Why did kilts originate in the Highlands?

Which tartan can I wear today?

Kilts and tartan were once the native cloth of a Highland minority, now they have become the symbol for all of Scotland and one of the most instantly recognisable identity badges in the world. In the days of the Highland clan, hundreds of years ago, if a kilted Highlander could have been magically transported to the centre of a large Scottish lowland town, the inhabitants would probably have seized him and locked him up!

The Highlands were then truly another country, its inhabitants living a totally different way of life and speaking a different language from those in other parts of Scotland. One of the ways the clansmen of old were instantly recognisable was by their distinctive dress.

By the 17th century, a shirt or tunic-like dress worn in the Highlands seems to have been displaced by a kilt-like garment known as a belted plaid. This was simply a long rectangular piece of cloth about 1.8m x 5.5m (2 x 6 yds). (The word "plaide" is Gaelic for blanket.) What made it distinctive was the way it was worn. To dress in it, the Highlander put a belt on the ground, pleated the material lengthwise over it, lay down on the ground and gathered the material round him by way of the belt which he buckled on.

This made a skirt of pleated material below and a very large armful above. The part above the waist could be flung over the shoulder, formed in a hood or just left hanging. This blanket-like garment, known as the "feilidh-mor", plaid or great kilt, evolved (in a way that no two tartan authorities quite agree on) into the modern kilt "feilidh-beg", philabeg or little kilt.

The most sensational element in this evolution from giant blanket to elegant skirt- is that some believe the modern kilt was invented by an Englishman! The story goes that in the first half of the 18th century there was a certain Thomas Rawlinson, who was an iron-master supervising iron-working in the Lochaber area (near Fort William). (Supplies of local timber were used in this now long-vanished industry.) He noticed that his locally-recruited Highland workforce were a little hindered by the top part of the plaid. As an experiment, he cut this part off, creating the skirt-like pleats of the kilt as seen today.

He found the garment so comfortable he started to wear it himself, thereby accidentally creating the tradition, still to be noted in Scotland today, of a non-native enthusiastically embracing Highland costume! However, if this part of the story of the kilt is not without controversy, it is as nothing compared to the arguments which have raged over the origins of tartan itself.

Some writers give the origin of the word as French "tiretane", though this may simply refer to a kind of material of French origin. Others say the first mention of tartan is in the Exchequer Rolls of the Lord Treasurer of the Scottish court of King James V in 1538 where there is an order for a bale of cloth of "Heland Tartane", the material being used for "hoiss to the Kingis Grace" - perhaps a new pair of tartan trousers for the King. However, some writers argue that this still refers to material of French origin (i.e. tiretane) and that the "Heland" part simply indicates the cut of the finished garment.

Even more mysterious is the fact that tartan is an English (or Scots) word in any case and that the word for striped cloth in Gaelic has always been breacan (cf. Gaelic breac - piebald or spotted). If there is uncertainty about what the word means, there is also debate over the question of whether or not historically the clans of old could be recognised by the tartans.

The Battle of Culloden in 1746, the last battle on British soil, saw victory for the Hanoverian government army over the forces of Bonnie Prince Charlie who were fighting for the return of the exiled Stewart monarchy to the throne of Britain. The Highland Jacobite army wore white cockades (ribbons folded into flower shapes) in their bonnets to distinguish themselves from the Hanoverians. In other words, they could not be distinguished by tartan alone.

In fact, the victorious government leader, the Duke of Cumberland commissioned a picture from a Swiss artist after the battle. In this picture, " An Incident in the Scottish Rebellion", eight discernible Highlanders appear to be wearing no less than 23 different tartans! The Battle of Culloden had one other important effect on tartan. It was banned immediately by Act of Parliament in 1746. This measure only came to an end in 1782. During the ban, tartan and kilts did not disappear.

Partly, this was because the government of the day realised that, if it could channel the warlike ways of the Highlanders into fighting for them, then it could create a formidable fighting force. After all, Highland companies had already been raised from at least the start of the 18th century. By 1757, for example, the famous Black Watch or 42nd Regiment was fighting the French in America. Similarly, the Gordon Highlanders were raised to fight in India.

The kilts and the tartan became just part of the paraphernalia encouraged by Britain in its military forces down through the wars of the Empire and through both world wars to the present day. By the end of the 18th century, there was a growing interest in the changing way of life in the Highlands - in effect, the dawning of the Romantic Age. With this new outlook, the natives of the north came to be viewed with a certain unspoilt charm.

A variety of Highland societies sprang up, eager to preserve the old ways - and to dress up in the native costume. As the century ended, even tourism, as it is understood today, was beginning to draw visitors into the wild Highlands. Tartan, the once reviled cloth of the northern natives, was well on its way to becoming the symbol of all of Scotland.

The novels and poems of Sir Walter Scott helped sustain outsiders' interest in the Highlands. Then Scott was asked to organise the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822. This was a crucial event for the complete rehabilitation of tartan. Scott called upon the lairds, chiefs and other northern landowners to declare their loyalty by parading before the king with their tenantry, dressed like the clansmen of old. This they did with great enthusiasm - and Edinburgh was conquered by these dressed-up tartan warriors who were the sensation of the day.

Even King George himself wore a kilt, though to preserve royal modesty, he wore it with flesh-pink tights underneath. The King's visit of 1822 sealed the fate of the kilt which was afterwards destined to be Scotland's national dress.

The vexed question of who is entitled to wear which tartan has occupied commentators ever since. Though the British Army had been the first to set down and define particular designs and styles of tartan, even before the end of the 18th century, many popular tartans originated as a result in the surge of interest after the King's visit of 1822 - in fact, contemporary accounts suggest that manufacturers were hard-pressed to keep up with demand.

New tartans continue to be devised to this day to mark a variety of occasions. Tartans are not like heraldry, which has strictly-defined rules on just who is entitled to which particular coat-of-arms. Anyone can wear whichever tartan he or she chooses, though it is natural to adopt the tartan of one's own clan - if a connection to one can be found. Several manufacturers, weavers, designers and mill, gift, or woollen shops will help on the spot.

District or general tartans, e.g. Caledonian, Jacobite, Culloden, Fort William are also available, should there be any difficulty in finding a distinct clan connection. Thus tartan and Highland costume has continued to evolve, attracting the attention of fashion designers on a regular basis. Lochcarron of Scotland, for example, has made kilts for movie stars Samuel L. Jackson and Ewan McGregor, as well as supplied fabric to fashion designers Vivienne Westwood, Ralph Laurent and Jean-Paul Gautier. Its mill in Galashiels is open all year round.

Tartan is not an exclusively male garb in today's contemporary interpretation. The Glasgow-based Clan Gatherings, for example, is a specialist supplier of tartan for women, with its own designs for pleated skirts, tops, dresses, trouser and jackets, all featuring not just distinctive tartans, but manufacture in silk. Women can now exhibit their love of tartan but also enjoy their femininity along with their Celtic connections, wearing clothing which blends elegance, style and comfort.

Another company which has taken the tartan tradition and made it right up-to-date are 21st Century Kilts (TFCK). Originally launching at London Men's Fashion Week 1999, the designer Howie Nicholsby experimented with alternative fabrics and came up with a new range for both men and women. Taking advantage of the kilt's inbuilt versatility and suitability for a wide range of occasions, TFCK broaden the choices. It even offers its kilts with hidden inside pockets and special pockets for mobile phones. These are just some of the exciting developments in tartan for the new age.

Once feared, then banned, then fated to return on a wave of popularity, the native cloth of the Highlander continues to appeal and to evolve in new fashions. One thing is certain. It will remain the most famous badge of identity in the world.