Figure 1.--Kilts and skirts are different, but similar garments. here the child on the left is wearing a skirt and not a kilt. The Civil War era CDV portrait here is unidetified, but we believe the younger child may be a boy.

Kilts and skirts are different, but similar garments. A kilt is in fact a type of skirt. As we are just beginning to assess this topic we have treated together here, but as we acquire more information we will separate our discussion. It is not always easy to tell from available portraits. The most obvious feature is a front pannel. Kilts are also pleated garments. Kilts are often easy to identify, at least in Scotland because they are worn with Highland regalia. This was much less common in America. While the front pannel is an obvious indicator that the gament is a kilt, pleating is more complicated. All kilts are pleated, although this may include very wide pleats. A Scottish reader provides some details about pleating, "The philabeg, or 'little kilt' that we are familiar with today first appeared in the latter half of the 1700s. It was box pleated with no particular regard to the sett of the tartan. Box pleated kilts were the norm for almost all of the 19th century. Knife pleating either to the set or to the stripe gained favor beginning in the 1890s, and is the familiar kilt we see today, although box pleated kilts are still being made. The advantage of box pleating is that only 4 or 5 yards of material is required verses as much as 9 yards for knife pleating. Another style of pleating that is completely authentic is called kinguissie. In that style there is a single inverted or box pleat at the center rear, and the pleats progress clockwise and counter clockwise from there. Kilts can be ordered today either knife, box, or kinguissie pleated." Skirts may also be pleated, but not all were pleated. Thus if the garment is not pleated it is a skirt, but a pleated garment could be a skirt or kilt. The topic is somewhat complicatdby the fact that until the late 19th century, most clothes including children's clothes were made by seamstrisses or sewn at home by mother. This means that garments were not mass manufactured and could vary substantially.

Plain Skirt

Skirts like kilts may also be pleated, but not all were pleated. Thus if the garment is not pleated it is a skirt. We do not have a lot of information on skirts. The skirts we have found from the mid-19th century were not pleated, although this is jusy a prelimnary assessment. In the photographic record we see children mostly wearing dresses. Skirts seem less common although we are not entirely sure if this reflects popularity or if mothers were more inclined to dress the children in dresses when they were hsaving formal portraits taken. A dress would have been considered s more formal garment. Skirts varied in style. We note quite voluminous skirts in the mid-19th century.

Pleated Skirt

A pleated garment could be a skirt or kilt. All kilts are pleated, but so are some skirts. The topic is somewhat complicatd by the fact that until the late-19th century, most clothes including children's clothes were made by seamstrisses or sewn at home by mother. This means that garments were not mass manufactured and could vary substantially. We are not sure just when skirt pleating began. The images we have found to date suggest that pleating except for kilts was not common for skirts until the 1880s, but this needs to be confirmed. A pleated skirt of course looks similsr to a kilt, but does not hve the front pannel oftn used for kilts. We note various types of pleats bing used. The pleated skirts look much like kilts, but did not have the front pannel.

Kilt

A kilt is in fact a type of skirt. As we are just beginning to assess this topic we have treated together here, but as we acquire more information we will separate our discussion. It is not always easy to tell from available portraits. The most obvious feature is a front pannel. Kilts are also pleated garments. Kilts are often easy to identify, at least in Scotland because they are worn with Highland regalia. This was much less common in America. While the front pannel, commonly with buttons, is an obvious indicator that the gament is a kilt, pleating is more complicated. All kilts are pleated, at least modern kilts. We are not sure about kilts before the 19th centurty. We note different kinfs of pleats, including very wide pleats. Nut some skirts are also pleated. A Scottish reader provides some details about pleating, "The philabeg, or 'little kilt' that we are familiar with today first appeared in the latter half of the 1700s. It was box pleated with no particular regard to the sett of the tartan. Box pleated kilts were the norm for almost all of the 19th century. Knife pleating either to the set or to the stripe gained favor beginning in the 1890s, and is the familiar kilt we see today, although box pleated kilts are still being made. The advantage of box pleating is that only 4 or 5 yards of material is required verses as much as 9 yards for knife pleating. Another style of pleating that is completely authentic is called kinguissie. In that style there is a single inverted or box pleat at the center rear, and the pleats progress clockwise and counter clockwise from there. Kilts can be ordered today either knife, box, or kinguissie pleated."

Created: 12:32 PM 8/20/2006
Last updated: 10:15 AM 5/2/2010