Outlander tartans: Questions

[figheadair]

One has to wonder if these darker, natural, earthy tones persisted through the mid-18th century and beyond. And, even though the brighter colors were available, were preferred/favored by some just as the reproduction/weathered tartans are today.

Simple answer is we just don't know but one has to bear in mind the context in which such comments were written. The quote from the bishop could be read as being disparaging of the nasty Highlander who was always up to no good and could not be trusted.

[DWFII]

FWIW, one of my particular friends (who also happens to be one of the foremost shoe historians in the world and the head of the shoemaking faculty at Colonial Williamsburg) is fond of pointing out that without concrete fragmentary evidence or incontrovertible references in the literature and the fine arts, it's not history. It's just speculation, guessing, and/or fantasy, and more appropriate for a Ren Faire than a reenactment or even historical fiction...if it aspires to accuracy, at all.

[freep]

<snip>

One has to wonder if these darker, natural, earthy tones persisted through the mid-18th century and beyond. And, even though the brighter colors were available, were preferred/favored by some just as the reproduction/weathered tartans are today.

Two considerations come to mind:

There would have been a difference between clothing the Laird and his family wore and that of the clansmen.

Given some of the activities in which the clans were engaged in the first half of the 18th century, camouflage would seem a good idea.