I am an amateur novelist currently working on my first novel which involves an 18th century Scotsman who immigrates to the American Colonies shortly following the Jacobite rising of 1745 and becomes a trapper in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. I have some written references concerning the clothing commonly worn by the Scottish fur traders and trappers and it seems they wore an amalgamation of Highland and Native American styles, primarily choosing to wear kilts and Highland style sleeved waistcoats or “labourer’s jaks” with the addition of such items as leather leggings and moccasins or high boots instead of the more common hose and brogues as they were considered more appropriate for travel through the thick and thorny underbrush of the Appalachian Mountains.


My primary issue concerns the Highland style sleeved waistcoats. I am able to find plenty of references of sleeved Waistcoats in such places as Williamsburg Virginia and various museums throughout North and South Carolina, but I have never seen one listed as, “Highland style,” or any such thing. Does anyone have access to extant pieces, accurate replicas, or even reliable artwork which I can study for descriptive purposes. Remember, the clothing would have been brought over anywhere from 1746-1748, though it could have been a trade item picked up from other Scots with whom he would be trading, meaning it could be as late as 1753, given my novel’s timeline.







Thank you all in advance for any aid you may be able to offer.