Female Scots Dress

[V. Allan Endel]

>"Women did not wear the kilt.  Women wore the arasaid."

I thought I would expand on this a little. Women still do not wear kilts,
but they do wear kilt skirts. Kilts are designed to look good on men, but
the exact same pattern would not be flattering on women, so there are kilt
skirts designed to look well on the female form.

The arasaid was probably fairly late period.  Before the 800s the Scots
lived mainly in Ireland, and the garb of both men and women would have been
identical with that of their Irish cousins. When Kenneth MacAlpin became
king of both the Picts and Scots in the 800s, the major migration of the
Scots to Scotland began (although some had already settled there).
Differences in dress would have only crept in gradually. And the upper class
of all periods would tend to dress for formal occasions following the
stylish modes imported from the continent. Even as early as the eleventh
century, Scotland was in contact with the continent (King Macbeth and his
queen Gruoch made pilgrimage to Rome in that century).
Alan 
V. Allan Endel, Laird Alan MacRonan MacCalum of House Mac an Ghabhann and
Keep of
the Haunted Grove, resident of the Canton of Dragonsfire Tor and the Barony
of Elfsea

Quote for the week:
"Ham for the ham?" Jevan the Fletcher ap Cennydd, serving his Lady's father
at Yule Revel

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