The Great Highland Revival

The ban didn't apply to Scotsmen who joined the army. So over time, it encouraged people if they wanted to continue to wear their native garb and join the military. The presence of Highland and regimental soldiers wearing Tartan would have influenced people directly in a purely aesthetic way. People with Scottish sympathies all got together in 1778 and made a kind of booster group to advocate for Scottish culture. They were responsible for the repeal of the Dress Act in 1782. By the time the dress ban was finally lifted, it was just like Tartan-mania.