THE HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COSTUME

ALBERT RACINET

THE CLASSIC WORK OF THE 19TH CENTURY

p254-255

TRADITIONAL COSTUMES OF THE 1880s




SCOTLAND

TARTAN AND THE CLANS



Middle Register
2.2- A lady from the Sinclair clan, wearing a blue skirt made from mixture of wool and cotton, and a long scarf in the clan tartan that covers her head. At one time it was the custom to pin this scarf to the chest with a brooch made from silver, bronze or copper.
    Going barefoot, as this lady does, is a common practice in the Highlands, and should not be taken as a mark of poverty.

2.4 A Colquhoun clansman of the 18th century, with a flat cap that carries the clan's emblem. His tunic is decorated with brass buttons and his full-length plaid is worn crossed over at the chest and attached at the shoulder by a silver brooch. His trousers, or trews, carry the same tartan as the plaid.

2.6 A dairymaid from the MacNicol clan, wearing a tonag - a square of tartan worn as a small shawl. The silver brooch used to hold this in place is usually a treasured family heirloom, handed down from generation to generation.

2.11 A Farquharson warrior after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, wrapped in a large plaid and carrying a large, hatchet-tipped pike.




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