Slightly confused.

[OC Richard]

In the Pipe Band world women wear the same uniform as the rest of the band: mens kilt, sporran, kilt hose, ghillie brogues, jacket, Glengarry, everything.

It wasn't always so. When I started playing pipes back in the 70's it was still fairly common to see "Ladies" pipe bands. They wore different uniforms than mens pipe bands. Specifically, they often did not wear sporrans, wore lace jabots rather than neckties, and wore special buckled shoes.

When more and more women played in (formerly) mens' pipe bands, what to do? Many bands back in the 60's and 70's maintained seperate dress for the men and women. In our band, up until the mid-1980's, the women wore kilt skirts, pantyhose, women's shoes, blouses with lace jabots, and did not wear sporrans.

But in the 80's more and more bands shifted to a more uniform appearance, putting women in the traditionally male kilt, sporran, kilt hose, ghillies, shirt with necktie, and Glengarry. I haven't seen women pipers dressed in any other way for many years.

Spanish pipe bands, and Breton pipe bands, who wear their native dress rather than Highland dress, still maintain seperate costume for men and women.

Well I like photos and here we go! First a "ladies" pipe band from 1970 showing their typical dress:



A decade later, 1980, we see a group of top-level pipers. Note the dress of the women, those special shoes:



Here's an old album cover showing a Scottish band with mixed dress:



But nowadays everyone dresses alike, giving bands a more uniform appearance: