Box pleats

[Allan Thomson]

I am firmly in the interior drawstring camp when it comes to both belted plaids and the early phillabeg. So sewing in pleats gets you no where.

Yes, there is this ca 1756 painting showing the philabeg being worn before arriving in North America:

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There is also this quote Dr. Richard Huck to Lord Loudon on 29 May, 1758.

"The Art of War is much changed and improved here. I suppose by the End of Summer it will have undergone a total revolution. We are now literally an Army of round Heads. Our Hair is about an Inch Long; The Flaps of our Hats, which are wore slouched about two Inches and a half broad. Our Coats are docked rather shorter than the Highlanders, determined Napier says, that the French shall not stick in our Skirts. The Highlanders have put on Breeches and Lord Howe's Filabegs. Some from an Affection to their Gorgets still wear them. Swords and Sashes are degraded; and many have taken up the Hatchet and wear Tomahawks."

As to the rest, I think the leggings for the vast majority of the regiment that, and subsequent years were the Knox style, a wool flapped legging with a toe inset like a gaiter, not the ribbon and bead encrusted types that some modern artists portray. Leather pockets, certainly not the patch pocket affairs, but rather the typical English sporting dress pockets, with leather pocket bags, inset into the chest, just like a sporting jacket of the period.

And truthfully, despite reenactor desires, the best documentation we have for the 42nd Lights is this:

"Crown Point 22 nd November 1759.

As soon as the Regiments arrive in Winter Qrs the new clothing is to be fitted and
waistcoats made as fast as possible that the men may be warmly clad during the severity of the
Winter, and it is recommended to the Commanding Officers that every man has a warm cloth cap
made. The Light Infantry company of each battalion when ordered to join their corps is to remain
as a company of the battalion. The men are to keep their carbines, powder boxes and are to wear
their new clothing but not to cut it into the Light Infantry dress until further orders."

One of my main desires for next year is to get to Perth and see if there is anything else in Stewart's Orderly book to see if they modification were ever authorized. Also need to get to London to the Lloyd's archive and view the Regimental Agent's book, to see what charges for modifications were recorded, or items purchased.

But then there is also the lace issue that is an elephant in the room for pre 61 impressions.....

But why are you in the drawstring camp? I understand it and accept.it makes sense with a belted plaid, but looking at it objectively it is never going to form the pleats as well as sewing. As I've pointed out. Rawlinson was documented to have a sewn phillabeg in 1720, and within the Highland Regiments as with all other line regiments the skills exist to do the job. So the question is why if there was a far superior way of doing things wasn't it done? I'd say lack of evidence is not evidence of none existance.

You also use the word authorised....there's more than enough evidence to show when soldiers can get away with something not authorised which works for them then they will do.

Generally whrn things get officially implemented it means that a good few people have been doing it for a while and it's observed to be working..mm