A Lasses Wear Thread

[Jack Daw]

It's ok, Rex. She's too dead to care.

[Southern Breeze]

Cool pic, Rex, but that's Greer Garson.

Sporran? I don't see a .... where was I?

[Thistle Stop]

Me, too.

Me three!

Another Cyndi on X Marks! Welcome! I like your car tag avatar!

Your tartan sister,

Cyndi

[Thistle Stop]

If I recall correctly, the women of the clan are supposed to wear a sash over the left shoulder. Only the Chiefs wife (and maybe daughter?) can wear it over the right shoulder.

Or so I hear tell. Then again, I might have that totally backwards.

And honestly I don't think anybody really gives a rip.

Hi Alan -- You do have it reversed. According to the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) and other sources, a clanswoman wears the sash on her right shoulder. Female clan chiefs, wives of clan chiefs, and wives of colonels of Scottish regiments wear the sash on the left shoulder. (I have no info on how a female colonel [should there be any in the Scottish regiments] would wear it when not in military dress!) Members of the RSCDS "have been granted permission by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, to wear their sashes on the left shoulder. This is an honour bestowed upon the Society because she is their Patron." Pipers' plaids, fly plaids, and the loose end of a Great Kilt (the féileadh mór) are worn on the gent's left shoulder, and I imagine the right-shoulder position for a lady's sash derives from that, being opposite to it, just as ladies' blouses button opposite to a man's shirt and kilted skirts wrap the other way round to a man's kilt.

That's the traditional convention. As you say, most people these days are pretty casual about "the rules", except for the Kilt Police types! Speaking for myself, I'm just happy that people want to celebrate their heritage with tartan, however they choose to wear it!

-- Cyndi

[Frank McGrath]

Oops.

Before My time. I wouldn't know.

[Thistle Stop]

I have no clue what ladies wear, or if there even are rules for us. I know about the Kilt Do's and Don'ts for guys and that there are even differing opinions on what is worn and how. I guess what I've been trying to do is find out what women typically wear that's a little "traditional", if there even is such a thing. I can look at clothing websites, but sometimes it's only hints of tartan or they'll have the model in everything available through their store (I'm thinking overkill with accessories, but I could be wrong). And sometimes it's only a generic look and I wonder if that might be overdone. I guess the focus is on guys and kilts, and that's fine, but I'd like to know what ladies can do

Hi Cynthia (I'm a Cynthia too!) -- You're right, the guys get most of the attention in the world of "traditional" Scottish dress. But we ladies have a few good options for wearing the tartan, too.

Historically, women wore a tartan garment called an arisaid. Here's what I have on that in my Glossary:

arisaid [air uh saydch] 1 (n.) a traditional woman's Highland garment, essentially a long, belted tartan cloak or over-dress, fastened in front with a brooch.

It was similar to a man's Great Kilt (féileadh mór) -- basically just a big piece of tartan cloth. No one wears the arisaid these days except in a Ren Faire or re-enactors milieu, of course. But a modern cape, cloak, ruana, or other sort of wrap is one attractive way to wear tartan.

The most "traditional" tartan garment for ladies today is a tartan skirt. It's usually a below-the-knee kilted skirt for daytime/business/casual occasions, with any sort of coordinating solid-colour top or blouse, worn with stockings or tights (NOT kilt hose and flashes! -- though girls' knee socks might look OK for a sporty effect), and heels, flats, or boots -- whatever fits the desired degree of "dressiness". You can add a matching tartan sash on the right shoulder, fastened with a brooch, for events with a Scots-heritage focus.

For evening parties or semi-formal affairs, the traditional look is a full-length tartan skirt, which could be wool and kilted (a "hostess kilt"), or wool or silk and pleated or gathered, worn with a white blouse with a lace jabot and cuffs (made into the blouse, rather than separate like a man's jabot and cuffs). A matching tartan sash can be worn on the right shoulder. A solid-colour jacket or wrap in a suitable fabric (wool, velvet, etc.) is good to have in cold weather.

For a ball or other white-tie event, a modern evening gown is worn. A tartan sash or stole will complement a solid-colour gown with simple styling. You can have a tartan (or part-tartan) ball gown custom-made, which can be very lovely -- we sell one with a full skirt and a strapless, corseted bodice with back lacing that is just gorgeous. We've even had customers order it as a wedding gown.

The traditional ensemble for Scottish Country Dancers is a white dress (below the knee, like ballet length), cut full enough for comfort in dancing, worn with a tartan sash on the left shoulder.

You can have a number of garments made-to-measure in tartan, or buy yardage to sew your own. Why not buy just a little tartan fabric to embellish ready-made clothes, like adding tartan cuffs to a jacket, tartan pockets to a pair of jeans, or a tartan belt to a dress? The main thing is to enjoy yourself with it, so use your imagination!

Slainte!

Cyndi

[Thistle Stop]

What's the scoop on ladies wearing a kilt pin on a tartan skirt, specifically, one with pleats perhaps - or not, but either way...... is it "done"? Is there a "rule" under the control of the Official Kilt Police?

I think a kilt pin on a skirt that isn't kilted would look a bit odd. But if you have a kilt pin you like, you could wear it in place of a brooch on a sash, scarf, jacket lapel, etc. A kilt pin is usually seen in a vertical orientation, but there's no reason you can't wear it diagonally or horizontally. I have an antique kilt pin I often use that way.

Slainte,

Cyndi

[Thistle Stop]

There is no reason, that I am aware of, that says that you ladies cannot wear a balmoral or glengarry and most certainly glengarries are seen being worn by lady members of pipe bands.However, I am sorry to say that,like the kilt etc.these two forms of bonnet are regarded as male attire for no other reason that I can think of than, "its just not done", for a lady to wear them.

This is one element of male attire which I think looks fine on a woman. I wear a Balmoral bonnet every day in the winter, and I promise you it does not look a bit masculine on me! My everyday bonnet is black with a black/red/white diced band and a silver clan crest badge (I wear a cashmere scarf in Royal Stewart tartan with that, and a black coat), and my dressier one is all black with a miniature gold clan crest badge suspended from a gold bow brooch (the way ladies' miniature medals are) on the grosgrain cockade, which looks quite dainty! I have hats I've made from tartan, in the Balmoral style -- diced band woven and stitched from narrow grosgrain ribbon in colours to complement the tartan, bow in the back, cockade, badge, and all -- to go with home-sewn tartan garments, and I like them a lot. Glengarries look good on most ladies, too. Lady pipers wear the Glengarry, of course, but some other sorts of outfits might carry it off, too. I remember an Easter outfit I had as a small child, a sailor-collar dress in navy trimmed with red and white, and a little navy Glengarry bonnet to go with it. Very cute, if I do say so myself!

Tip o' the hat tae ye,

Cyndi

[Thistle Stop]

Here is one of me and my favourite lass - we just celebrated our 50th anniversary last month.

That's a beautiful picture! Congratulations!

Ceann bliadhna sona! (Happy Anniversary!)

Leis gach deagh dhurachd (with every good wish) --

Cyndi

[Thistle Stop]

you HATE HATE HATE HATE tartan. Yuck Plaid! BARF.

You refuse to dress like...like....*humph* these HUSSIES that the men are posting in this thread. In fact, if the dufus you're married to/dating/saddled with wasn't Scottish-crazy, you wouldn't be seen dead with anything plaid anywhere in your house, much less on your body. But there you go, the dufus wants you to wear the clan tartan, and it's too late to divorce him/find a new boyfriend/hire an assassin.

That particular woman is probably not lingering at XMTS, and if she landed here by accident and read a bit of this thread, surely she would not get to the 33rd page of replies unless she's an utter masochist!

I, on the other hand, am loving this thread and all the great suggestions from everyone... even the outfits I probably wouldn't have put on in my 20s, let alone here in the Middle Aged era -- I can appreciate beauty (even on a stick-insect model) for its own sake. All these pictures, and the discussion, are very interesting. Thanks to all the contributors!

Cheers,

Cyndi