Figure 1.--Here we have cabinet card oportrait of an unidentified boyy wearung a Highland kilt, The studio was F. Guttekunst in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The portrait vis undated,n butlooks likec the 1870s to us. a

We have found several portraits of American boys wearing full Highland regalia, most commonly in the late-19th century up to about the turn-of-the 20th century. Many Scotts setled in America, but we do not believe many commonly wore kilts. This was true when they first settled as well as subsequent generatiins of Scotts, at least in the 19th century. And we do not have any ecidence that Americans of Scottish ancestry wore kilts in the early- or mid-19th century. We think Highland outfits for boys primarily sparked by the British royal family. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert began dressing the royal princes in Higland kilts (1840s). When Queen Victoria dressed the princes in Highland kilts during the 1840s, she popularized the kilt as a boy's outfit. She created a fashion sensation. The style spread to Europe. We are unsure just when this fashion was picked up in America. We are not yet sure about the 1840s-50s. Some reports suggest that American mothers who looked to England an Europe for their fashion inspiration by the mid-1850s had begun adopting the style for their sons. We have not yet found much evidence of that in the photographic record. American fashion magazines were soon depicting kilts as fashionable boys wear and this continued until the turn of the century. Godeys Lady Book and Magazine in 1870, for example, described a Scottish outfit: "Short pleated skirt striped silk poplin. Jacket of gros grain with square-cut basques black braid trim. Full cambric shirt, no waistcoat." [Godey's Lady's Book and Magazine, January 1870, p.108.] Wealthy American families like the Roosevelts commonly dressed their boys in kilts complete with sporrans or various forms of Scottish inspired dress. Unlike boys suits and even kilt suits, they were worn with kneesocks (usually Argyles), rather than long stockings. The Higland kilt was not the most common type of kilt worn by American boys, but they were worn by boys in affuent families. They were most common in America during the late-19th Century. Unlike the kilt suit, Highland kilts were mostly worn by boys from wealthy families. While middle-class boys might wear kilt suits, it was not commonly for them to wear full Highland regalia. The earliest Highland suit we have found so far dates to about 1870 (figure 1). We think it is likely that there there were boys wearing Highland kilts before this, but they wre not very common. And they all seem to be formal portraits. We are unsure just to what extent the boys wore these outfits outside of having a portrait taken. The boys involved were not necesarily of Scottish ancestry. They were, however, mostly boys from affluent families. A good example is Franklin Roosevelt in the 1880s.

Created: 4:45 AM 12/9/2009
Last updated: 4:45 AM 12/9/2009