And, cetmst, what is a plaid gown? I assume you mean either a tartan gown or plain with a tartan sash? The word plaid means 'blanket' and is nowadays confused with the correct word for the checkered material (tartan). We hear this here in the UK all the time.
I have enjoyed Burns' nights for some time now and have just read that a club in Montrose, I think, is all male and has refused a woman admission. Quite shocking considering Burns' poem The Rights of Women.
Jim