traditional vs. classic

[Panache]

Oh the fun of having a white tie highland athletic competition!


Just imagine the pep talk Coach Panache would give!


"Gentlemen, remember to be extremely careful and not soil your white gloves on the Braemar stone. It is most helpful to have a small brush concealed about your person and remove any dirt or mud that the stone acquires with a few brisk strokes before taking hold of it.

Also I want to see each and everyone of you properly address the caber before starting your lift. A simple "How do you do" should be sufficient.

As usual there will be no perspiring allowed on the field. Should one find one's face with a slight glow, please be discreet in removing it with your pocket squares.

And please refrain from any sort of undignified noises when exerting yourselves on the field. Should you absolutely feel the need to make some sort of an exclamation on your release let's keep it to a reasonably volumed "Tally ho!"

Right then! Off you go and may the best competitor proved themselves worthy!"

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Well Scott doesn't that depend if the Highland Games in question are Black or White or tie formal affairs?

Cheers

Jamie

Oh absolutely. But REALLY, a Prince Charlie coatee during the day? Makes one think of Die Fledermaus... and poor Gabriel von Eisenstein having to go home on the trolley.

But then that's IT. The poor fellows wandering around in Prince Charlie coatees during the day are off their trolleys. Simple as that.

[Panache]

Oh absolutely. But REALLY, a Prince Charlie coatee during the day?

Scott,

I am of course assuming that any formal Highland Games would start after 6:00 PM (and use a lighted field).

The only real question is do we start with a sherry social before the opening ceremonies?

In all seriousness, I too have seen Prince Charlie Coatees and Black Argylls sported during the day at a Highland Games and they just don't look right. I may not be an "auld crabbit" but I have a tweed jacket and two twill cotton ones that serve me quite well for such events.

I have worn my Argyll to afternoon performances of the Nutcracker Ballet, but being as I was the only one sporting a dressy jacket of any sort it was hard to determine if I was overdressed or not. Somehow the ballet, even an afternoon performance seems to call for something more formal than tweed. It is difficult to judges though. You see from the standpoint of wearing a jacket or sport coat of any sort, compared to the rest of the adult male patrons there, I was seriously overdressed. Howvever there were gentlemen there with ties, I believe they were all ushers

sigh

Oh well

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Scott,

I am of course assuming that any formal Highland Games would start after 6:00 PM (and use a lighted field).

The only real question is do we start with a sherry social before the opening ceremonies?

In all seriousness, I too have seen Prince Charlie Coatees and Black Argylls sported during the day at a Highland Games and they just don't look right. I may not be an "auld crabbit" but I have a tweed jacket and two twill cotton ones that serve me quite well for such events.

I have worn my Argyll to afternoon performances of the Nutcracker Ballet, but being as I was the only one sporting a dressy jacket of any sort it was hard to determine if I was overdressed or not. Somehow the ballet, even an afternoon performance seems to call for something more formal than tweed. It is difficult to judges though. You see from the standpoint of wearing a jacket or sport coat of any sort, compared to the rest of the adult male patrons there, I was seriously overdressed. However there were gentlemen there with ties, I believe they were all ushers

sigh

Oh well

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

Jamie,

Yes, when attending the theatre one should endeavor to be better dressed than the ushers.

As to the matter of a pre-games sherry reception, I believe that a sherry reception is appropriate only for a one day Highland games. If the games take place over two days-- sorry, evenings-- , a champagne reception is generally considered to be more in keeping with the overall tone of the event.

As ever,

Scott

[creagdhubh]

What a great picture. I like this look. I'd prefer a bit more sag in the plaid across the chest and less hanging down in front, but in general, this looks great to me. Function and style. The bottom of the kilt looks interesting also. Appears to be a solid with a design along the bottom. Very unique photo. Thanks for posting.

Wow, I love the way you think! Your Highland attire looks absolutely amazing and is very much like my own style. I agree with everything you have said. I am very much a traditionalist and despise the utilikilts, leather kilts, kilts that match pinstripe suit blazers, etc. I think there is a lot of rubbish out there in terms of what lads are wearing. The worst thing thaat someone could do is to take Highland dress and completely ruin it by making it 'too' modern. Now what do I mean by that? Of course we live in a modern world, and people have their own likes and dislikes when it comes to wearing the Garb of the old Gaul. I have no problem with personal views of how someone chooses to wear Highland dress, however, I do feel that there are so many better representations and styles available, veruses what some people are wearing these days. I like how you did your research, expecially looking at Macleay's 'Highlanders of Scotland.' Yes, these are prints from the 19-century, however they are wonderful representations of Highland dress-more specifcally for evening or formal wear inspiration. Now, of course I wouldnt show up to a ball with flintlock pistols, a broadsword, and a targe slung on my back, yet everything else looks absolutely fabulous! The tartan waistcoats, the ornate hair sporrans (sporan molach), the dirks, the variations in doublets, the bonnets with plant badges, everything looks great!

I am also a firm supporter of looking at how your clan chief dresses. Not all clans have current chiefs, and some may be female, however my clan chief, Sir William Alan Macpherson of Cluny and Blairgowrie, whom my wife and I have had the pleasure of meeting many times and have been to his lovely home, Newton Castle in Blairgowrie, Perthshire many times as well, is a perfect example of traditional Highland attire. He tends to wear check shirts of varying colors, with regimental stripe neckties, or country ties made of wool with ducks or grouse patterns on them, tweed jackets of varying tweeds or in the plain colors with our without a waistcoat for daywear. He loves to wear his Scottish wildcat sporran, which of course is suitable for any type of formality, and for his evening attire he prefers the regulation doublet with an old hair sporran that his father and former Macpherson chiefs passed down to him-complete with buckle brogues and argyll hose to match his dress Macpherson kilt. Now of course, every person will have their own style and preferences on how to wear their Highland attire, I am not saying that is wrong. There is many degrees of latitude with how one puts together their ensemble and I love to see the different fashions, however, I do believe that there are many lads out there that just haven't discovered those latitudes. ?Look at how HRH Prince Charles wears his attire, look at P/M Gordon Walker, look at Macleay's book, 'The Highlanders of Scotland,' look at old photos of Highlanders from the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. Many of these old photos and works of art can inspire, motivate, and give a plethora of knowledge to those lads who are eager for more! I love it!!!

[creagdhubh]

Below is a photo of my wife and I at a local favorite Scottish pub called, 'The Scottish Arms,' here in St. Louis. It is owned and operated by an Aberdeen Scot, Alastair Nisbet. Excellent traditional Scottish food and a single malt collection that rivals all the distilleries in bonnie green Alba! I wear one Golden Eagle feather in my bonnet, because I am a Scottish Armiger, which means I have matriculated arms of an ancestor from the Lord Lyon King of Arms in Edinburgh. I petitioned my grant for arms about a year and a half ago and was granted the arms of an ancestor in the direct male line of my father's lineage-as it is not recognized on the female line (i.e-you cannot be granted arms if your ancestor is apart of your mother's side of the family).

[creagdhubh]

Great questions! Because I've discovered that over the years, as my sources have broadened, I've had to reevaluate some of my concepts.

My first source was a catalogue from a Highland Dress outfitter which I got around 1974. Ooooh how I gazed at those B&W photos of all the different styles of sporrans, different types of jackets (Montrose, Regulation, tweed day, and many more), and all the old-fashioned types of kilt pins etc etc.

At that time 'casual kilts' and all the neo-Celtic and neo-Culloden etc etc stuff didn't exist and the 'traditional' modes of Highland Dress held sway: Day Dress, Evening Dress, and military-style dress each with its proprietary shoes, hose, sporran, jacket, and headgear. It just didn't do to mix things up!

I followed suit and had several Highland Dress outfits which respected those traditional modes:





I got really into Highland Dress and got every book I could on the subject including such classics as Old Irish and Highland Dress etc.

Then... all of my preconceptions about the "right" and the "wrong" about Highland Dress were blown away when I got a copy of The Highlanders of Scotland, fifty-odd extremely detailed portraits of men in Highland Dress painted in the 1860's. Highland Dress had so much more vitality, variety, and plasticity then! How dull and monollithic our modern dress looks by comparison!



More recently I've begun collecting a large number of vintage (c1860 to c1930) photos of men in Highland Dress. These, combined with The Highlanders of Scotland, made me realise that the set-in-stone Modes of Highland Dress that I came to know in the 1970's didn't really exist until, it seems, after WWI.







In the end my current "eye" for what's traditional/classic is formed by those four influences: "tradtitional Highland Dress" as it was known in the 1970's, books on the history of Highland Dress, The Highlanders of Scotland, and vintage photos.

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU AND FEEL EACTLY THE SAME WAY!!! I too have a copy of Macleay's 'The Highlanders of Scotland,' and am meticulous when it comes to reserach and what I purchase for my Highland dress wardrobe. I am currently in the process of purchasing tweed argyll jackets that have horizontal and vertical lines of color, as well as estate style tweed jackets to mix and match with my many tattersall shirts and regimental neckties. It's so much fun!

[Tobus]

I have a question for the experts out there. I am fascinated by this picture (as with most of the portraits from that collection):




My interest here is on the fellow at the right side of the picture. He's wearing the Colquhoun tartan, which is why he caught my eye. I notice that he's got a basket hilt sword and what looks to be a targe on his left arm. The rest of his wardrobe seems to be military style stuff as well. Aside from the weapons, would this have been limited to men in military service, or was it common to see men dressed like this in civilian life?

But the real question I have is what kind of hat is he wearing? It's not a Balmoral, Glengarry, Tam O'Shanter, or anything else I'm familiar with. Is it strictly a military piece of headgear, or would this have been commonly seen as well?

[Jock Scot]

I have a question for the experts out there. I am fascinated by this picture (as with most of the portraits from that collection):




My interest here is on the fellow at the right side of the picture. He's wearing the Colquhoun tartan, which is why he caught my eye. I notice that he's got a basket hilt sword and what looks to be a targe on his left arm. The rest of his wardrobe seems to be military style stuff as well. Aside from the weapons, would this have been limited to men in military service, or was it common to see men dressed like this in civilian life?

But the real question I have is what kind of hat is he wearing? It's not a Balmoral, Glengarry, Tam O'Shanter, or anything else I'm familiar with. Is it strictly a military piece of headgear, or would this have been commonly seen as well?

I think we are in danger for falling into the trap that the artist may have intended. I do not believe for one second that the attire worn by the gentlemen in this and other like pictures was normal daywear for Scots, even well to do ones. These pictures should be regarded as nothing else than trying to "sell" the romance of Scotland. We can all dig out our Sunday best,or a Dress uniform and pose for a picture, but we all know that is not and never will be, normal wear.

I think the hat in question is known as a "hummel".

[CMcG]

Jock Scot's point is right in line with one of my main questions in this thread. While I love looking at old pictures, seeing "romanticized" Highland attire, and marveling at military or piper's uniforms, I don't want to dress that way in my modern civilian life. I do, however, want to have an informed and respectful grasp of tradition.

Let's talk specifics. Obviously weapons are out, but what else should be avoided when it comes to the historical representations of Highland attire shown above?