17th Century Highland Dress
The undergarment was a linen shirt known as the leine. These shirts were very large with ‘numerous folds and wide sleeves, which flowed abroad loosely to their knees'. Sometimes grease was smeared on them to preserve the fabric.
On top of the shirt was worn a short woollen jacket ‘with the sleeves open below’ to allow for the bulk of the shirt sleeves. They were fastened with numerous buttons made from wood, bone, metal - in fact anything which came to hand.
Next came the belted plaid - plaide is Gaelic for blanket. The Highland belted plaid or Feileadh Mor was a length of soft tartan cloth, about 5 ft wide. It was made of two single widths of about 30 inches sewn together and usually 12 to 18 feet in length.
To wear the plaid: The clansman would lay his belt on the ground. On top of this the plaid was folded into pleats until the length had been reduced to 4-5 feet leaving each end unpleated. He would then lie down on top of the plaid so that the lower edge was level with his knees. He then folded the two unpleated ends across his body and fastened it around him with the belt.
On standing up, the longer portion fell down to his ankles. He would then put on his jacket and rearrange as needed.
In bad weather he would wear the excess cloth around his shoulders and head. Otherwise the extra cloth was draped around the upper body. Usually the left corner was passed behind the back and fastened to the left shoulder with a pin or brooch.The right corner was tucked into the front of the belt , this created folds of material where items could be stored.
The lower legs and feet had hose made from the same cloth as the plaid or a heavier cloth.They were sewn together with a seam at the back, and fastened below the knees with a garter. They also wore truis which covered the whole legs and feet, again made from the same cloth.
Their shoes were made from one piece of leather without heels or a sole. They were fastened with leather thongs and sometimes had holes pierced in them to help water to escape.
Around the waist they wore a sporran. This was a simple leather pouch in which foodstuffs may have been kept.
Bonnets were worn on their heads. They were knitted very large from hand spun wool then boiled to shrink them down to fit. This made them very thick and weather resistant. Records show they were brown, blue, black, grey and sand coloured.
Highland Weapons
Basket-hilted Sword - claidheamh mor. This was about 40 inches long. The blade often originated from Germany, the hilt being Scottish.The scabbard was made from wood covered in leather with a loop to fasten it onto a belt or a baldric.
