White Hose

[Tobus]

"Off-white" or cream is another matter. This colour, called "ecru" in french or "ban" in irish gaelige, is the natural colour of undyed/unbleached wool. Before the days of mass production, this would have meant a significant cost saving, important and therefore popular for the poorer class, who are rarely seen in paintings of the time.

But where is the evidence that the "poorer class" actually wore un-dyed wool hose? I would be interested in hearing one of our historians tell us of the earliest evidence of cream hose.

From what I can tell, dyeing was something that even the poorest of the poor could do. They didn't all run around in cream colored coats, trousers, or anything else made of wool. They dyed them. Why would hose be any different?

[Dall_Piobaire]

But where is the evidence that the "poorer class" actually wore un-dyed wool hose? I would be interested in hearing one of our historians tell us of the earliest evidence of cream hose.

From what I can tell, dyeing was something that even the poorest of the poor could do. They didn't all run around in cream colored coats, trousers, or anything else made of wool. They dyed them. Why would hose be any different?

My opinion ecru is fine, gives one a bit more latitude with shirt color and, I think, it plays off reds particularly well.

I would hazzard a guess, that the crofters, many living with thier livestock, in thier sod hut, would wear just about anything on thier feet they could manage.

I know there are references to highlanders being called reshanks as many wore nothing on thier feet.

They could not afford to eat the stock they raised, they needed to bring every bit of it to market, so, I would bet the same applied to wool from the shearing.

It seems we so often mess about in the world of the noble and wealthy, it seems to be very often forgotten that the heart and soul of the highlands was a dirt poor crofter trying to feed the family.....even shoes might have been a luxury.

Worse even still, many ended up in the regiments believing the promises of thier family being protected and cared for, only to come out of service and find themselves hoeless....and I fuss about white hose....

[Nighthawk]

My opinion ecru is fine, gives on a bit more latitude with shirt color and, I think it plays off reds particularly well.

I would hazard a guess, that the crofters, many living with thier livestock, in thier sod hut, would wear just about anything on thier feet they could manage.

I know there are references to highlanders being called reshanks as many wore nothing on thier feet.

They could not afford to eat the stock they raised, they needed to bring every bit of it to market, so, I would bet the same applied to wool from the shearing.

It seems we so often mess about in the world of the noble and wealthy, it seems to be very often forgotten that the heart and sole of the highland was a dirt poor crofter trying to feed the family.....even shoes might have been a luxury.

You're dead on. I often go barefoot at festivals for this very reason. I have a better tan on my feet than anywhere else...

[MacMillans son]

...only to come out of service and find themselves hoeless......[/QUOTE]

And many never even received a "Dear John" letter!

[Dall_Piobaire]

...only to come out of service and find themselves hoeless......

And many never even received a "Dear John" letter! [/QUOTE]

lolol not fair no poking fun at the blind guy....i do my best....but that too

[Bugbear]

And many never even received a "Dear John" letter!

lolol not fair no poking fun at the blind guy....i do my best....but that too[/QUOTE]

Blame it all on the picture captions and subtitles...

[MacRobert's Reply]

Native breeds of sheep such as the Shetland were much more common in Scotland in past centuries. Very few were off-white. The Wikipedia article on this breed states that eleven main colours are recognised (most including many different shades): light grey, grey, white, emsket (dusky bluish-grey), musket (light greyish-brown), shaela (dark steely-grey), black, fawn, moorit (reddish brown), mioget (honey-toned, yellowish-brown), dark brown. This sounds like a good range of colours even before dyeing. When I was on Shetland a few years ago, I saw knitting and weaving that used these natural colours in creative combinations.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Here's the thing (and Downunder Kilt has pretty much nailed it)-- kilt wearing in Scotland really wasn't wide spread (or popular) until all Scots (Highland, Lowland, and the Borders) began to assume the kilt as "the national dress of Scotland". So we are really looking at Highland attire as it was worn by those who set style and fashions. In other words, we are looking at how the middle-class Scots defined their sense of "national dress" in the latter half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The advent of cheap chemical dyes, and inexpensive coloured woolen yarn, meant that hose in colours other than "natural" were widely available at this time.

Something else to consider is that from the earliest times wool was dyed in the Highlands using "free" dyes made from a variety of local plants. So from the beginning of wearing hose with the kilt, coloured yarns -- and thus coloured hose -- would have been widely available. Likewise, early hose would have been cut from the web of the tartan, not knit. By the time that these bag hose had been virtually replaced by knitted hose, the custom of coloured hose was totally ingrained with the Highland folk who wore the kilt.

As others have pointed out, white hose first appear in any numbers in the 1960's. As a lad I can well remember seeing bundles of white, Navy surplus, "sea boot socks" being sold at the Army & Navy Store on Leith Walk, and touted as perfect for wear with the kilt. For less than a tenner one could purchase a surplus kilt, a pair of sea boot socks, and an ex-WD sporran and still have enough left over for the price of a pint!

Of course, the major beneficiaries of the surplus sea boot socks were pipe bands, and in short order bands were seen in surplus white socks. Sadly, especially in North America, most civilians model their dress on pipers as this is usually the only exposure they have to wearing the kilt. And since pipers usually wear white socks...

So, if one wishes to object to white socks worn with the kilt, he can do so on the grounds that they are neither historical nor traditional, and that they owe their existence to canny military surplus dealers in the cash-strapped Scotland of the 1960s.

[Jack Daw]

I dislike off-white hose more than white.

[Bugbear]

Had a thread a short time back asking about cochineal dyes to make sure it was "historically" the same thing. It is from a bug that lives on the prickly pears native to my region over here in the lower Southwest US, but was apparently used for the red-ish colors on wool in Scotland.

Kind of interesting... the connection Scotland has to my culture.