Semple approach to Traditional Highland Dress

[OC Richard]

I was the tartan advisor for Rob Roy and proposed a number of historically suitable tartans, including the so-called MacGregor of Glengyle. Whilst the costume team were enthused and very keen to use on or other, they were overruled by the director. As a perfect example of a lack of appreciation of historical tartans he was reported to have said of the Glengyle sett 'I'm not having Liam Neilson wearing pink'!

My minor success was to have a plaid (which I dyed and wove) worn by the Duke of Argyll in some scenes. As an aside, unknown to me, the costume was sold off at the end filming. Had I known, I'd have bought the plaid back. I wonder what happened to it.

That's beautiful Peter. I'm glad you were able to get that included in the film.

I've been around Hollywood enough to have seen that process several times with my own eyes:

1) hire an expert to be an "advisor" on the film.

2) ignore most or all of what they advise you to do.

The most puzzling thing to me about the Rob Roy costumes is that they created a completely ahistorical mashup of the breacan-an-feileadh and the long plaid.

Didn't they notice that all the old portraits of men in kilts don't have a length of tartan wrapped diagonally across the torso?

I'm assuming the costumer got that idea from old portraits of men in trews.

Or, Victorian (and later) images of men wearing modern (detached) kilts with the long plaid.

About Hollywood people not noticing what might be thought obvious, after Braveheart came out every composer in Hollywood wanted the sound of the uilleann pipes on their projects, and for the duration of that fad I was very busy.

Whenever they called me I gave my little speech about exactly what the uilleann pipes could, and couldn't, do. Rarely did any of my information sink in.

One of those times happened when, despite my clear instructions, I arrived to find that the composer had written my part in the wrong key.

I spied the Braveheart soundtrack CD on his desk.

"I see you have Braveheart. Did you listen to it?"

"Yes I listened to it over and over to get a feel about what the uilleann bagpipes do."

"Did you notice that every single thing that the pipes play is in one or two sharps?"

No, he hadn't. One would think a professional composer would have an awareness of keys, no?