Show us your "Great Kilt" (belted plaid) pictures

**Panache** · 15th November 09, 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by fluter

Martin, it sounds as though you and Hamish had too much fabric. 4 or 5 double-width yards is about average. If you were trying to work with 7 or 8 yards, then I'm not surprised if it was unwieldy.

My first attempt was using almost 7 1/2 yards of material and I felt like I was "drowning in tartan"

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

**Woodsheal** · 15th November 09, 09:24 AM

It's interesting to note that in the early decades of the tailored "little kilt" it was considered a working garment. It was indeed "fatigue" dress in the highland regiments. The belted plaid was the more formal, "dressier" item of highland garb.
Now it's been largely relegated to costume status, though it certainly can still work quite well for formal occasions, as Mr. Killman's photo shows. I believe Matt Newsome also has some pics showing the belted plaid looking great in a "modern" context....

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 17th November 09, 04:54 AM

Originally Posted by Woodsheal

It's interesting to note that in the early decades of the tailored "little kilt" it was considered a working garment. It was indeed "fatigue" dress in the highland regiments. The belted plaid was the more formal, "dressier" item of highland garb.
Now it's been largely relegated to costume status, though it certainly can still work quite well for formal occasions, as Mr. Killman's photo shows. I believe Matt Newsome also has some pics showing the belted plaid looking great in a "modern" context....

Yes, I do, from a Burns Supper in 2007.

I think that a belted plaid can work in a modern, formal context. But it can be done poorly, as well. Keep in mind that you are taking a garment that really hasn't been part of the contemporary dress for a couple of hundred years and you are trying to incorporate it into modern clothing. Attempts to blend the two can look very elegant, or ridiculous!

Here was my attempt a couple of years ago (taken in my living room before leaving for the Burns Supper):

I was satisfied with how the outfit turned out, but not ideally so. What would I have done different? Ideally, I would rather have paired the great kilt with a more formal doublet, such as a Sheriffmuir or a Montrose. But a black Argyle was what I had, so that's what I wore. I also would have rather worn a more historically themed cravat or jabot (as apporpriate with the doublet), than the modern neck tie you see me wearing. Lastly, I think buckle brogues would have looked better here than ghillies.

Since that time I have acquired some of those things -- buckle brogues, a nice silk cravat, etc. Still don't have a Sheriffmuir -- yet!

But I have also since that time turned that belted plaid into a nice tailored kilt! :-)

(You can see the buckle brogues and cravat in this picture).

I do also have a "half belted-plaid" that I can wear with my Carolina kilt to give the impression of a great kilt. My Carolina kilt is a tailored, four yard, box pleated kilt. But when worn with the half plaid it does really look rather like a great kilt. (See my blog post for more background and pics).

Here I am wearing it to a Burns Supper in Atlanta last year (with my lovely wife).

On my blog posting you can see it being worn in a less formal context. I think it looks fine, if a bit theatrical. I certainly don't wear it every day! But if you want a plaid that mimics the look of the older great kilt, this is the way to go.