Quote Originally Posted by neloon View Post
The "footwear must be black" idea was a reflection of army practice.
I should perhaps point out that above I posted a portrait of Lord Duffus, c1700, a few decades before the earliest Highland regiment was raised, wearing black shoes with a brown sporran; several other portraits of civilians in Highland Dress dating before the raising of The Black Watch also show black shoes. I think it's simply a matter of black being the most popular shoe colour in the 18th century and later.