Figure 1.--This Turner painting depicts George IV's visit to St. Giles church in Edinburgh about 1822. Notice the Scottish boy wearing a kilt at the right.
Kilts are of course associated with the Scottish. The short kilt now associated with Scotland, however, did not exist in the 15-17th centuries. There was an increaing division in Scotland during this period between the Gaelic Highlanders in rural areas and the increasinly Anglicized urban population. I am not sure what extent the kilts worn at the time were actually worn by Scottish boys. Gaelic boys presumably wore them, but I am not sure at what age. The situation in the growing urban centers may have been quite different. Anglicized populations would have been much more likely to dress and eat like their southern neigbors, the English. Many of these people may have looked down on the kilt-wearing Gaelic Highlanders as country bumkins. Thus town boys may have been dressed more like the English rather than in Gaelic kits. This is, however, largely speculation. Hopefully some of our British visitors will provide some historical insights.
Some reports suggest that the short kilt as we now know it was fashioned by an Englisman in the early 18th century. He was enamored my the traditional long kilt worn by Scottish workers in his foundary and so fashioned a shorter, safer version for them to wear.
The English defeat of Bonny Prince Charlie, the last Jacobin pretender, at the Battle of Culloden (1746) brought an end to Spanish national aspirations and an era of supression when the English attempted to eradicate Scottish resistance, extending even to clothes and other aspects of national identity. The kilt was actually banned as it had become a symbol of national resistance. The English even charged that it had military value. As a result, for several decades, perhaps lomger, kilts were not commonly worn by Scottish boys.
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Figure 1.--This Turner painting depicts George IV's visit to St. Giles church in Edinburgh about 1822. Notice the Scottish boy wearing a kilt at the right. |
Scottish boys the same styles as worn by English boys which meant as soon as they emerged from dresses, they were breeched in the English styles of the 18th century, the same styles as worn by their fathers.
British attitudes toward kilts changed significantly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romantic poets and authors like Burns and Scott had a great impact on the popular imagination. The performance of kilted Higland regiments in the Napoleonic Wars also influenced public opinion.
One effect of the changing attitude toward Scotland was the renewed wearin of the kilt in Scotland. Laws prohibiting the kilt had been recended in the late 18th Century. II have few details, but I do know that Scottish boys in the early 19th Century did dress up in kilts. Paintings of the era depict boys in kilts for church and other dress occasions. I am not sure if the kilt was perceived as a boys' style at this time. I also do not know if they were also worn for other activities such as school or play. If readers have any infornation on this subject, I'd appreciate any contributions.
The major moving influence in establishing the kilt as boys' clothes for English and eventually american boys was Queen Victoria who was fascinated by Scotland. She built a royal estate at Balmoral which is still a favorite of Queen Elizabeth today. The Queen outfitted the steadily growing number of young princes in picturesque kilts. I am not sure if she just picked up on a fashion of the time or the clothes she saw when visitin Balmoral. Scottish boys were wearing the kilt in the early 19th Century, but I'm unsure as to how commonly. Perhaps outfitting the princes was an idea she conceived herself. Hopefully some of our British observers will provide some information on this. Wheather or not Victoria conceived the idea herself, the impact of her decision is apparent. Suddenly the kilt rather than being a symbol of resistance to England was endorsed by the Queen. Royal children ever since have
 Figure 2.--Scottish children on a country road on Iona in the Heberdies after the turn of the century. Notice the cap the barefooted boy is wearing. |
With the Queen's approval, the kilt was surely seen much more in Scotland, including on boys and at school. If some mother's had dressed boys in kilts before the mid-1800s, after Victoria's example, the kilt became a major boys' fashion for dress wear. However how extensive the kilt became as an article of boys clothes I do not know. Nor am I certain just how the kilt was worn. Was it just for formal dress occasions, or was it worn as casual wear as well. It is likely that most Scottish boys dressed much like their English cousins.
I'm unsure how extensively the kilt was worn by boys in the early 20th century. In particular I do not known how common it was for parents to dress boys in kilts for everyday wear. I think that it was pribably not extremely common as the kilt was a more expensive garment than kneepants
Figure 3.--Some Scottish boys wore kilts for casual wear and to play in. These children in the late 1920s were photographed in their play clothes. A few English mothers besmitted with the alure of Scotland even chose kilts for their boys. |
After the War I believe casual wearing of the kilt became less common. Perhaps most common in small Scottish towns. Also it was probably most common in affluent families, especially those particularly concerned with Scottish heritage. There were even some Engglish parents who adopted the Scottish kikt for their boys. We are not talking about the kilt suits commonly worn by British and American boys during the late 19th century. These would be Highland kilts as we now know them.
Kilts were adopted by some instituions or worn for special occassions.
Schools: As far as we know, the kilt was worn at private schools, but not very commonly at state schools. I know of no schools where the kilt was required as every day wear, although that does not mean that there were not some. Most commonly it was worn as the dress up uniform for church or special occasions. I am not sure about the 1970s, but by the 80s most prep schools diciuraged the boys from wearing the kilt during the school day so as not to spoil them. As far as I know it was normally an option at seconday schools, but not commonly worn. I do know a great deal about the kilt at state schools. I don't think that they were required. I do not know if boys wore kilts to state schools in a voluntary basis. It is likely that Scottish boys for the most part dressed much like English schoolboys.
Figure 4.--Some Scottish boys wore kilts on special occassions. I'm not sure how common it was to wear the kilt on less formal occassions. Here a boy makes a presentation to the Queen in the late 1920s or early 1930s. |
The modern Scottish boy dresses just as English boys, with very few exceptions. Most of the activities described above continue in Scotland. Dress wear in some schools (mostly private schools), Scouts, and formal events. But for the most time Scottish boys wear jeans and trainers (tennis shoes), often with sweaters in the generally cool Scottish weather. Many schools require uniforms, just like the ones worn in England--except that kilts might be worn for dress occasions. This is most common in private schools.
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