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The kilt of course was a Scottish garment, but we see English boys sometimes wearing Scottish tartan kilts. There were various reasons for this, but unfortunately it is not normally apparent with just the photographs. We notice a variety of these kilt outfits. Some boys wore kilts with full Higlands regalia. We also see boys wearing kilts without the full Highlnd regalia. These are not kilt suits, but proper Scottish kilts. We note some boys wearing cut-away jackets. Often the jackets had military styling. This was especially the case of full Higjland outfits. This depended on chronological trends as well as actual association with Scotland. . The one aspect we are confident about is that in England the kilt , especially Highland kilts, was an outfit only adopted by families in confortable circumstances. We do not see working-class boys wearing Scottish kilts. Expense was probably a major factor. There were also Scottish boys living in England. This is very difficult to assess. The kilts were worn as dress outfits for formal events such as church or parties. This became fashionable beginning in the mid-19th Century after Queen Victotia and her decendents began dressing the princes in kilts. Of course there were political reasons for the royal family to do this, but some English mothers chose the kilts costumes for their children because the style appealed to them. We note quite a few such portraits in the photographic record. We see English boys of quite a wide range age range wearing kilts. The conventions seems to have varied depending on the age. We suspect that the kilt was less common as party wear for older boys.
The kilt of course was a Scottish garment, but we see English boys sometimes wearing Scottish tartan kilts. There were various reasons for this, but unfortunately it is not normally apparent with just the photographs. There are several possibilities. Some of the boys photographed in England wearing kilt outfits may have been from Scotland. It could be a Scottish family living or traveling in England. They could have been viditing England or their parents living in England. There are so many examples in the photographic record that it is clearly a popular English fashion in the late-19th or very-early 20th century. It could be a family adopting a fashionable outfit. Here the Royal family was an influence. This was kind of both a fashion and politicl statement, meaning strong aligence to the Royal family. We see quite a few families adopting this style for the children, usually just the boys, but not always, in the late-19th century to a somewhat lesser degree in the early-20th century. We see them in the portrait, but we do not know how commonly they wore the outfit. Given that we are talking well-to-do families, the boys probably had substantial wardrobes as well as school unifirms as they probably attended private schools. We suspect it was just for special occasiionsnd not everyday wear. Kilt outfits also could be just for fancy dress occassions.
The popularity of kilt outfits as the types of outfits worn varied over time. Kilts as a boys' outfit was first introduced by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (1840s). The Quen was obsessed from an eraly age by all things Scottish. Of course there were also political reasons for the royal family to do this. We are not sure how rapidly this fashion caught on beyond the Royal family. We have very few English Daguerreotypes and Ambrotypes. Presunably the subject was addressed in fashion magazines, but we have not yet found any such examples. We do notice English boys wearing Hihjland kilts in the 1860s as a result of the huge incrase in avaialble images with the appearance of the CDV at tghat time. A good example is Brighton boy W.D. Ewart in 1865. We are not sure how common this was in the 1860s, but by the end of the century we see quite a few examples. The boy here appears to be wearung a vekvet cut-way jacket wih a kilt, probanly a party outfit in the 1890s (figure 1). We notice know quite a few younger boys wearin Highland kilts in the ohotographic record. They made for fancy dress portaits which no doubt many ptroud mothers enjoyedliked. And they were also popular with mostly well-to-do mothers for a boy's parfty outfits. We think this ws most common durting the late-19th and early 20th century. We have found quite a few portraits during this period. And the boy here fits nice in that time frame.
We do not yet know much about the headwear English boys wore with Highland kilts. This is because most of the available images were studio portraits in which the boys did not wear their headwear. This was not always the case, but some mums wanted the headwear in the portrauts. Based on our limited infirmtion, the most common headwear seems to be Glenngaries and school caps. Glengaries seem more common than Balmorals. We are not sure why. By 'school cap' we mean the style, not necessarily an actual school uniform peaked cap. School caps by the turn of the 20th century became almost universally worn by English boys. Several seem to match the jackets which do not seem to be school blazers. Some of the boys may not have begun school yet, both because of their age and the fact that they came from well-to-do familles. This is, however, just our prelimary assessment which we hope to refine as our archive expands.
English boys sometimes wore Scottish tartan kilt outfits. We notice a variety of these kilt outfits. Some boys wore kilts with full Highland regalia. We also see boys wearing kilts without the Highlnd regalia. Of course in the photographs some boys mnay have some of the regalia, but not wearing it. We would think that for a formal studio portait theu would be weraring what they have. For more informal photoigraphs they might not be weraring some regalia items, These are not kilt suits, but proper Scottish kilts. We note some boys wearing cut-away jackets. We note some of these cut-away jackets done in blasck velvet. Others were done in tweed and other worsted materials. Some of these jasckets jackets had military styling. They were worn both with and without vests. Unlike kilt suits, the jackets of these kilt outfits do not match the kilts. After World War I we see kilt outdits being worn with short lapel jackets, but by this time we no longer see English boys wearing kilts to any extent.
We notice English boys wearing both kilt suits and Highland kilts. Unlike kilt suits, the boys wearing these kilt outfits seem to have commonly worn proper kilts. These were kilts with front pannels and extenive plearing at the back and sides. We also note sprans. Pleatings seems to have varied somewhat. There are both knive and box pleats. Whatever the type, they seem present in all Highland Kilts we have noted in England. As fr as we can tell, they were identical to the kilts worn in Scotland. Jackets varied. All of the Highland kilts we have noted are plaid. We are not sure about the colors, but suspect many were red plaids. Of ciurse there were not color photographs at the time. Illustration and paintings, however, usually depict kilts donein red plaids. Wehave noted some solid colored kilts in Scotland, but not yet in Englnd. This may, however, reflect are lrger Scottish archive cncerning kilts. Some of the kilt suits were plain, but the Highland kilts, at least in England, all seem to have been plaids. The cut seems to have been just at the knee. For boys this is a little complicated because unlike adults they grow up rather than out. And as a kilt was meant to serve for several yers, some boys look to be wearing a little shorter cut kilts.
Eton collars seem very common for kilt outfits, but ypunger boys might weasr lace collars. Small bow ties also seem popular, but we also see floppy bows.
This depernded on chronological trends as well as actual association with Scotland. Almost always these English boys were boys from wealthy families. We do not see working-class boys wearing Scottish kilts. Expense was probably a major factor.
The kilts were worn as dress outfits for formal events such as church or parties. This was particularly common fgor younger children. Some English mothers chose the kilts costumes for their children because the style appealed to them, especially after Queen Victorian began dressing the royal princes in kilts. We are less sure about the conventions for other boys.
We note quite a few such portraits in the photographic record. We see English boys of quite a wide range age range wearing kilts. The conventions seems to have varied depending on the age. We suspect that the kilt was less common as party wear for older boys.
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