The Dress Act of 1746 by Jenna Jaxon

Thanks to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, many readers of romance know about the Jacobite Rising of 1745 and how the Scottish

Highland clans were slaughtered on Culloden moor. This horrible defeat was only the beginning of the oppression suffered by the surviving clan members. As a subjugated people, the Scots were put under the yoke of British domination in many ways—taking their lands, burning, pillaging, taking their arms, and eventually taking away their most traditional form of dress. Issued on August 1, 1747, the Dress Act of 1746 states that “No Man or Boy, within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as Officers and Soldiers in His Majesty's Forces, shall, on any pretence whatsoever wear or put on the Clothes commonly called Highland Clothes (that is to say) the Plaid, Philabeg, or little Kilt, Trowse, Shoulder Belts, or any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland Garb; and that no Tartan, or party-coloured Plaid or Stuff shall be used for Great Coats, or for Upper Coats;”

This Act, in one swoop, forbade the Highlanders from wearing not tartan plaid per se, but the garments that were usually made in tartan fabrics. This law was aimed specifically at the Highlanders, but it also affected Lowlanders, many of whom had fought on the British side in the Rising and who also wore tartans and kilts. The only men who it excluded were those serving in the British Army. The penalty for disobeying this law was severe: “and if any such Person shall presume after the first day of August, to wear or put on the aforesaid Garments, or any part of them, every such Person so offending, being convicted thereof by the Oath of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses before any Court of Justiciary or any one or more Justices of the Peace for the Shire or Stewartry, or Judge Ordinary of the Place where such Offence shall be committed, shall suffer imprisonment, without Bail, during the space of Six Months, and no longer, and that being convicted for a second Offence before a Court of Justiciary, or at the Circuits, shall be liable to be transported to any of His Majesty's Plantations beyond the Seas, there to remain for the space of Seven Years."

As a result, many Highlanders and Lowlanders joined the Army in order to be able to be exempt from the Act. There are, however, cases in which men were charged with wearing the kilt and tartan plaid and faced stiff consequences. In 1748 one young man in full Highlander dress drowned as he swam across a loch near Stathglass to avoid capture. A servant of Laird MacLean of Duart was arrested and imprisoned for six months for wearing Highland dress. Finally, in 1782 the Dress Act was repealed, but it had done its job. The Highland dress had become strange to the Highlanders and therefore was not worn as it had once been, a symbol of Scottish autonomy.

The Dress Act and its consequences figure prominently in my current WIP Almost a Countess. The heroine helps a Scotsman who has been arrested for wearing a kilt. After that, things get rather complicated. You can read the first chapter, on Amazon as A Solitary Ride here.

Guest Elaine Coffman: Men in Kilts!

Linda Banche here. Today I welcome Elaine Coffman and her latest book, the time travel, The Return of Black Douglas. Here she talks about one of our favorite subjects--Men in Kilts!

Leave a comment with your email address for a chance to win one of two copies of The Return of Black Douglas which Sourcebooks has generously provided. Elaine will select the winner. Check the comments to see who won, and how to contact me to claim your book. If I cannot contact the winner within a week of the selection, I will award the books to alternates. Note, Sourcebooks can mail to USA and Canada addresses only.

And the winners Elaine selected are Vonnie Davis and Alyssia. Congratulations to you both and thanks to all who came.

Welcome Elaine! And all your heroes in kilts.

What’s the attraction to men in kilts?

This is a difficult question to answer, because I tend to wrap kilt wearing up with all the research I’ve done about Scotland and how the wearing of kilts has been anything but true to the historical facts. But, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because I’m not going there, other than to say the plaid and kilt wearing belonged to the Highlanders (and partly to the Irish), although the wearing of the kilt as we think of it screams Scotland and did not come about until the late 17th or early 18th century. The kilt first appeared as a belted plaid around 1600. The kilt as we think of it did not occur until the mid-1700’s. The term plaid is Gaelic and means a blanket or cloak and doesn’t refer to the pattern or the material. The plaid was 12 to 18 feet long and 5 feet wide, made by sewing two pieces of fabric together. It was worn as a cloak, wrapped around the upper body. It was multi-purpose, for warmth, to roll up in to sleep, as a covering when it rained. The plaid belonged to the Highlander’s, just as the clan system did. It was not in any way connected with the Lowlands until much later, when they adopted it along with the English. Now, it has literally been adopted by people everywhere, whether they have a dollop of Highlander, or any kind of Scots blood or not.

So, what’s the attraction to men in kilts? And why do women love Scottish Highlanders? I’ll deal with the attraction for men in kilts first, and I think the first thing that comes to a woman’s mind when she sees a man in a kilt is, “What is he wearing underneath it?” One cannot see a man in a kilt without being curious! I have to pause here a moment to tell you that there is even a MEN IN KILTS window cleaning company that advertises “No Peeking” on their T-shirts. Seriously! They are even backed by the BBB and there is a video of them in action. Now, if there are any of you left reading this, I will get back to the question.

First off, I think there is a fascination with Scotland in general, for Scotland, tempered by never ending sorrow, calls out to all of us, like echoes from the past . . . secret, mysterious, evocative, and eerily stirring. One cannot help but admire the steadfast strength of a people who have taken the destruction of their clan system, the taking of their land, the eviction and emigration of their families, and the loss of their independence. And yet, something as simple as the genes for red hair and freckles has managed to survive. No other country can match it in sadness, conflict, haunting beauty, and poignancy, or the enigmatic loneliness of the land itself. Theirs is a tale of suffering told in a tragic vein-- passions so naturally manifest, and misfortunes so wrenching, that the very soul is pierced. Simple and yet complex, beautiful and dramatic, Scotland rises out of the cold depths of the North Sea like a clenched fist. Even the rugged uplands that separate it from England seem to suggest separation. You’ve only to listen to the mournful tunes of a bagpipe to feel it, even now. And when the last notes have faded away, a great silence falls over your soul, while the images are still running around in your head, and you are reminded of all they endured, what they lost, and how much the rest of us were spared. In a land ignited by the flame of pageantry that smolders even now, one cannot help but think of Scotland in terms of obelisks and Celtic crosses, the bones of saints, the relics of Vikings, the haunting lilt of a bagpipe and the proud wearing of the plaid and kilt. These are badges that identify Scotland around the world.

I cannot help but recalling these things whenever I go to a wedding or a parade and see men in kilts, for it is symbolic of just what Scotland is and what it means. It is the garment and the tradition that snags us, and part of that tradition is, men wore naught beneath it.

When I think of a man in a kilt, I think of Scotland and manliness, endurance, steadfastness, masculinity, vigor, power, bravery, devotion, resoluteness, pride, suffering, overcoming-- all beautiful, descriptive words that bespeak virility, strength and masculinity. As Gilder said, “Manhood at the most basic level can be validated and expressed only in action.” It is our nature to see men as heroic, and in a kilt we think of them in the most masculine of terms, for isn’t it in our genetic breeding to select the most masculine of alpha males? And doesn’t it take a masculine male to have the nerve to wear a skirt? And, don’t we love it when there is a bit of mystery to it . . . does he or doesn’t he?
THE RETURN OF BLACK DOUGLAS BY ELAINE COFFMAN – IN STORES APRIL 2011

He’ll Help a Woman in Need No Matter Where She Came From…

Alysandir Mackinnon rules his clan with a fair but iron fist. He has not time for softness or, as he sees it, weakness. But when he encounters a bewitching young beauty who may or may not be a dangerous spy, but surely is in mortal danger, he’s compelled to help…

She’s Always Wondered if She Was Born in the Wrong Time…

Thrown back in time to the tumultuous, dangerous Scottish Highlands of the sixteenth century, Isobella Douglas has a lot to learn about her ancestors, herself, and her place in the world. Especially when she encounters a Highland laird who puts modern men to shame…

Each one has secrets to keep, until they begin to strike a chord in each other’s hearts that’s never been touched before…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since her first publication in 1988, New York Times Bestselling author Elaine Coffman’s books have been on the NYT, USA Today Top 50, and Ingram’s Romance bestsellers lists, and won four nominations for Best Historical Romance of the Year, Reviewers Choice, Best Western Historical, and The Maggie. Elaine lives in Austin, Texas, where she is working on her next book! For more information, please visit http://www.elainecoffman.com/.