of a problem in the present day.

In a similar way, Irish linen sports jackets are traditionally undyed, even though they are not so old as the leine, but I have one like that and also a dark blue one, LOL! (Granted, they are both a linen blend, not pure linen).

ETA: Apparently by the time the Irish adopted the sports jacket nobody wanted to wear a bright yellow jacket! Whyever not? LOL!

Apparently, the Gaels who migrated from Ireland to Scotland originally wore leinte gathered into pleats with a belt and with 'striped' woollen cloaks (brat), which were most likely tartan. Tartan goes back even to before the Gaels migrated to Ireland, much less Scotland.

The great kilt was invented in Scotland when the belt was put on over the cloak instead of under it, so that the pleats were formed in the cloak instead of in the leine. So, certainly the leine was still worn under the great kilt when those were in use, if that's the period you are going for. OTOH, a leine worn with a modern type of kilt would probably be considered to be an anachronism, but WTH.

The Irish never wore great kilts, but only adopted modern kilts during the Gaelic revival of the 19th century, as is also true of the lowland Scots. The Irish kilts of that period were solid colours to distinguish over the Scots, and AFAIK they were all either green for nationalistic reasons or saffron after the saffron leine, even though the latter weren't actually the same colour because of the difference in dye uptake between linen and wool.