The plaid as we saw it in Chapter III is only a shawl, and at one time in Scotland it was used as a covering for practically the whole of the person. It was ingeniously disposed, and part of it was fastened by a belt round the waist so as to form a kind of kilt or petticoat. Hence arose the name of belted plaid. It seems to have needed a considerable amount of practice to put on this garment properly, and the method customarily adopted by the wearer was to spread the plaid on the ground and, after duly arranging it in its proper folds, to lie down upon it and fix it with the belt. Some races seem to have recognized very much earlier that it would be more convenient to separate the kilt from the upper garment. In fact, if we examine the woven garments which the Danish chieftain wore under his deer-skin cloak, at a time before the use of iron had spread to Western Europe, we find that round his loins he had a small shawl held in place by a girdle. (See Figure [75].)
Fig. 75.—A shawl used as a kilt by a chieftain of Denmark in the bronze stage of culture (after Worsaae).
The next stage in the evolution of the petticoat would be characterized by the permanent joining of the edges of the cloth, so that a garment would be formed which resembled the lower part of the tubular tunic which played its part in the evolution of the shirt or coat. Such a state of affairs is to be seen in the simple skirt of the Danish chieftainess whose bodice we have already described. (See page [18].) Here the petticoat was not shaped in any way at the top, but was gathered in round the waist and fastened as in the case of the man with a girdle.
Fig. 76.—A simple dress in the form of a petticoat from an Egyptian figure of the Sixth Dynasty (3500 B.C.), from the Myers collection in Eton College Museum.
In a warm climate it would be easy to dispense with a covering for the upper part of the body, and one of the simplest dresses imaginable was adopted in ancient Egypt. This costume is to be seen on the figure of a woman belonging to the Sixth Dynasty (3500 B.C.), which we have already mentioned when tracing the development of the hat-band and ribbons. (See Figure [45].) In this instance there is a simple tight-fitting skirt reaching to the waist or a little above it, which is supported by two straps passing between the bare breasts and over the otherwise naked shoulders. (See Figure [76].)