Tattersall shirts

[OC Richard]

Glad you brought this up Terry, I had never heard of tattersall either and I'm still trying to figure out what exactly it is. Some examples I found all seem to have one common trait ...

I don't believe any of the shirts you show there are what I would consider a Tattersall shirt.

I too had never heard of them until joining these boards. Being a visually-oriented person I strove to build a clear visual vocabulary as to what the defining characteristics of the classic traditional Tattersall shirt were. This is the basic notion:

-base colour of the shirt is usually white. (Yes you'll see off white, pale yellow, etc too.)

-over this base-colour is a two-colour check pattern, all the lines of equal width, the two colours alternating, and the squares formed by the check pattern being all the same size, and square.

-long sleeves.

-the front of the collar in line with the check pattern (neither a strongly pointed collar, nor a spread collar).

-the collar lacks buttons.

That's a lot of words! But the image is of the simplest



And myself wearing such a shirt



I have looked through entire malls here in the USA and not found a single classic Tattersall shirt. There's nearly always something off: button-down collar, or short sleeves, or something pff about the pattern, such as more than two colours, colours not evenly alternating, the square being rectangular, etc.

BTW shirts similar to Tattersall shirts but having three or more colours in the check pattern are called "country check" shirts.

Here is one



Myself wearing a country check shirt. The fabric has a flannel-like feel. To my mind country check shirts are more informal, for wearing in the field.

[Luke MacGillie]

Part of the confusion over here is that places like Orvis and LLB market shirts they call tattersall, that don’t necessarily line up with what one of these shirts are in the UK.

There is of course, a parallel with kilts......it’s what happens when the provincials lack proper supervision.

[Tobus]

Part of the confusion over here is that places like Orvis and LLB market shirts they call tattersall, that don’t necessarily line up with what one of these shirts are in the UK.

There is of course, a parallel with kilts......it’s what happens when the provincials lack proper supervision.

To be fair, even sellers in the UK can't agree on what a tattersall shirt really is. House of Bruar has a whole section of "tattersall" shirts, none of which meet the definition OC Richard supplied (which I happen to agree with). They apparently include anything with a check pattern, including "plaid" patterns or tartan, as tattersall.

http://www.houseofbruar.com/mens/shirts/tattersall/

I have had the same issue as OC Richard. I almost never go shopping in stores, but when I do, I always look for tattersall shirts. I have never found anything that meets all my criteria. Oh sure, there are plenty of white-ish shirts out there with check patterns. But even when I find one that has the right pattern, it will have that damnable pointy button-down collar. Or it will be a very thin printed material instead of a robust material with woven threads supplying the pattern. Invariably, something will be "off".

[Bruce Scott]

Tattersall shirts were discussed some years ago here [ http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...21/index2.html ] and the following recommendations were made regarding "best value" UK suppliers:

1. Post #9: Joseph Turner https://www.josephturner.co.uk/

2. Post #12: William Powell & Co https://www.williampowell.com/mens/m...:WILLIAMPOWELL

3. Post # 13: John Norris of Penrith https://www.johnnorris.co.uk/sale.html

[MacKenzie]

Some here come pretty close... https://www.seriouscountrysports.com...rts/c-142.aspx

A couple of links here... https://www.saltwaternewengland.com/...moleskins.html

[tokareva]

I was going to start a new thread discussing warm weather wear, but when I was looking at the Salt water website I saw this statement...

"For many, autumn is a time to replenish Tattersall Shirts and Moleskin Trousers."

So I have to ask why does it appear that so many are wearing long sleeves and waistcoat in photos when others in the same photo photo whether kilted or not are wearing t shirts? It's obviously warm if not hot weather in the pics and I understand some want to look their best ,but it seems a tad impractical to me if you are roasting. I have done many reenactments wearing 1860s period wool and jean wool uniforms, but it was a reenactment. Is there no such thing as casual highland dress?

One of the requirements in Richard's post above is long sleeves, but what if it's 80 or 90 degrees out?

[Tobus]

I was going to start a new thread discussing warm weather wear, but when I was looking at the Salt water website I saw this statement...

"For many, autumn is a time to replenish Tattersall Shirts and Moleskin Trousers."

So I have to ask why does it appear that so many are wearing long sleeves and waistcoat in photos when others in the same photo photo whether kilted or not are wearing t shirts? It's obviously warm if not hot weather in the pics and I understand some want to look their best ,but it seems a tad impractical to me if you are roasting. I have done many reenactments wearing 1860s period wool and jean wool uniforms, but it was a reenactment.Is there no such thing as casual highland dress?

One of the requirements in Richard's post above is long sleeves, but what if it's 80 or 90 degrees out?

The problem is that it never really gets that warm in the Highlands. Those folks wear wool all year round. So no, there really isn't a standing tradition of kilt-wearing for hot weather in Scotland. They do have some military traditions for kilted regiments who served in hot places like India and such, but that's the military.

In short, people who want to dress comfortably and casually in hot weather whilst wearing a kilt just need to abandon tradition altogether and forge their own style. A lot of folks have gravitated to the polo-style shirts with kilts, which I personally don't care for. Others will wear the fishing-style shirts with vents. I think it's a decent look. I have a few linen cotton shirts that I wear in hot weather with the kilt too.

But still, tattersall shirts can be comfortable even in hot weather. Health experts tell us to wear loose-fitting light-coloured clothing in hot weather, right? Well, a tattersall shirt can be very breathable, soft, comfortable, and most importantly keep the sun off our skin. That's important for those of us with fair skin and blue eyes who worry about our genetic risk of skin cancer. So for me, a tattersall is very much a hot-weather option.

[tokareva]

Thanks Tobus, that's exactly what I was thinking regarding the climate difference in Scotland.

[Bruce Scott]

I was going to start a new thread discussing warm weather wear, but when I was looking at the Salt water website I saw this statement...

"For many, autumn is a time to replenish Tattersall Shirts and Moleskin Trousers."

So I have to ask why does it appear that so many are wearing long sleeves and waistcoat in photos when others in the same photo photo whether kilted or not are wearing t shirts? It's obviously warm if not hot weather in the pics and I understand some want to look their best ,but it seems a tad impractical to me if you are roasting. I have done many reenactments wearing 1860s period wool and jean wool uniforms, but it was a reenactment. Is there no such thing as casual highland dress?

One of the requirements in Richard's post above is long sleeves, but what if it's 80 or 90 degrees out?

Common sense has to prevail. Even in the Highlands it can get warm and people will dress accordingly, for example:



Jock Scot and Arnot at Highland games at Blair Atholl.

The photo is from a 2016 thread entitled "Pics of Highlanders in Scotland wearing THCD".

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...64/index3.html

[Hirsty]

Jock Scot and Arnot at Highland games at Blair Atholl.

Ha! I was there that day! Although I must confess that I spent most of the day around the back of the tent drinking with the Athol Highlanders