Quote Originally Posted by CMcG View Post
"The Highland dress is essentially a 'free' dress -- that is to say, a man's taste and circumstances must alone be permitted to decide when and where and how he should wear it... I presume to dictate to no man what he shall eat or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed."
-- The Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine, The Kilt & How to Wear It, 1901.
Erskine is right, unfortunately he is inevitably mis-interpreted.

Writing as he was at the turn of the last century Erskine (and his readers) knew exactly what to wear and when to wear it. They were also aware of the meaning of that difficult to define word "taste". And most certainly they were well aware that "circumstances", ie: wealth and social standing, dictated "taste". Erskine's message was simply this: a lack of wealth or social standing should not inhibit one from wearing Highland attire.

That said, there is nothing in any of his writings that strays from "the rules" of what one should wear depending on the time of day, where they are, or what they are doing.

Rules, especially as regards dress, simplify life rather than complicate it, and most gentlemen are delighted to live as simply-- and politely-- as possible. The moment "rules" become "general guide lines", the more difficult (or downright confusing) it becomes for a gentleman to know exactly what is expected of him in any given social situation. Given that the "rules"-- at least as regards the wearing of Highland attire-- are far fewer than the rules of golf, it would seem that a gentleman with even the merest modicum of intelligence would be delighted to learn them if for no other reason than he wouldn't have to give much thought to what to wear.

Today, just as in Erskine's time, the noblest virtues are still camraderie, dependability, and unswerving loyalty. The fourth noble virtue is this: A gentleman always plays by "the rules".