The Ghillie Shirt

[Tobus]

Aren't you being harsh? It's a romantic Highland-type shirt with a renaissance element. The way I see it, as long as it is bought from a kilt company then it is not a costume piece. There may be costume-like ones out there, I am not sure about that, but the one I have is from a kilt company.

I'm curious as to why you think that it can't be a costume piece if it comes from a "kilt company". These companies aren't under any sort of mandate that they may only produce authentic clothing, nor is there any reason to believe that just because they make something it is automatically a legitimate bit of Highland wear. They make costumery all the time. As you have admitted, it is a romanticised style. If it is not historically authentic, is not part of the evolved tradition, and is a modern romanticised design, what else could it be but costume?

MacKenzie Frain sells these ghillie shirts along with so-called "chieftain weskits" (this costumish style is also commonly called a Jacobite vest), labeling these as "New Jacobean". They are marketed specifically to people who like the style as a romanticised costume, with the caveat that they are not historically correct. That seems like a fair compromise. Defining the style as New Jacobean indicates that it is a modern re-imagining of an older style, with plenty of liberty taken in the design. It seems to have enough of a following to have become a modern style in its own right, for those who prefer that look. MacKenzie Frain, along with many other outfitters, will keep selling these as long as people want to buy them. But there really isn't any escaping the fact that it is a costume piece designed with no small degree of fantasy in mind.