This Page is about the traditional clothes worn by highlanders.
Tartans
Three examples of tartans
A tartan is a pattern found on some scottish clothing consisting of criss-crossed stripes of color. It is commonly called plaid by many Americans, but a plaid is actually a piece of clothing that I will cover later. Every clan had their own unique tartan, but some had multiple tartans. For example, the Grant Clan, which I am descended from, has both a regular tartan and a hunting tartan that consists of green and dark blue and acted as camoflage.
Kilts
A modern kilt and sporran
A kilt is a knee-length garment that some might confuse for a skirt (It's not). They are commonly made of wool with a tartan pattern. They come from traditional Highland dress of the 16th century. Since the 19th century they have mostly become formal dress, but they have recently begun making a comeback as everyday clothing.
Sporrans
A horsehair sporran
Sporrans are decorative bags worn over a kilt on chains around the waist, hanging down over the groin. As kilts have no pockets, sporrans also act as wallets. They are commonly made of leather or fur.
Plaid
A plaid is a piece of tartan patterned cloth worn wrapped around the wearer's body.The plaid is twice as long as the wearer. It is wrapped around the wearer's chest and under the right arm, pulled firm to the body. The plaid is twisted on the left shoulder with one loose end falling behind the wearer's back and getting tucked into the waist belt. The leading edge of the other loose end is pulled forward and draped over the wearer's left shoulder. It may look to some like a sort of shoulder-cape.
Sgian-Dubh
The sgian-dubh is a small, single bladed knife that is actually part of the traditional dress of the Highlands. Sgian-Dubh means "black (covert) knife", because it is a hidden weapon traditionally worn tucked into the top of the owner's stockings. The tradition of wearing a sgian-dubh comes from the 17th century when it was unsafe to travel unarmed. It was tradition to leave all weapons at the door when visiting someone, but they would keep this knife on them, though moved to a more visible place to show trust. This was not to protect in case the host attacked, but in case the house was attacked. In those days it was never safe enough to go completely unarmed. Thie sgian-dubh is still part of traditional Highland dress today, though they are now almost completely for decoration and tradition.