When they go in quest of the herring, they dress something like the sailors, but of coarser cloth, with hats over their eyes, to mark the fish the better. They are careful about drying their nets, and other fishing tackle.
Their brogues (shoes) are made of cow or horse leather, and often of seals skins, that are commonly well tanned by the root of tormintile, which they dig out from the hillocks, and uncultivated lands, about the sea-side. This, properly pounded and prepared, without either lime or bark, is sufficient to make the hides pliant and fit for wearing. It answers their purpose much better than leather tanned with lime or bark, because they seldom grow hard or shrink when dried, even though wet all day; which is not the case with such as are burnt with lime. They never use tan-pits, but bind the hides fast with ropes, and hold them for several days in some remote solitary stream, until the hair begins to come off, of its own accord; and after that, the tormintile roots are applied for bark, as above described. Such of the men as can afford them, wear large forest coats above their other garb, especially on Sundays, or at the public meetings, as weddings, burials, or fairs. Either in this or a coarse breacan (i.e. the plaid) with their best apparel, they appear on these solemn occasions; but many of those who are poor, and cannot afford it, often do and must appear in their tattered clothes and dirty shirts, without either stockings or brogues, quite bare-footed, even in frost and snow, in distress sufficient to extort compassion from every person, but such tyrants as are the cause of so much misery to those starved creatures, who are often creeping along with white or striped petticoats belonging to their wives, or daughters and sisters, about their shoulders.
The women wear long or short gowns, with a waistcoat and two petticoats, mostly of the stripes or tartan, as already described, except the lower coat, which is white. The married wives wear linen mutches, or caps, either fastened with ribbons of various colours, or with tape straps, if they cannot afford ribbons. All of them wear a small plaid, a yard broad, called guilechan, about their shoulders, fastened by a large broach. The broaches are generally round, and of silver, if the wearer be in tolerable circumstances: if poor, the broaches, being either circular or triangular, are of baser metal and modern date. The first kind has been worn time immemorial even by the ladies. The arrisats are quite laid aside in all this country, by the different ranks of women; being the most ancient dress used by that class. It consisted of one large piece of flannel, that reached down to the shoe, and fastened with clasps below, and the large silver broach at the breast, while the whole arm was entirely naked. The ladies made use of the finer, while common women used coarser kinds of flannel, or white woollen cloths. The married women bind up their hair with a large pin into a knot on the crown of their heads, below their linens; and the unmarried frequently go bare-headed, with their hair bound up with ribbons, or garters. They often wear linen caps, called mutches, particularly on Sabbaths. Many of the more wealthy appear at church with a profusion of ribbons and head-dresses, with cloaks and high-heeled shoes. Those whose circumstances cannot admit of that, must appear with one of their petticoats, either tartan, or of one colour, around their shoulders, on Sundays, as well as on week days. They seldom travel any where without this appendage; nay, in the house, when at such work as will admit of it; seeing it would be thought naked in a woman to go without it: it also defends them from the inclemency of the weather. Most of them wear napkins, or handkerchiefs, on their necks; and many of the richest of them use silk ones, whether black or spotted, as suits their fancies.
Frequently the old women wear little guilechans, (small plaids) about their shoulders, and woollen hoods about their heads, with very coarse linen under them fastened with a pin below their chins. The breeid, or curtah, a fine linen handkerchief fastened about married women’s heads, with a flap hanging behind their backs, above the guilechan, is mostly laid aside.
Most of the poorer tenants cannot afford to wear brogues in Summer, unless they are obliged to be treading among the sharp rocks on the shores, at their master’s kelp, when the master must supply them, except they can afford to provide for themselves. It would be too great a luxury for a poor one to use them, unless at the same, or similar rugged employment. Nothing short of extreme necessity obliges them to appear in public meetings in these humiliating garbs; for otherwise their pride would revolt at the very thought of such shabby dresses.[77]
Gough thus describes the dress of the Highlanders in the district of Breadalbane about 1789:—
The dress of the men is the brechan or plaid, 12 or 13 yards of narrow stuff wrapped round the middle and reaching to the knees, often girt round the waist, and in cold weather covering the whole body, even on the open hills, all night, and fastened on the shoulders with a broche: short stockings tied below the knee; truish, a genteeler kind of breeches, and stockings of one piece; cuoranen, a laced shoe of skin with the hairy side out, rather disused; kelt or fillebeg, q. d. little plaid or short petticoat, reaching to the knees, substituted of late to the longer end of the plaid: and lastly the pouch of badger or other skins, with tassels hanging before them. The Lochaber axe, used now only by the town guard of Edinburgh, was a tremendous weapon. Bows and arrows were in use in the middle of the last century, now as well as the broadsword and target laid aside since the disarming act, but the dirk, or ancient pugio, is still worn as a dress with the knife and fork.... The women’s dress is the kirch, or white linen pinned round behind like a hood, and over the foreheads of married women, whereas maidens wear only a snood or ribbon round their heads: the tanac or plaid fastened over their shoulders and drawn over their heads in bad weather: a plaited long stocking, called ossan, is their high dress.[78]
These notes bring us down to the present century, and the account of works written on the subject which follows will give our readers some idea of the present state of the literature relating to tartan. Before concluding, however, it is worth while to make some special references to one of these works, the Vestiarium Scoticum.[79] John Sobieski Stuart’s account of the origin of the work is as follows:—
The tract now published in the following volume, is printed from a MS. in my possession, collated with the transcript of another in the Library of the Monastery of St Augustine in Cadiz. It is a small black-letter quarto of the sixteenth century, containing thirty-four pages of vellum, illuminated with small, plain, capitals, such as the ordinary initials of inferior missals. It was once in the possession of the historian and faithful adherent of Queen Mary, John Lesley, bishop of Ross, as appears by his signature in the first leaf—“Jo. Rossen.” Immediately below is noted, in his small neat hand, “Primo Maii, 1571, I tuck my feaver and ageu at ix huris at nyt.”... Some of the many calamities which scattered the adherents of the house of Stuart, and brought together many of their persons and their remains in the Catholic seclusions of the Continent, conveyed the Vestiarium Scoticum, and many papers of the Bishop of Ross into the Library of the Scots College at Douay. During the long incognito of the prince Charles Edward, between the years 1749 and 1754, he visited that seminary, for purposes which expired in the obscurity wherein they were planned; and, during his stay, he received from the fathers many papers which had belonged to Queen Mary, her adherents, and King James the Seventh. Among others, of a very different nature, was found the Bishop of Ross’s copy of the Vestiarium Scoticum. This copy, now in my possession, being the oldest and the most perfect, has served as the original to the present publication.