Traditional day dress c. 1870

[MacLowlife]

Yes, Eck, I do believe USA Kilts' jackets and waistcoats ARE made in the UK. I think the advantage is having Rocky to manage certain aspects and to complain to stateside if things go wrong. The eBay seller is probably just fine- and he is a little cheaper, even with the expensive UK postage costs. But then there is the wild card of the customs duty.

I think you summed it up- shop at home. The eBay seller is a better bargain for UK buyers. Without question, the jacket is a beauty and very reminiscent of the one in the OP.

Thanks and congratulations, Matt, for this great ride of a post- early kiltwear, two eBay listings, and a sale from Rocky, not to mention plenty of advice and commentary.

[OC Richard]

That cartoon in the OP is very interesting to me, both in the way in which it is on all fours with my vintage photos and The Highlanders of Scotland, and in a couple small details which are different.

Oddly, no check jackets appear in THOS and all shirts are white.

On the other hand, the buff/tan leather ghillies appear to have been the norm at that time: of the 11 ghillies seen in THOS only one pair is black, and that pair has decorative buckles. Most are tan leather, apparently with a rough finish.

The small animal mask sporran also appears in THOS, though 46 of the 55 sporrans are long hair (including 16 worn with tweed "day" jackets). Only five mask sporrans appear.

As a "control" here are some photos of somewhat plain Highland Dress (a clear day/evening dichotomy did not exist at that time, evidently) of approximately the same period.

Starting with early images, probably from the 1860s

















And in the early 20th century these styles prevailed