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

[Panache]

Jamie, I see you're getting some use out of those "special shoes that only a couple of us have" great looking outfit!

Z,

Its too bad Kevin Kinney didn't go into production of these because they are very comfortable.

There are a couple of things I need to fix with this outfit. I would like a different shirt and I am hoping Star will make me one. I'm going to send Brian (woodsheal) a photo of the one she just did for Sinbad and get his thoughts. Also I need to do something different with my hose.

The knit hose are really not period at all. I see that some use a simple tied gaiter and others the clahdah (sp) ..the tartan material hose. Of course bare legged/bare foot would be most appropriate but I don't think my shoes would fit without some sort of sock.

I'm also going to change the sword and am saving my pennies for a basket hilt.


I wore this to a Tartan Day celebration with many historical re-enactment groups a couple of weeks ago. The day was cold, windy, and heavily misting in the morning It was very comfortable and practical to draw the ends of the plaid about me like a cloak. (however I do need to master the art of not stabbing myself with my bodkin when re-arranging my plaid! )

Cheers


Jamie :ootd:

[Zardoz]

Yeah, people always ask me about my shoes at faire, I could sell a bunch of them for him.

[kennethrmc]

Great outfit Jamie, and that targe looks like an awful lot of work!

[Mark E.]

Hello all...A few of me, different seasons, and some action shots. A few more in the Mark E. album

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...-2010-005.jpg]

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...claims-leg.jpg

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...meets-21st.jpg

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...-tennessee.jpg

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...leat-front.jpg

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...pleat-back.jpg

[Mark E.]

Some stills, some action.

[IMG][IMG][IMG]

[josephkirkpatrick]

I'm not really sure about the historical orientation of the great kilt versus the little kilt versus the stitched modern kilt, etc. I get that it was probably the earliest iteration of the garment and served as a bedroll, blanket, cloak, camouflage, etc. It also would have been two single-width pieces stitched together in the middle.

Here is my question: When did the great kilt fall out of fashion, replaced by a little kilt or more modern versions. Is the great kilt still worn today anywhere other than extremely formal occasions?

Ok... correct me if I'm wrong, but...

I think the great kilt can be worn everyday, for almost any occasion. Since it isn't stitched or formed at all, the wearer can make it fit any style.

Casual/pub/everyday: fold the kilt in half prior to pleating it. Granted, this will probably only work with a lightweight 11 or 13 oz plaid, because anything else would bunch up a lot. Wearing it with a polo or rugby shirt might work.

Semi-formal/no jacket: I've seen the top half of the plaid simply wrapped around the waist. It might be too much material, but I think it could look ok.

Semi/formal/with jacket: Tied off above the waist, one corner drawn up like a fly

Formal: Well, this is the most obvious (see pictures on previous pages)

[Mark E.]

Well, no expert here, but as it has been said before...consider the source. Great kilts were not just a lower garmet, but a primary piece of clothing for a society largely comprised of shepherds, small tract farmers, and other very outdoor professions, in a damp and inhospitable land.

As far as my research has taken me, both within the re-enacting community and on the documented history side, I believe the great kilts came into favor around the late 1300's. Wee kilts later, around the early 1700's-at least how documentation goes. I also see and believe there was an overlap-no clearly defined stop/start of styles. Wee kilts could very well have had their beginnings from "worn out" greats-I know in the time I have worn a great, I have had thin spots happen where my belt hits. It would make sense to recycle things. The wee kilt likely had popularity among the trades and middle to upper class, while the greats had their adherents in the outlying castes, not counting seasonal preferences.

Styles, casual vs. formal, and where they can be worn...I wore mine to my junior prom, including pre-prom dinner-with a waistcoat and fancy belt, it worked. Dances and festivals, and a couple of pubs in Nova Scotia, where 99% of the groups were of the anally modern and proper variety (no offense intended here), I got high marks for style and decorum, by both folks there and the officiators. Semi-formal, nothing fancy, waistcoat only if the season demanded it. On the other end, historical gatherings and games-My era is 1680-1730, so I am not as concerned about flashing Jacobean wear (this is original styling, not the modern stuff)-white rosettes, and other symbolism of King James. I have participated in varied forms of combat and in court demo's, and the great kilt has adapted to all without issue.

The only issues I have had were usually the ones associated with putting the thing on-takes a bit of room. Also, it is abhorrantly heavy when it gets rain wet. 8 pounds of great kilt (thats 22 ounce fabric at 52"ish wide if you wondered), becomes 5 times that wet-if you have skinny hips, get inside. Sometimes you don't fit into regular chairs because of the addition to the rearend. It's hot in the summer-and unless it's a fight or a stripshow, shirtless is a no-no.

The rest is up to you.

If I have touched or set out any glaring inaccuracies here, I am all ears.

Mark

[figheadair]

Well, no expert here, but as it has been said before...consider the source. Great kilts were not just a lower garmet, but a primary piece of clothing for a society largely comprised of shepherds, small tract farmers, and other very outdoor professions, in a damp and inhospitable land.

You're spot here. For some reason there was a change c1700 when we start to see the development of the feileadh beag. It was probably caused by the beginning of a change in lifestyle with individuals spending less time 'on the hill' overnight. Images and descriptions of the period suggest that the plaid continued to be worn when people were traveling, campaigning etc but it would have not been necessary if one were staying locally and going home most evenings.

The only issues I have had were usually the ones associated with putting the thing on-takes a bit of room. Also, it is abhorrantly heavy when it gets rain wet. 8 pounds of great kilt (thats 22 ounce fabric at 52"ish wide if you wondered), becomes 5 times that wet-if you have skinny hips, get inside.

Not quite. The first thing to appreciate is that tartan of that period was sometimes treated (we don't know how frequent this practice was) to waterproof it. Whilst not quite Gortex it would have had the effect of shedding light rain.

I've worn a plaid on a five day trip across the Highlands in April, including crossing the R. Findhorn. During that trip the plaid did get wet but could be wrung out whilst being worn so it was never soaked and I doubt it was ever more than about half the weight again. The most uncomfortable thing was sleeping it in as one spends an uncomfortable night drying it out with one's body heat and smelling like a wet dog.

[figheadair]

It's interesting to see members' outfits but I note that they are principally, if not exclusively, made from off the shelf tartan, be it clan or otherwise.

Whilst I appreciate that it's often simply a matter of cost, I'm surprised that no-one has opted to go for an historically accurate plaid sett.

There are a number of patterns that would fit the bill and if one wanted to go the whole hog then there are some fantastic embellishments that would make any project unique: for example; herringbone selvedges, selvedge marks and selvedge patterns.

[Mark E.]

On the note of waterproofing-I have heard this spoken of before, in trek circles-as much for kilt as other woven wool pieces. I wear wool jackets and suits/pants, and it is the tightness of the weave that makes them water-resistant, followed by a chemical treatment. How was it done back then? Waxing (as with canvas) would have made things heavy and likely stiff, while smoking (according to popular belief in living history groups, smoking tent canvas makes it more water proof) would be nearly impossible, given the main fire fuel of the era was peat...Could it possibly have been a lanolin treatment from raw sheepskin? My kilt is 8 yards long and 22 ounces...that's a lot of rubbing...Also, a principle function of wool is that it is denser and more insulate when it is wet-one big reason base layers in extreme climates are constructed of the material. Granted, kilts weren't a snug garmet, but could have had a value as far as insulation went, since it can be very cold, and still rain.

I have taken to wearing a greatcloak of waxed cotton-much more maintainable, and lighter.

Mark