Ask anyone about Scotland and chances are they will mention kilts. The beautiful, brightly striped woolen plaids have managed to survive hundreds of years despite prohibition and the whims of fashion.

The tartan itself has a lively history; playing an import and role in the development of the image of the stoic Highlanders. Their pride of the woven material brought about a government banishment of the tartan after the ill-fated Battle of Culloden in 1746 and was further impressed upon the Scottish people when a law was passed in 1747 that forbade it's wearing under penalties of imprisonment and even death.

When the fiesty Scots persisted in its use, England changed tactics by exporting the offenders to fight in the colonies. Then were allowed the kilts and tartan as long as they were in the military. Regiment doctors insisted on the wearing of breeches only to have the hardy Scots, bo accustomed to cold weather, fall ill with fever. When allowed their own dress they stumped the surgeons by being healthier than the regiments in breeches. Finally, around 1782 the ban was lifted and the tartan once again flourished.

It is remarkable that, in both male and female dress, the tartan has adapted throughout history to the styles of current dress from the saffron shirt though slashed Cavalier dress, the eighteenth century cloak, to modern dress.