Semple approach to Traditional Highland Dress

[Troglodyte]

Demonstrated perfectly, OC..!

Once the illustrations had become 20th century in their fashion style, I think they found much more accord with the kilt-wearing public, and changed little until, say, the 1990s.

There seems to then come a new kilt-wearing generation who had different ideas of fashion, and colour tones in both tweeds and tartans took a turn for earthier and muddier (perhaps more natural was intended), and the paler fawns and 'stone' shades of tweed with conventional clan tartans now seem to be less popular. And so the Semple illustrations seem now seem quaintly old-fashioned.

Most of the Highland Dress outfitters I see here in northern Scotland have their shop-windows display the latest trends - no doubt to attract the young gent getting kitted out for his wedding and the like. The current fashion is for all grey - which makes the whole outfit look as if it has been given a dunking in black dye - not enough to make eveything totally black, but close enough.

Personally, I prefer the softer, paler shades Semple shows, but I cannot remember when I last saw such tweeds in stock garments. Hose, too, are now seldom seen in soft, tweed-matching tones - perhaps we here a Xmarks should start a revivalist movement...