Fly plaid

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Fly plaid is part of Highland dress and comes from the Great Plaid worn in the Scottish Highlands. The Great Plaid was a large cloth—by the 16th century it could be up to about 8.2 metres long. Half of it was pleated and belted at the waist, while the upper half draped over the left shoulder and could be gathered in front to be used as a cloak or hood in bad weather. The fly plaid appeared in the 18th century with the switch to the modern kilt, replacing the shoulder-draped part of the Great Kilt. Today, fly plaids are usually 1 metre square to 1.4 metres square (about 39 to 56 inches on each side) and are worn in the same tartan as the kilt. They are typically worn with a jacket that has epaulets, but this is optional, and with a brooch. Some fly plaids are sewn so one corner is gathered before attaching the brooch; others are not sewn and are pleated by hand before draping over the shoulder or threading through an epaulet.