Quote Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown View Post
Could someone point out what band uniforms have to do with traditional Highland attire?
Surely you jest!

In what way is modern pipe band dress not traditional Highland dress?

Just about everything that modern pipe bands wear is on display in The Highlanders Of Scotland, thus dating to the 1860s, unless it be the specific design of a cap badge, or other minutiae.

Or does 150 years of use not make something "traditional"?

Modern pipe band dress consists of a Glengarry, Argyll jacket, kilt, sporran, solid coloured hose, and ghillies, all of which are seen in The Highlanders Of Scotland.

True that sporran designs have evolved, and that the modern "day", "evening", and "hunting" sporrans don't appear in The Highlanders Of Scotland. But all three are seen by the 1920's, giving them nearly a century of use.

And hose then didn't have thick turnovers, a rather small matter in the overall costume, and something a casual observer might not even notice.

Anyhow, back to band tartans, I just looked through the 2007 programme and there are fewer bands wearing Royal Stuart and more bands wearing bespoke/custom-made tartans.

Band tartans tend to change rather slowly though, because it's tremendously expensive for a band to change, and bands tend to wear the same tartan for many decades.