Evolution of the Kilt
The Kilt
The kilt is a knee length garment usually cut from 8 yards of 100% wool worsted Scottish made tartan fabric and of course, the cloth has to be made in Scotland. The kilt is made using traditional materials: worsted cloth, leather straps, canvas, linings and buckles. The kilt is pleated at the rear and should be hand made using traditional methods.
Originating from the Highlands of Scotland around the 16th Century, the kilt first appeared as the great kilt. It was called the Breacan an Fhéilidh (Gaelic: Feileadh Mòr, pronounced philimor) or great kilt which was a full length garment. The upper half could be worn as a cloak to allow the wearer to cover their heads and keep the chill off or to allow the wearer to curl up and sleep in the garment.
A version of the filleadh bheag (pronounced philibeg) or small kilt, also known as the walking kilt, similar to the modern kilt was allegedly invented by an English man named Thomas Rawlinson from Lancashire sometime in the 1720s. Shock!!! Horror!!! He felt that the Breacan or great kilt was "cumbrous and unwieldy" and his solution was to take off the upper portion from the full kilt and convert it into a more functional skirted style garment with pleats already sewn, which he himself began wearing. His associate, Iain MacDonnell, chief of the MacDonnells of Inverness, also began wearing it. Once the clansmen who were employed in logging, charcoal manufacture and iron smelting saw their chief wearing the new apparel, they soon followed suit. From there its use spread "in the shortest space of time" amongst the Highlanders, and even amongst some of the Northern Lowlanders. It has been suggested that there is evidence that the philibeg with unsewn pleats was worn from the 1690s.
Above is Liam Neeson portraying Rob Roy in the film of the same name
Kilt to stripe or to the sett
A kilt is normally made to the Tartan sett, which is the how the front of a kilt looks and the stripes are usually arranged vertically and horizontally and are specified by their thread counts. The kilt pattern on the front is replicated on the rear as close as possible. Thus giving a nice, even pattern to the rear, and a pleasant look to the kilt.
The image to the right is pleated to the sett. You can see here that this pattern could be pleated to the stripe choosing from the white/purple, the most dominant, to the burgundy double stripes.
Alternatively the kilt can be made to the stripe at the rear. The kilt wearer can specify at production which stripe they would prefer to select for the stripe. Many wearers choose the most prominent stripe. Whichever stripe is chosen then the rear of the kilt will strongly reflect this colour. The image to the left shows the red stripe as the dominant colour on the rear.
Kilt knife Pleats or Box Pleats ?
A kilt is normally manufactured with knife pleats. This is a simple fold and is the most standard of kilts and 99% of kilts are made this way. These kilts are easier to look after and press to retain their crease. This is the most common kilt in the civilian world.
Below is an image of "knife edge pleats". They don't look like a knife-edge yet but once pressed in they will look great and retain their shape for years. The image on the right is that of the box pleats. This is a much bulkier pleat most commonly found in the military.
Ancient, Modern, Dress or Weathered tartans
Nothing to do with how old a kilt is or how worn a fabric is but made to offer an interpretation of the past. The colours used in the cloth can vary considerably between tartans but also between the mills. A specific named tartan from one mill is unlikely to be exactly the same when compared to the same tartan from another mill. A little like cars; select two or three cars from different manufacturers, place them all in a row and check out the difference. This is not only down to artistic preference but also to the physical process of dying the thread. Most manufacturers use different thread suppliers and dyers which can also vary with each batch. There are four main groups of tartan colourings:
Ancient or old tartan shades
Normally these are lighter shades and are usually made to look like faded colours resembling what some folk would consider vegetable dyes, which were once used in traditional tartan making. However these are just lighter shaded tartans.
Weathered muted or antique tartan shades
These tend to be brownish or grey and are made to simulate much older looking cloths which have been weathered by the elements or buried for some time.
Muted tartans usually adopt earth tones such as olive, slate blue, deep red, beige & browns.
Dress tartan shades
Normally these kilts have large blocks of white in them which it is safe to bet you won't be wearing them too often as the white will fade and dirty, hence they are kept for dress wear. They can look stunning with the amount of white in them and look their best with white piper style socks.
Modern tartan shades
Normally darker shades, can also be called standard tartan. These are in the main bright colours which are only possible to create through modern aniline dyeing processes, which allow the dyers to mix and match and also to keep colours sharp.
The Traditional Scottish Kilt
Purists among you must have a hand made kilt, made in Scotland, usually by a very experienced kilt maker, and manufactured using a Scottish made Worsted cloth.
The Wedding Kilt
To look your best at any wedding and add a splash of colour that adds vibrancy & that certain character never seen in traditional morning wear. Most people these days will simply hire a kilt outfit, but the smarter ones will look to purchase a made to measure kilt & make that kilt look special with their own tartan, choosing the best shade for the wedding & one that suits them. Then why not make the kilt ultra special & make some cool additions like plain coloured fringes or get a black kilt with tartan fringes. Or simpler still choose from one of our easy ready to wear kilts.
Below are two of images of the latest trends in kilt rental in Scotland:
Left image
This is the K1 contemporary kilt outfit with Dark Island kilt. This style of outfit, where the kilt & jacket are neutral, allows you to have a very simple outfit & then the expression of colour is all in the accessories that you choose, which is limited only to the colours in your imagination. This now gives the kilt outfit the lift to match in perfectly with any colour of event, matching the bride or your partner: a perfect match.
Right image
This is the K1 Arrochar grey kilt outfit with our very own unique Hebridean Thistle tartan. This is part of the Hebridean range of tartans which to date has been one of our most successful tartans, with a subtle purple on grey base with a white over check. Simply stunning!
The Modern Kilt
The Modern kilt is the 21st century take on a kilt, bringing the kilt into celebrity life & designed for the modern man, to allow them to stick with Scottish tradition & dress in a kilt, but to feel cool, comfortable & modern, yet Scottish first & foremost. This modern kilt has additions like pockets, alternate coloured kilt edge fringes, unusual fabrics, like Harris tweed, leather, PVC, camouflage, two tone or furry, some even with Goretex fabric for specific job skills. This is all about what the wearer wants.
The cheap Kilt
Brought to market from all corners of the globe where labour is cheap, health & safety isn't an issue. This little number is giving the market what it needs, if people have a hunger for a cheap throw away option, then this is it, but don't expect it to last more than a couple of wears or even to look good & hang nice. But if your looking for a Stag do kilt, a party kilt, one where you don't care really what happens to it as long as it keeps your main Scottish kilt in great condition. There is pressure from some retailers to try to have "Kilt" registered, like "Harris tweed" the brand, a kilt should be from 8 yards of Scottish cloth, hand made & be built in a specific way & to not allow the cheap kilt to be called a kilt, they could be called "Skilts"
Buy a kilt
Who knows now where this will take things in the future, but one thing for sure the Scottish kilt remains & when people demand the best, they will get a hand made Scottish kilt, all you have to do when you buy a kilt is ask where it is made