HIGHLAND DRESS INFORMATION

The following information is from:
DRESS FOR HIGHLAND DANCERS
as published by the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing.

This page originally came from the Highland X Press web site. Thanks to MaryBeth for permission to use it here.

Highland Dress for Male Dancers	Highland Dress for Female Dancers
Dress for National Dances	Dress for the Irish Jig for Male Dancers
Dress for the Irish Jig for Female Dancers	Dress for the Sailor's Hornpipe

HIGHLAND DRESS FOR MALE DANCERS

TYPE 1

Jacket	May be of velvet or cloth in any color and any recognized style of doublet, e.g., Prince Charlie, Montrose, et.c.
Kilt	And Clan, Family, or District tartan is acceptable. A kilt pin may be worn.
Hose	Full clan tartan hose or diced hose to match the kilt, e.g., Blue/white, et.c.
Garter Flashes	Red, Green, or Blue.
Sporran	Evening pattern with plated metal top. A full dress hair sporran is NOT correct for competitive dancers.
Waistbelt	Leather with plated metal buckle may be worn.
Head Dress	Balmoral or Glengarry with appropriate crest. The clan badge may be worn behind the crest. Feathers should NOT be worn.
Plaid	A belted plaid may be worn at the discretion of the dancer.
Jabot	Should be of white lace. With an appropriate doublet, a bowtie is an optional alternative.
Sleeve Ruffles	May be worn in conjunction with a lace jabot, but must be attached to the sleeve of the shirt or coat.
Sgian Dubh	May be worn if desired.
Footwear	Black Highland dancing pumps.

TYPE 2

This style may be worn by Pre-Open dancers only.

This style may be worn without the jacket and waistcoat.

Jacket and Waistcoat	Daywear style, in lovat or other type of tweed.
Kilt	As in Type 1.
Hose	Plain to tone with kilt.
Sporran	Leather, any pattern.
Footwear	Black Highland dancing pumps.
Shirt and Tie	A white shirt and plain tie.

HIGHLAND DRESS FOR FEMALE DANCERS

TYPE 1

Jacket	Black or coloured velvet with no outside pockets. Close fitting at the waist and hips, fastened down the front, with basque having two points in front and wide scallops. The jacket is trimmed round the edges with a single row of ½ inch silver or gold braid. The facings have a single row of not more than five ornamental buttons on each side. The full-length sleeves may have a single row of not more than 5 silver or gold buttons at the vent. If desired, ruffles (not more than one inch in depth) may be worn at the wrist, but they must be fastened to the sleeve. The front edges of the jacket are boned from the waist up. Elastic loops are fitted inside to fasten to the top of the kilt in order to prevent the jacket from rising when the arms are raised.
Waistcoat	Similar to the jacket as described above but without sleeves. There is no trim around the armholes.
White Blouse	Half-length sleeves with a lace ornamental front. An upright stiff half inch lace collar may be attached to the blouse.
Kilt	Any clan, family, or district tartan is acceptable. It should reach to the top of the knee.
Hose	Full clan tartan hose or diced hose to match the kilt, e.g., blue/white, et.c.
Underwear	Dark or tartan trews should be worn.
Footwear	Black Highland dancing pumps.

TYPE 2

Kilt	As described in Type 1.
White Blouse	As described in Type 1 or plain, worn with a tie.
Hose	White, ¾ length.

DRESS FOR THE NATIONAL DANCES

MALE

Male dancer may wear tartan trews instead of the kilt for National dances.

FEMALE

A white dress with a tartan sash, worn from right to left, may be worn instead of the above.

Skirt	Should be a tartan or smiliar design, in cloth or taffeta, not necessarily worsted. Any man-made material is acceptable. The skirt should be gathered, not circular. Length should be to the top of the knee.
White Blouse	The sleeves may be slightly shorter than the Highland blouse.
Underskirt	White, preferably cotton.
Bodice	Velvet, waist length, laced up the front with scalloped or petal design all the way round.
Plaid	One yard square, fastened to the right shoulder with a cairngorm brooch.
Socks	White or natural tights may be worn.

DRESS FOR THE IRISH JIG FOR MALE DANCERS

Tail Coat	In red or green.
Waistcoat	In red or green in opposite color to that of the tail coat. Brass or white buttons.
Trousers	Knee britches, preferably in brown or khaki corduroy or whipcord, slack below the knee with patch on left hip.
Stockings	Green.
Muffler	Paisley design or red.
Hat	Paddy style.
Shillelaigh	Natural wood about 3-4 lbs. in weight. It may have a green ribbon tied in a bow.
Footwear	Irish jig shoes in black, red, or green. White is not acceptable.

DRESS FOR THE IRISH JIG FOR FEMALE DANCERS

Dress

May be:

a) White, Green, or Red.

b) Kimona style with a white blouse.

c) Green or Red skirt with a white blouse and small cape.

A bolero type bodice may be worn.

Apron

A small white apron apron is worn with either a, b, or c above.

Underskirts

Full underskirts in white only and preferably of cotton. These are not lifted during the dance. All flouncing movements are done only with the skirt of the dress. White pants frilled with lace should be worn.

Socks

Red, green, or white. Adult dancers should wear tights in natural, red, or green.

Footwear

Irish Jig shoes in black, red, or green. Shoes should NOT have taps.

There should be no headdress, but a plain ribbon may be worn on the hair.
The dress is usually made of Sateen, Satin, or Cotton.
Lurex fabrics should not be used, not should sequins or smiliar ornaments adorn the dress.

DRESS FOR THE SAILOR'S HORNPIPE

Jumper	To be of navy blue serge or twill material, or white drill, shaped to teh body and with set-in sleeves. V-neck front opening with a double thickness collar attached. The bottom of the jumper should be in line with teh fork and the sleeves should extend to the wristbone. The sleeves may be with a band fastened with a button or straight.
Trousers	To be made of the same material and colour as the jumper. Bell bottomed style, the circumference of the trouser bottoms to be two or three inches wider than the circumference of the knee. Trouser bottoms should be plain.
Collar	Navy or denim with white stripes, whether with a Navy or White suit.
Vest	Whie drill with square neck and bound with navy binding.
Bow	May be worn. Must be black.
Socks	Navy or white.
Cap	Regulation white or navy with circular crown.

Thanks to MaryBeth Miller-Klein for originally providing this page on her Highland X Press web site.

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This page is maintained by Ian Brockbank
ian@scottishdance.net
Edinburgh, Scotland