Highland dress and fashionable culture in Georgian Britain

Abstract

• Fashion and textile historian Dr Rosie Waine tells the story of the remarkable transformation of Highland dress from warrior culture to the colourful world of fashion in Georgian Britain. A REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATION As a living tradition, Highland dress is deeply rooted in the history of Scotland. Once associated with the warrior culture of Gaelic society, by the turn of the 19th century this regional dress had become an accepted aspect of broader British fashion. In this 45-minuted illustrated talk, Dr Rosie Waine draws on the evidence of costume held by National Museums Scotland to tell the tale of this remarkable transformation. This talk is based on Dr Waine’s recent publication Highland Style: Fashioning Highland Dress, c.1745-1845 (NMSE: 2022), which marks the culmination of a five-year research project to reassess the tartan and Highland dress collections of National Museums Scotland. This work was funded by the William Grant Foundation.