Cock feather in a bonnet for civilian attire.

[tripleblessed]

The only constant in feather wear for a long, long, time and across a broad selection of cultures is that some people choose to do it. For a much shorter time, people in Scotland have used certain feathers worn in a certain way to indicate certain things. If it is one's choice to be a person wearing feathers, one would be well-advised to avoid giving the impression one is claiming an identity or authority to which one is not entitled. Other than that, it's no other person's business. A look back through extant records of actual Scots actually living in Scotland as Scots actually did it reveals a different reality than some tout currently, said currently touted reality having arisen in the last hundred or hundred fifty years. Average Scots did stick a feather in their cap on occasion, as they were a notably independent lot, and the rule was dress as you can, and don't worry about how somebody else does it. They were not above wearing a feather simply as a poke in the eye to those who, for whatever reason, believed they had the right to make rules. Read your Burns. Read the court cases. Be prepared to have people tell you the facts are irrelevant, their granda' said it just isn't done. One can't argue with that, he probably did say that. And all are free to hold that as their belief. We do, after all, tip our hat (with or without feather) to the idea of freedom, whether or not we are prepared to share our freedom with all and sundry.

Don't pretend to be an armiger, or a baron, or a chief, if you aren't. Be prepared to catch some grief. You are the only one who can say it's worth the flak to dress as you like.