Another form of "the question"

[Ian.MacAllan]

. . . The shirt or 'sark' was worn long, to mid-thigh or even lower, so this was the underwear. . . .

And this was the practice among most men in the western world, not just the kilted. With the possible exception of some very rich people, separate undergarments were introduced in the nineteenth century A.D. and became common only in the twentieth. I suspect that the main reason they became common at all was that the development of knitting machines made them economical.

It appears that the term "regimental" originated because some of H.M.'s regiments required the practice, at least among the O.R.'s, and the term "commando" (in this sense) was coined by people who were unaware of the regimental practice.


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