PIpe band returned to Balmoral bonnets

[OC Richard]

I also think (hope) we'll see bands go to a more traditional civilian look. I saw that 78th Frasers also went with tweed waistcoats and staghorn buttons for this year's Worlds.

I think so too, and it's been catching on already.

It's been perhaps a decade now that Glasgow Skye Association has been wearing "weathered" tartan kilts and brown tweed waistcoats.

At some point Inveraray adopted mid-grey tweed waistcoats, which with their "ancient" tartan kilts and sealskin sporrans gave them a more "traditional" look.

Looking back, in 1996 nineteen of the 20 Grade One bands at the Worlds wore jackets (Victoria Police their Police shirts).

In 2014 this was reversed with only one band in jackets, the rest in waistcoats. Most were black, Navy, or charcoal Barathea with silver buttons, however Inveraray had mid-grey tweed and a couple bands had black tweed with horn buttons.

In 2018 less than half the bands wore waistcoats with silver buttons, the rest horn or just ordinary suit buttons. As best I could tell (on the live streaming) half the waistcoats were tweed.

In 2019 only six bands had the old black Barathea waistcoats with silver buttons. Tweeds were brown, dark green, mid-grey, sort of a Lovat/Navy mix (SFU), charcoal, and black.

In 2022 and 2023 only three bands had the old black Barathea & silver button waistcoats.

This year I was there rather than watching the live stream, but just walking around I saw that the majority of bands in all grades seemed to be wearing tweed.

Black hose are practically dead as well (in 2023 only two bands wore them).