19th Century Scottish Ball Dress

 

The wearing of a tartan sash at Scottish balls has been a tradition for more than 200 years. Worn over a white gown, the four styles are these:

 

1. Traditional clanswoman's sash: Worn draped off the right shoulder at back, wound about the waist, and dropped over the right shoulder from the back towards the front of the bodice. Secured at the shoulder with a pin or brooch.

 

2. Sash of a Chieftainess: If you are the wife of a clan chief or of a Colonel in a Scottish Regiment, the sash is worn over the left shoulder and secured with a brooch. The sash can be fuller than the traditional sash.

 

3. For those who have married outside their clan: Wear your original family's tartan off the right shoulder secured with a pin or brooch and tied in a large bow on the left hip (this requires a longer sash than figures one and two).

 

4. An option for dancing or when the front of the bodice is set with ribbands of a chivalric order or other decoration, this style keeps the front of the dress clear. The style is based on the drape of the clanswoman's ancient arisaid (a large plaid worn belted and draped similarly to a clansman's tartan). Buttoned or belted at the back waist, the sash is then secured at the right shoulder with a pin or small brooch to allow the drape to fall behind the right shoulder (the sash is the same length as figures one and two).

 

Based on portrait evidence, descriptions found in costume dictionaries, and " The Court of the Lord Lyon: Wearing of Sashes by Ladies in Evening Dress" .