Inspired by Prince Charles

[AtagahiKC]

Those are great looks, Arlen. I like both of the waistcoats that the contemporary Prince Charles wears.

The John Pettie painting of Bonnie Prince Charlie, which Woodsheal posted, is quite interesting.

Note that the three men wear the cuff of their kilt hose lower than we do today. There is more knee/leg showing than the modern standard of 2-3 fingers.

I hadn't seen the 18th Century long waistcoat (mid-1700s style) worn with kilts before either. It changes the look of the kilt outfit entirely. Of course the painting was completed in 1898, about 150 years after Bonnie Prince Charlie's famous final battle, so I'm not sure how much historical accuracy to attribute to the outfit.

His fancy shoulder plaid is curious as to how it goes up under the waistcoat and disappear. Does it tuck into an unseen belt under his waistcoat? The tail of the plaid(s) seems to defy logic as well. If two corners are used to tuck on the shoulders and the other two under the waistcoat, where does the triangular tail come from?

Also, Bonnie Prince Charlie seems to wear his sporran lower than the two men behind him. I suspect that is due to the long waistcoat. I fear it might prove a more painful way to wear the sporran.

Women often tell us that they are slaves to fashion when they put on high heels that hurt. Perhaps we should pull this out to show men used to be the same until we grew weary of wearing a cup with the kilt and raised the sporran to a more sensible height.



Here is an 1891 painting of Bonnie Prince Charlie by George William Joy that shows one plaid with two corners pinned to two shoulders. It doesn't seem to show the two other corners wrapping around the front as in the Pettie painting, nor does it show the long waistcoat. The top of the hose also are shown lower on the leg, similar to Pettie's later painting.



In checking kilt history, it appears that the first known fèileadh beag with sewn-in pleats was dated at 1792. (See "History of the Kilt", Matthew A.C. Newsome, http://www.scottishtartans.org/kilt.html). This post-dates Bonnie Prince Charlie, who died in 1788.

Both paintings use the later-developed tailored kilt, making the styles shown in both paintings much more suspect. It is more likely that the artists used the style of wearing the kilt and plaid used by their contemporaries, rather than being historically accurate.

Perhaps the long waistcoat and tucking of the plaid under the long waistcoat is artistic license on the part of Pettie, as well. It is an interesting look, nevertheless.