FASHIONABLE EDINBURGH
HISTORIC EDINBURGH
LITERARY EDINBURGH
The Kitchin
Credit: Marc Millar Photography
FASHIONABLE EDINBURGH
Thistle Street is Edinburgh’ s answer to London’ s Savile Row, and at 21st Century Kilts, one of Scotland’ s fashion moguls, Howie Nicholsby, reimagines the“ un-bifurcated garments for men”( aka the kilt), using denim, Harris Tweed, leather and suiting material. Full suits, including the“ hipster fit” kilt, with one-button Argyll jackets and five-button vests and chunky knit socks are available and tailored to order in 8-12 weeks.
If you prefer your tartans old school, head to Stewart Christie & Co., which is the oldest bespoke tailor in Scotland, tracing its trading heritage back to around 1720. Its long and distinguished clientele includes lords, ladies, celebrities( including the stars of Outlander) and the Royal Company of Archers, the Queen’ s bodyguard in Scotland. Thanks to Vixy Rae, who became creative director in 2015, an entire floor is dedicated to women’ s attire.
For something from the pages of Vogue, look no further than the studio of Judy R. Clark, Womenswear Designer of the Year for 2013, at the Scottish Style Awards. Her dramatic pieces combining Scottish tartan, lace and tweeds were called“ romantic art” by Vogue magazine. Her“ Lace Noir” collection uses Madras lace produced on 19th-century looms in Ayrshire.
HISTORIC EDINBURGH
Inhabited since 8,500 B. C., Edinburgh has never been short of history. While highlights— like the iconic Edinburgh Castle, Greyfriars Kirk, Rosslyn Chapel( of The Da Vinci Code fame) and Palace of Holyroodhouse( where the Queen stays when visiting)— always bring lines of tourists, there are many less beaten paths to soak up the history more intimately.
Reopened in 2003, after centuries hidden underground, Mary King’ s Close— a warren of underground ancient streets once bustling with traders, mountebanks and more— offers an intimate view of 17thcentury Edinburgh, not to mention sordid tales of ghosts, murders and plagues, all relayed by a costumed character tour guide based on a one-time resident.
Several former villages now incorporated into the city also turn back the clock, especially in the exceedingly picturesque Stockbridge, home to the Circus Mews, one of the Edinburgh’ s prettiest and most photogenic streets with rows of elegant Georgian houses bedecked in flowers and greenery. Nearby, Dean Village is another time machine, full of renovated 19th-century mills and industrial buildings once powered by Edinburgh’ s oft-forgotten river, the Water of Leith, which now tranquilly flows through this deep, green valley in the heart of the city.
LITERARY EDINBURGH
“ It’ s impossible to live in Edinburgh without sensing its literary heritage everywhere,” said J. K. Rowling, who lived in the Scottish capital during the 1990s, while writing her Harry Potter series. Two local pubs— The Elephant House and Spoon— gave her a warm place to work when the then penniless author couldn’ t afford the heating bill. Dozens of other sites that inspired places in the series also welcome fans. Indeed, Potterrow, home of pottery stalls in centuries past, is right next to the campus of Edinburgh University, where Rowling was a student.
But no Scottish writer tops 19th-century romantic novelist Walter Scott in terms of adulation. In fact, The Walter Scott Monument, a 200-foot tall gothic tower installed with stained glass windows and 64 figures from Scott’ s novels carved by a variety of Scots sculptors,
FLYWASHINGTON. COM 28 SPRING 2018