pipe band uniform change.

[highland mafia]

Hi all
Been a long time since I've posted here. But I need some kilt advice from you lot. I have been made president of our local Pipe Band. It is a very large organization we have over 70 members and 3 bands within the one. Grades 5,4,3. For several years our uniform has been a white shirt, black tie, black waistcoat, Maclean of Duart kilt

http://www.lochcarron.com/reiver/maclean_of_duart.html

And....Wait for it.....White hose! So one of my first orders of buisness has been to make some changes to the uniform. And with some gentle pushing I have finally managed to convince to rest of the board that it is time. We are obviously keeping the tartan. But changing the shirt and the dreaded hose. I was thinking of going to a light blue shirt and a darker shade of blue for the hose. keeping the black tie, waistcoat etc. I'm curious what you all think or suggest. What colours do you think will work with the Maclean of Duart tartan?

[rsvpiper]

How about a light grey shirt and lovat or grey hose, As for the Tie how about your state or town if it have a recognized tie that is.. juss my 2p

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

The whole purpose of a band uniform is to "stand out" on the parade ground. That being the case, you may wish take your cues from the Maclean arms... Since the livery colours are red and white, I'd suggest the following:

White shirt
RED waistcoat
White hose with RED tops
or
RED & WHITE diced hose

Far too many bands these days show up in the now ubiquitous white shirts, black waistcoat, etc. If you want to change, change more than your socks!

(Incidentally your band can order custom waistcoats from: www.customuniformcompany.com)

[OC Richard]

The whole purpose of a band uniform is to "stand out" on the parade ground.

Attend a lot of pipe band events, and you'll note that most of the bands dress alike.

There's a Japanese saying "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down".

What bands have discovered is that there's a certain "look" that's established by the leading Grade One bands. This "look", whatever it happens to be at a given point in time, is seen by other bands and by the judges to look professional. The majority of the lesser bands strive to imitate that look, for if a band deviates too much from it, the other bands, and judges, will perceive them as being "out of the loop". Bands that judges perceive as being "out of touch" usually don't win.

There is, in short, a strong motivation to conform.

I could produce endless data to confirm what I'm saying. I'm a Pipe Band Dress nerd and I take note of what's worn.

For example, at the height of the White Hose Era, in the Grade One Finals at the Worlds one year, every single band was wearing white hose, black ghillies, black or navy Glengarrys, and black bagcovers. All bands save one were wearing black Argyll jackets, the exception being dark blue. All bands save a couple were wearing the typical pipe band sporrans (black leather Hunting sporran with chrome Evening cantle). All bands were wearing black drone cords, or white, or two-coloured black and white.

It's changed. "Black is the new white" as they say.

At the 2009 Worlds the Grade One bands were on the cusp of change, four bands still wearing white hose. All the rest were wearing black or navy hose, save for the two USA bands wearing grey hose.

I think this trend will continue and in a couple years practically none of the top bands will be wearing white hose.

My advice to any band is: if you want to look professional, if you want the best chance to win, dress like the "big boys".

[Jordan]

The red waistcoat might be a good idea, I'm kind of thinking blue though.

My local pipe band wear green jackets and waistcoats with their gordon kilts and it does look good

[SlackerDrummer]

With 70 or more members, cost is going to be a factor when you start talking about changing to diced hose and switching out the vests. Ever since SFU switched to blue shirts, it seems like everyone else started to follow suit. Blue shirts are as commonplace today as white shirts. I'd stick with white shirts and then go with light blue hose instead of gray. Find a striped necktie that pulls some of the colors from the kilt. You can probably order them wholesale with those quantities. If you want to make more changes than that, you can change the different grade bands and do it incrementally, but you can make those changes to everyone without breaking the bank.

[Barb T]

As a member of a pipe band that plays and competes at least once every weekend from the beginning of May until the end of September, my viewpoint is that the critical thing is cost and washability. If it can't be machine washed (and dried!), and if it costs so much that band members can't easily buy two pair, give it a miss.

[piperdbh]

I'd like to see yellow hose with black cuffs.

[rtc872]

MoR, your ideal outfit would be a great sight but with bands (and more importantly committees) even making one small change is an uphill battle.

Mr Mafia, Congratulations on being made president! I would say the changing shirts idea isn't a bad one but most people have white and have already bought white so to have that changed can be a hassle. White is a good base to begin with so that is something that doesn't absolutely need to change.

As cost is a factor, talk to some vendors and see what you can do about hose. Just a hint, Dunadd no longer lists plain hose but can still supply them so include them in your hunt.

From there I would suggest changing ties rather than shirts. You will be surprised at how much little things change an outfit. As the shirt is the canvas it shrinks into the background anyway. So make the hose and tie pop and you will be a smart looking band.

Lastly I cannot fault your option of colour. In fact it sounds like a god send compared to white, which constantly gets dirty.

Good luck

[highland mafia]

Yes! The issue with white is keeping it clean.. Dusty sports fields every weekend is a nightmare for white. On top of the fact that white hose are well...White. I just picked up 3 different samples of blue hose today. I'll take them into band practice tonight and see what the other board members think. I gotta say I like the idea of different ties. Didn't think about that at all. Changing waistcoats or jackets just isn't possible. We just had 35 jackets and waistcoats made last fall for a fairly huge amount of money so black has to stay. Thanks for all your thoughts! Cheers to my Saul tuning friend Barb!!