"The garb is certainly very loose, and fits men inured to it to go through great fatigues, to make very quick marches, to bear out against the inclemency of the weather, to wade through rivers, and shelter in huts, woods, and rocks upon occasion; which men dressed in the low country garb could not possibly endure."

In battle it was usual to take off the kilt beforehand and set it aside, the Highland charge being made wearing only the leine.

The age of the great kilt is hotly debated but it certainly existed at the beginning of the 17th century. Earlier carvings or illustrations appearing to show the kilt may show the Leine Croich, a knee-length shirt of leather, linen or canvas, heavily pleated and sometimes quilted as protection. The great kilt is mostly associated with the Scottish highlands, but was also used in poor lowland rural areas. Use of this type of kilt continued into the 19th century.

The rise of the modern Kilt

Sometime early in the 18th century the fèileadh beag or philabeg using a single width of cloth hanging down below the belt came into use and became quite popular throughout the Highlands and northern Lowlands by 1746, though the great kilt also continued in use.

A letter published in the Scots Journal in March 1785 argued that the garment people would today recognize as a kilt was invented around the 1720s by Thomas Rawlinson, a Quaker from Lancashire. Rawlinson is claimed to have designed it for the Highlanders who worked in his new charcoal production facility in the woods of northern Scotland. After the Jacobite campaign of 1715 the government was "opening" the Highlands to outside exploitation and Rawlinson was one of the businessmen who took advantage of the situation. He thought that the traditional Highland kilt, the "belted plaid" which consisted of a large cloak, was inconvenient for tree cutters and introduced the new kilt. Rawlinson liked the new creation so much that he began to wear it as well and was soon imitated by his Scottish colleagues, the MacDonell's of Glengarry.

Kilts have become normal wear for formal occasions, for example being hired for weddings in much the same way as top hat and tails are in England or tuxedos across the pond, and can be worn by anyone regardless of nationality or descent.

The modern tailored kilt is box-pleated or knife-pleated, with the pleats sewn in and the lower edges reaching not lower than the centre of the knee-cap. Nowadays a lighter weight of cloth tends to be used. The kilt is traditionally for men only, although in the modern era, long women's dresses patterned after kilts do exist, and women pipers frequently wear kilts. Kilten skirts for girls are also worn.

As with any other form of dress, the kilt is subject to the vagaries of fashion. Since the 1980s, kilts have appeared in such materials as leather and denim. Single colours have also been used in place of tartan, particularly by people without Scottish links in countries such as Ireland or the United States. While these garments may be disliked by traditionalists, they provide evidence that the kilt still has a place in the modern fashion world.