Ghillie brogues - why the dislike and resentment..?

[OC Richard]

I've noticed over the years that many people simply accept that Ghillie-type shoes of some sort have always been around, that they're "traditional" in the sense of continuous documented use to earliest times.

So...where do modern ideas of "ancient Highland dress" come from?

We know it well: the brawny Highlander, with skimpy pirate-ish shirt (or sometimes shirtless), Ghillie-moccasin footwear, or barefoot with calves covered by footless hose, targe on his back, brandishing a big sword.

Obviously this image doesn't come from actual 17th and 18th century portraits, because the dress seen in the actual sources doesn't look anything like that.

And for all their influence with Clan Chiefs and all their success at getting their newly-invented tartans accepted as genuine and ancient, not the Allen Brothers.

Because, in my opinion, the outfits they show in their 1845 book The Costume of the Clans were just too bizarre and absurd to be taken seriously.



As it turns out the Allen Brothers weren't the only Englishmen adopting Scottish aliases and impacting the course of the public's perception of Highland Dress.

Behold the London-raised actor, set background painter, and costume designer Robert Jones. In 1834 he joined the Gaelic Society of London, met the Allen Brothers, and restyled Robert Ranald McIan began painting and exhibiting works concerning Scottish mythology and folklore.

I believe that it's his illustrations for James Logan's 1845 book Clans of the Scottish Highlands which have had the greatest influence on how "ancient Highlanders" looked. (They've been cited more than once in this thread.)



Thing is, the first appearance of the things he shows is in this very book. Where did they come from? Possibly the Allen Brothers had some influence, but most of it probably comes from Jones' background in acting and designing costumes for the English stage. (Jones was famous for his stage "Highlander" character.)