Fashions at the 2019 World Pipe Band Championships

[OC Richard]

When and why bands switched from balmoral to glengarry bonnets? Always thought the glengarry was the standard.

From the late 19th century up until around 1980 many bands wore civilian Evening Dress, for which the Balmoral was generally used.

During that same period many other civilian bands wore military-style Full Dress, and that outfit was topped either with the Feather Bonnet or the Glengarry.

As far as I can tell the wearing the black Glengarry with the black Argyll (an old civilian Evening Dress style) started around 1980.

As far as the "why" goes, Fashion changes for the sake of change. As Yoda might say, "there is no why".

Anyhow, as part of full disclosure here's the first band I played in, late 1970s



This was AFAIK a new kit for them. I saw them compete in Full Dress (feather bonnets etc) a couple years before I joined.

By the time I joined they were using Full Dress for gigs and the outfit above for competition.

Notice only one of the pipers is wearing Ghillie brogues.

Our waistcoats were chocolate brown corduroy, which matched our cover-less L&M Elkhide bags quite well!

Now some random pics from the old days:

A pipe band competing in Full Dress, 1976. Gotta love those lemon yellow drummers' doublets!



Band competing in Balmorals, 1989.



The new look: at the same 1989 contest, a band with Glengarries and black Argylls, the earliest photo I have of this outfit at one of our local Games. Soon the off-white Aran handknit hose will be discarded, the last vestige of the 1970s, and the new pure white bobbletop hose will complete the standard outfit of the 1990s.