Belted Evening Plaid

[David Thorpe]

Not wishing to contradict you, but by my count I make it four gentlemen.

And rising. I stand corrected, sir.

[David Thorpe]

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but Matt Newsome has an article on his blog about plaids. http://kiltmaker.blogspot.com/2008/0...ats-plaid.html

Thank you for the link. I had read a couple of other of Matt's blogs on plaids, but had not found this one. What he describes (quite comprehensively) appears to me to have more of the look of a breacen feile, extending for quite a ways around the waist. However, the shoulder end, which was what I was having trouble understanding, is quite similar, if not identical to Thompson's description.

Very helpful. Thanks again.

[AKScott]

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...riences-69205/

[David Thorpe]

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...riences-69205/

Thank you, sir, for another informative and helpful thread.

[Steve Ashton]

Sorry David, slight technical problem getting the photos posted. I had the Plaid layed out and the camera set up. Unfortunatly I forgot to charge the camera battery.
It is in the charger now and I will have the photo for you when I get to the kilt shop in the morning.

My bad.

[David Thorpe]

Not a problem at all, Steve, and thank you for the effort.

This has been a wonderful learning experience, and does not appear to be over by a long shot.

[OC Richard]

I've made a couple of these plaids. In old Highland Dress catalogues, and in the old days in general, they were called "belted plaids". Trouble is, nowadays we have reenactors etc wearing 18th century great kilts/belted plaids which leads to confusion. When the great kilt went out of use in the Army (c1800) they adopted belted plaids for full dress, and wear them to this day.

You'll hear them called "drummer's plaids" but this is really a misnomer as they were worn by all ranks in the Army in Full Dress in the old days, and also very popular in civilian Evening Dress.

Anyhow it's a complicated thing but not all that hard to make. There's a narrow (around 1" wide) tartan belt with two-pronged buckle that goes round the waist.

Let into the belt is a big rectangle of tartan, a half-width of tartan (26"/27" wide) and long enough to go from the waist (where the belt is) to about the level of the bottom of the kilt and back up to the shoulder. This rectangle is pleated where it lets into the belt, this pleated portion having a width of around 6 or 7 inches, and usually the pleats are sewn for several inches, around 8 to 10 inches as I recall. The three free sides of this big rectangle, that is, all sides save for the pleated side that goes into the belt, are fringed with long rolled fringe as you would do on full plaid/piper's plaid.

Sewn onto the edge at the centre of the side furthest from the side which is pleated and let into the belt is a triangle of tartan, fringed with the same fringe on two sides, the unfringed side gathered and sewn onto the main big rectangle. This is shoved through the epaulette and the brooch is pinned to it. From where it's sewn onto the big rectange to the tip is around 8 to 10 inches.

Here's the only clear photo I've been able to find online of the thing. But, this one is made different from any one I've seen, with a flat section of tartan between the pleated end and the belt. (The area that's flat tartan here, is usually the portion where the pleats are sewn, just like the sewn pleats on a long/piper's plaid.)



Here it is in a 1936 catalogue



and worn by officers c1890



and one I made back in the early 1980s



One thing that seems to vary somewhat from plaid to plaid is the size of the fringed tab that goes through the epaulette. I've seen vintage plaids where this is small/skimpy and the brooch nearly covers it. Note that the one in the Anderson 1936 catalogue is quite long in the front, like those of the officers goes a bit past the waistbelt in front. The one I made goes around to the waist level in front.

[creagdhubh]

I appreciate your kind and generous offer. Encountering a true gentleman is made more pleasurable by its increasing rarity these days.

I agree, David.

Kindest regards,

[creagdhubh]

If you will email/pm me your address I will loan you one of my belted plaids.

For what it's worth, the first time I saw a fly plaid it was being worn by gentlemen performing an exhibition of Scottish Country Dancing back in the mid 1960s. At the time I thought the fly plaids looked for all the world like small tartan table cloths pinned to their shoulders, an opinion I still hold almost a half century later.

***

I once owned a fly-plaid with straight fringe in the early 1990s and never wore it. Actually, come to think of it, I am not entirely sure why I even bought it in the first place - must have been on a whim, thinking that it looked smart or something. Funnily enough, my aunt now uses it as a table cloth.

Cheers,

[M. A. C. Newsome]

This sounds like a slightly abbreviated version of the plaid Erskine described in The Kilt and How to Wear It (c. 1901), and which I recreated here:
http://kiltmaker.blogspot.com/2008/0...ats-plaid.html

In his text, Erskine describes the plaid as being "two yards by two," which I interpret to mean a two yard length of double width cloth (72" x 54") but which could just as easily be a length of material 72" x 72". I have created, and worn, this style. I think in terms of looks it is far superior to the modern fly plaid. However, it is rather cumbersome, especially when made from heavy weight tartan. Eventually I ended up selling the one I made for myself.

I think this form of belted plaid would achieve a very similar look, but not be nearly as heavy and unweildy. Based on the photo and description OC Richard has provided, I should have enough information to create one. And I have been wondering what best to do with this 4 yard length of 29" wide New House Highland tartan I have lying around..... :-)