Quote Originally Posted by JRB View Post
I think Nighthawk hit on a good point about the fact that these are portraits. Portraits were expensive to have made and I'm sure that it would have been important to be dressed to the nines and as perfectly as possible. That implies to me that the way the kilts look in portraits are the ideal for the time not the norm. It would have been worth taking the time and effort to get the pleats just so if you knew how you looked was going to be preserved for posterity. For day to day dress, that may not have been the case. I know I certainly dress much better than normal when I'm having a formal picture taken.
Not only that, but the average Highlander wouldn't have had his portrait taken. We're looking at people of wealth, dressed in their best, in those pictures. We are left to only speculate on the day to day wear of the average man- leading back to the "lost art" question again!

And Woodsheal- as to the crispness of those pleats, my clan chief keeps his great kilt pleated even when he's not wearing. The result of years of wear and years of remaining pleated has left it looking crisp and pressed. If the gentleman in the picture were wearing a sort of "special occasion" kilt for the pose, then it could easily be that he had done the same, or something similar. Just speculation of course...