In Poul Anderson's Technic History, when Arinnian and Hrill walk along Livewell Street:
"Both wore thin short-sleeved blouses, kilts, and sandals..."
-Poul Anderson, The People Of The Wind (Riverdale, NY, 2011), pp. 437-662 AT VI, p. 501.
How many readers notice and remember this detail? We do not expect the hero and heroine of a novel to be dressed identically. I hope that, if and when the Technic History comes to be filmed, such details will be accurately reproduced on screen.
They are surrounded by oily canal, dingy facades, glaring signs, ground vehicles, diverse pedestrians and polluted air. Arinnian thinks that:
"'...this is the old way, that the pioneers wanted to escape.'" (ibid.)
- whereas Hrill replies that Falkayn and his followers wanted nothing but:
"'...unmolested elbow room.'" (ibid.)
A colloquial phrase for freedom.
11 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I was reminded of how, in THE LAST VIKING, one of King Harald Hardrede's enemies was allowed to return to Norway from exile in Scotland and talked about his stay there. One of his questioners asked if it was true that the men there dressed like women (wearing kilts). With some laughter and amusement.
In my previous readings of THE PEOPLE OF THE WIND, I don't think I paid much attention to that detail, about Tabitha and Christopher wearing kilts. Now I'm wondering if I should ask Greg Bear if anyone in the film industry has ever shown interest in making filmed versions of any of the Technic stories. And I certainly such movies will be ACCURATELY made!
Ad astra! Sean
Men and women almost always dress differently, but the differences may be quite subtle -- Classical times were typical, in that the basic garment for both sexes was a tunic, with the difference being mainly how long it was. As time went on, male tunics got longer -- especially what the rich wore.
When trousers were widely adopted, women's garb changed less -- they were a uniquely male garment.
(Note that Roman Catholic priest's garb looks like a dress to modern Western eyes: what it is is late Roman middle-class formal wear, sort of fossilized.)
Conversely, in China for a long time jacket and pants were everyday wear for both sexes; the difference was in the details. Upper-class people wore robes, usually -over- a shirt-and-pants combination.
Heinlein never gave any explanation of why kilts came to be worn in his Future History.
Paul: probably because it seemed cool, and it was a way to differentiate it from the present.
Kilts are actually less practical than pants in most circumstances; the main advantage is simply that they're easier and cheaper to make and maintain.
The "great kilt" was originally not a short skirt at all; it was a big blanket, wrapped around the waist and then over the shoulder. This is -really- simple -- but a pain in the ass to put on, take off, and wear generally. The reason highlanders wore this sort of garment was basically that they were poor and backward.
And, of course, kilts are worn in Montival in the Emberverse.
In Andre Norton's Catseye, Kyger, owner of an upscale pet shop on the resort planet Korwar, wears a "hora-silk half-tunic and kilt" when first seen. He's noted to be oddly un-flashy for his trade, his clothing "a dark and sober blue, and he wore no jewels at all. Only on his right wrist was the broad service bracelet of a veteran spacer with at least two constellations starring its sweep...."
At least one of Kyger's customers, a member of Korwar's semi-aristocratic Hunter Clans (conservation experts), also wears tunic and kilt when in the city. It's another matter when he's on business out in the Wild.
Gordon Dickson's Wolfling opens with the main character making a point of wearing a kilt, pistol, and knife, being deliberately provocative and "primitive" rather than diplomatic as he confronts an ancient alien culture that outclasses human technology forty ways from Sunday. At first it works out because the aliens are amused more than offended by his presumption....
Regarding what Mr. Stirling says of the great kilt, David Drake has some lines in The Books of the Elements making clear that the Roman toga was just as unwieldy. But — "TRADITION!"
I think that the original kilts were like togas - wrapped around the body?
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I think you had more in mind how the vestments worn by Catholic priests when celebrating Mass directly descended from late Roman middle class formal wear. The every day apparel of Catholic priests is somewhat more up to date! (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean
Paul: yup, but cinched with a broad leather belt, usually, so you got a sort of loose sarong effect; the rest was over the shoulder and secured by a pin. Modern highland dress is a stylized version of that, with the skirt and plaid separated.
A separate belted kilt is quite practical -- not -as- practical as pants, but doable as long as you're not in a Siberian winter.
Kilts were originally just "what people around here wear" in Scotland, cheaper and easier to make in a low-productivity economy. They later became an ethnic marker, and as such invested with a lot of emotional baggage.
Long, long ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth and I was in college (late '70s), I read an article which said scientists had begun to think wearing trousers increased the chance of mutation, due to keeping the genital area warmer than it would be otherwise. The article implied kilts might make a comeback if further research judged the mutations to be too unfavorable. I've never seen anything more along those lines.
In most places clothes are strongly set by custom -- they're also a uniform of in-group membership.
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