Scottish Country Dance of the Day

Today is Underwear Day!   From the loincloth to lingerie, underwear has a deep fascinating cultural history with diverse influences.  

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Kilts have been traditionally worn without undergarments since their use as part of Scottish military uniform, leading to the invention of such expressions as "going regimental" or "military practice" for wearing no underwear.

 

On the Western Front during the First World War, some sergeant majors (reportedly) had mirrors tied to the end of golf clubs or walking sticks to inspect up and under the kilt at parade inspection. However, by 1940 the kilt was retired from combat because of the vulnerability of bare skin to chemical agents, although it was retained as the formal dress uniform of the regiments.

 

The kilt pin is a piece of jewelry usually worn on the lower corner of the outer apron of a kilt. Its function is to prevent the apron falling or blowing open, by adding weight to the outer apron.  A perhaps apocryphal story regarding its origin is that Queen Victoria gave her own brooch to a soldier who was struggling with his kilt in windy conditions, displaying the distinct lack of undergarments of a True Scotsman.

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In addition to traditional kilt pins, which are usually plain or in classic thistle, claymore or other heraldric shapes, modern artisans now make them in many unusual shapes including snakes, lizards, elephants, and bespoke pins for the comic book or sci-fi enthusiast!  Click the Leaping Salmon kilt pin below for an assortment of unusual and bespoke designs from Islay Spalding Kilt Pins!