By the end of the 16th century, the basic form of Highland Dress was the Plaid, a rectangle of tartan about 5 feet wide by 15 to 18 feet long. Since weavers' looms of the period could only produce tartan cloth about 28 inches wide, two five- or six- yard lengths were sewn together to produce the full rectangle. The Plaid was pleated in the middle (plaid-pleat) and then lain on, the ends folded across the front of the body, and belted in the middle- forming the Feilidh-Mhor or Belted Plaid. Portraits from the 17th century show this was pleated all the way around, with drawstrings. To this were added sporran, waistcoat, coat, hose, shoes, weapons, and bonnet.

A variation was Trews or trousers, cut on the bias, skin tight, worn with the plaid bandolier-fashion, along with the coat, sporran, etc. This was the basic dress of the gentleman- contrary to some films, it is not possible to wear a kilt or belted plaid on horseback. Trews were a definite sign of rank, and most gentlemen and chiefs wore them as emblems of their status.

Clothing and tartan were by no means uniform and 'Clan Tartans' as we know them today were virtually non-existent.

The Proscription of 1747-1782, a result of the last Jacobite rebellion, almost destroyed the Highland dress. Kept alive in the British Army, the kilt and trews developed into military uniform, losing much of its intrinsically Celtic nature. Trews especially lost their form-fitting style to become 'overalls' very similar to modern trousers. [Ed note: At the end of the Proscription, Scots were allowed back into their kilts. The Highland dance "Seann Triubhas" (pronounced SHAWN TREWS; loosely translated SHED TROUSERS) celebrates the end of the no-kilts order forced on the Scots: in the first few relatively slow steps of the dance, the dancer performs a shaking motion with the feet- imitating a shaking-off of trousers- then, for the last one or two up-tempo steps, the dancer reverts to a Highland Fling step which is a joyous return to the kilt once again.] By 1850 contemporary mens' fashion had altered Highland Dress to merely a variation of its English counterpart, substituting the kilt and hose for trousers.

Ladies had two options- the Arsaidh, or women's plaid, worn with a chemise and bodice, or the current fashions of the day with a tartan screen or shawl. The Arsaidh could be worn several ways, either as a variation of the men's Belted Plaid, but worn longer over the leg, or as an overskirt and mantle worn over a traditional skirt and petticoat. Eighteenth century fashion was the most elaborate, with its side-hoops and brocaded gowns. Again, the higher the social standing, the more elaborate and expensive the clothes. Women's clothing in the Highlands was practical, like its male counterpart. Obviously women would not wear fancy gowns to traipse across the heather; it is even thought that women wore the Feilidh-Mhor in a manner similar to men, but with a bodice. Fashion trends had considerably greater effect on women's Highland Dress than on men's, and many variations of plaid and gown can be seen, where men's dress is relatively straightforward- tartan, weapons and scowls.