Ghillie brogues - why the dislike and resentment..?

[OC Richard]

Good questions!

That's the problem with Ghillies- there are always more questions than answers.

Are they traditional? (That is, having an unbroken lineage of use and evolution of form as far back as our sources allow us to trace.)

Or are they a Revival? (That is, a thing not in current use which is freshly created, either copied from a relic or an invention based on imagery, textual reference, or mere conjecture.)

If a Revival, when did they appear?

How were they regarded in times past?

To make a case for them to be traditional, that is, having an unbroken chain of use, one would have to produce a series of images of them being worn covering every period from the mid-19th century back to our earliest clear images of men wearing Highland Dress (around 1700).

We can do that with the kilt, the sporran, the bonnet, the dirk, etc. But as far as I know Ghillies don't show up in images of men wearing Highland Dress until Victorian times.

Which leaves us with Ghillies being a Revival.

A revival of what? Yes we have a verbal description of Highlanders making their own deerskin moccasins, and we have a survival of something possibly akin to that with the pamutai of the Aran Islanders. And we could throw into the mix the footwear similar to the pamutai which are traditional in the Balkans.

But the Ghillies which seem to appear out of nowhere in the Victorian period aren't like any of those things. They're built-up ordinary shoes, but are open-topped with one to four pairs of tabs holding the shoestrings.

I do wonder if the Allen Brothers, the very men who in the second quarter of the 19th century were whispering into Clan Chiefs' ears "just to let you know, you're not wearing the true ancient tartan of your clan. If you would like, we will share with you our unique knowledge and provide you with a sketch of your true tartan you can take to a weaver" the sketch actually being of a tartan entirely from the imagination of the brothers, were also appearing at Highland functions wearing Ghillies which they themselves devised and had made, explaining to all who asked that these were the true ancient Highland shoes.

What to me smacks of Revival is how the earliest large-scale record we have of Ghillie wearing, The Highlanders of Scotland, show nearly all the Ghillies being tan roughout hide, indicating that they're thought to be a rustic rural shoe. There's one pair of black Ghillies and they have decorative buckles attached at the toes.

There are plenty of photos of men in the mid 19th century wearing Ghillies, however these are invariably black (or possibly dark brown).

The only photos I've ever been able to find of tan roughout hide Ghillie Brogues are the pair made for the future King Edward VII as part of his quasi-historical Highland costume.