Tartan Jackets

[Sherry]

Cuillin is offering tartan jacket reproductions to go with the historically pleated kilts:
KILTS: We can now offer accurate reproduction kilts from the 18th and 19th century, regimental or civilian, in accurately reproduced tartans. Box, barrel, knife, or 'Kingussie'-pleated, these kilts are made from a minimum of four yards of cloth up to nine yards depending on period and waist size.

Here are photos of an original Highland Dress suite from 1800 at the Kingussie Folk Museum in Scotland. Note how the LARGE pleats are angled left and right from a center box pleat:

photos from the Bob Martin archive

Below is an example of a modern 'Kingussie'-pleated kilt:

photos courtesy Bob Martin

The 'Kingussie' Kilt can be made with (modern) or without (historical) a box-pleat on the left of the front kilt apron. This is an extremely distinctive kilt style, and one of the oldest in existance.

Other Historic Kilt styles will be illustrated as examples are available, including the correct barrel pleat (42nd RHR from about 1775-1840), the box pleat (civilian and regimental up to about 1840), and early knife pleat kilts.



http://www.cuillinn.com/repro.html

Talk about fancy dress!

Sherry

[haukehaien]

What's a barrel pleat?

[Southern Breeze]

What's a barrel pleat?

I'm scrathing my head too.Enquiring minds want to know.

[Rigged]

This is the only image I could find of a barrel pleat:

http://www.dfbsales.com/html/details...l_details.html

[Hamish]

I have heard of barrel pleats before, but never seen them. However, I have always imagined them to be simple, unpressed box-pleats, rather like Rigged's illustration of curtain headings. No doubt Matt will know the answer to this one.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Hamish has it just about right. It's like you took a regular knife pleated kilt and twisted the top of it around, making almost a little "box" at the end. You leave this unpressed and it makes almost a tube running down your pleat. Soldiers would actully run a cane up them to round them out for inspection, so it's also sometimes called cane pleating.

BTW, the kilt in the bottom picture there is in the Bullman tartan, designed by Bob Martin for my friend Al Bullman. He's got the only kilt in it that I know (made by Bob Martin), and he was quite surprised to see his kilt on this guy's web site!

Matt

[Blu (Ontario)]

This is fascinating stuff. While I've previously seen the B&W photos of the 1800 kilt and jacket, the photos below it of the contemporary example really shows off the detailing. Interestingly, I showed this to my wife last night and her reaction was... "I don't like that...!"

My eyes see too much tartan... and this is probably a result of exposure to some of the expert opinion here at Xmarks. I think our eyes get so used to seeing things in a particular form and accepting them, that there is a natural tendancy to look negatively upon any departure from that.

Personally, I think the form of the jacket is great. I'll bet it would look wonderful in solid colors. (My prejudice clearly at work here.) I think the form of the kilt is really nice, esp. pleated to the stripe. Very distinctive.

Does anyone on the board have one of these kilts... or consider buying one?

blu

[davedove]

My eyes see too much tartan... and this is probably a result of exposure to some of the expert opinion here at Xmarks. I think our eyes get so used to seeing things in a particular form and accepting them, that there is a natural tendancy to look negatively upon any departure from that.

I think that's our modern eyes looking at the tartans. I recall seeing some older drawings where the person seems to be wearing as much tartan as will fit on his body. So, since these are supposed to be historical reproductions, they look great.

[Archangel]

I think this stuff is ugly. To me, it has crossed over into parody. It worked, maybe in the past, but now it only works for Bing in Brigadoon or Rod Stewart's mod days. If you're neither of those people, I doubt you can make it look good. (Reminds me of Sir Harry whatsisname that dressed this way as a comic (?) and really ticked off the Scots.)

(All my personal opinion, and I've been wrong before. The pictures were cool to look at.)

[haukehaien]

It does seem like rather a lot of tartan, and I don't see myself wearing it for general wear ... OTOH, it's certainly appropriate for historical portrayals (theatrical or re-enactment.) Have any of you seen the portrait The MacDonald Boys? it was painted about 1750 by an unknown artist and shows two young MacDonalds, one with a golf club, one with a rifle. They are both head-to-foot in tartan (jacket, breeches and hose for one; jacket, waistcoat, kilt and hose for the other) and between them are wearing four different tartans. I don't if it was everyday wear or not, but it's certainly ... different from anything I've ever seen at a games or gathering.

I tend to agree with Blu; I think I'd like the jacket, in a nice solid color. Otherwise, it's just a bit much.