Peter,

I'd definitely call that box pleated. Only I'd make the distiction that these pleats are sewn in rather than sewn down. I could easily envision this as an early attempt at making a permanant garment from a feilidh-beag.

Does the binding tape at the waist look contemporary to the rest of the garment to you, or do you think perhaps it is a later addition?

Also, if you can clarify something else -- the folding in the aprons. In the first picture, I assumed that was how the apron happened to be folded but in the subsequent photographs it would appear that the apron actually has pleats sewn in to make it more narrow. Can you clarify?