Lassie comes home: the new trend for Caledonian style

If this newspaper came with sound effects you’d quickly realise that this is an entirely biased piece of writing. It is, you see, something of a love-letter to the classic Scottish kilt — an item of clothing a Fife upbringing spent devouring square sausage, black pudding and deep-fried pizza (yes, I know I’m a walking cliché/health hazard) makes me qualified to write.

Know this, though — we’re not talking burly Gerard Butler-a-likes in sporrans and blackwatch tartan here (though feel free to dwell on that mental image for as long as you need to) but rather a new contemporary type of kilt, bred on the catwalk and created with your autumn/winter wardrobe in mind.

A by-product of the fashion world’s recent preoccupation with all things Scottish — or Caledonianism, as the trend might more succinctly be renamed — the kilt follows tartan, Harris tweed and Fair Isle knitwear into our wardrobes.

Championed by a host of international designers, this Highland moment in fashion has global appeal and began last December when the respendent Karl Lagerfeld chose Linlithgow Palace as a fitting setting for his latest Métiers d’Art for Chanel.

More recently, New York-based Proenza Schouler called on a reinterpreted version of the kilt to add a sense of movement to its autumn/winter collection while cult label MGSM has a woollen kilts — just like my grandma used to wear — in its new offering.

In Milan, Caledoniaphile Rossella Jardini appeared to be more pro-Scotland than SNP leader Alex Salmond when she presented her latest collection for Moschino. The designer, who closed her show to the sounds of Scotland the Brave, presented a collection of kilts, tartan jackets and carefully poised Glengarry hats. But don’t start sealing off the border just yet: I’m not suggesting you emulate Highland dress in its entirety. Rather, that you consider the kilt as a viable option for your autumn wardrobe.

Black and navy versions of the style are already a favourite with the capital’s most ahead-of-the-curve style-plates who have been busy teaming their pleated skirts with classic black loafers, a bare leg and blue Oxford shirt in recent weeks. Over the winter months, as more and more of us jump on the Highland bandwagon, kilts will be worn with heavy-duty knits (preferably Scottish) and ankle boots.

Boost your winter workwear wardrobe early by investing in a kilt. Corduroy versions in a host of shades are already available at Boden.com while more contemporary ones are expected at Topshop soon. As a general rule, seek out knee-length or above-the-knee styles if you plan to wear your kilt with a flat shoe. Happy high-heel wearers will look amazing in a kilt of the calf-length variety. There’s a bonnie season ahead.