flashes and their length

[sailortats]

This subject has been discussed many times before and what I learned from it was that only a very little amount of the flashes/garter ties should show below the hose turndown. As in this pic of HRH the Duke of Rothesey


However, I also have seen a picture of Her Majesty's Balmoral Pipe Major and he seems to look at things quite differently


So now I will ask, who is the better dressed? They both look pretty darned sharp to me. Maybe the length of the flashes/garter ties is not as important as we seem to make it. Whadda ya think?

[TheOfficialBren]

I typically wear my flashes nearer to HRH the Duke of Rothsay's style. I would point out, however, that the Duke's hose have cuffs, the piper's appear to be thinner Argyle hose turned over once.

Perhaps it's personal flair, perhaps the piper is following uniform protocol (my guess, given his position).

[Downunder Kilt]

Personally I wear mine on the shorter side sailortats (about 1.5" showing) In relation to longer ones, I think Jock hits the nail on the head when he refers to them as "windsocks", as they seem to dance in the slightest breeze.

[Singlemalt]

I think this is one of the areas where a little personal style is allowed. After all it is T.H. Civilian D. not a uniform with prescribed rules. I have seen long elegant flashes and garter ties that look great but to my eye mostly on tall people with a "well turned" leg (I am thinking Matt Newsome here). On my bandy little short legs I think they look ridiculous. In fact with the standard elastic flashes I always trim about 1-1/2" off them with sharp scissors so not too much peeks out from under my hose turnover.

[Jock Scot]

Length of our flashes/ties in CIVILIAN kilt matters is absolutely a personal choice of that there is no argument. Where I think possibly some get led astray is taking "dress" hints from military uniform pictures, which has nothing, should have nothing anyway, to do with our CIVILIAN dress decisions. Civilian pipe band matters of dress do muddy the waters a tad, but really even civilian pipe bands wear uniforms and as such they should be not really considered in your "dress" choices.

I don't know about anyone else here, but my intention is to avoid the "windsock" effect, but I make no exact measurements, so it does depend on the hose on the particular day, turn down length, hose length, position of the moon,speed of dressing and whether attention is paid to it all in the first place. So at a guess, I doubt if my flashes are ever the same length from one day to the next. But I do try to avoid them being too long.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I want to point out that the piper in the photo is wearing Argyle socks with a rather small turn over, so naturally more of his flashes will show. It actually looks like his hose may have shrunk a bit, or been made for a man with shorter legs. If you look just beneath the turn down of the hose, you will see a section of marled blue before the argyle pattern begins in the sock. This should not be there. Ordinarily, the tops of the hose would fold down enough so that the argyle pattern of the cuff lines up with the argyle pattern on the sock. This would mean that the hose we see here were in fact made with a larger cuff and so ordinarily not quite as much of the flashes would be showing.

You can see in the below picture how Argyle hose are normally worn -- no gap between the pattern of the cuff and the pattern of the sock leg.

[creagdhubh]

Length of our flashes/ties in CIVILIAN kilt matters is absolutely a personal choice of that there is no argument. Where I think possibly some get led astray is taking "dress" hints from military uniform pictures, which has nothing, should have nothing anyway, to do with our CIVILIAN dress decisions. Civilian pipe band matters of dress do muddy the waters a tad, but really even civilian pipe bands wear uniforms and as such they should be not really considered in your "dress" choices.

I don't know about anyone else here, but my intention is to avoid the "windsock" effect, but I make no exact measurements, so it does depend on the hose on the particular day, turn down length, hose length, position of the moon,speed of dressing and whether attention is paid to it all in the first place. So at a guess, I doubt if my flashes are ever the same length from one day to the next. But I do try to avoid them being too long.

***

Well put, Jock and my sentiments as well.

As to the the question posed by the OP, I like how both HRH Prince Charles and HM's Piper are dressed, though you must keep in mind, they are both very different forms of Highland dress.

Here are what my flashes look whilst wearing 'Argyll' style tartan hose with my Highland evening attire. The turnover is not as wide (or as long for the matter) as the hose I wear with Highland day attire, thus exposing the flashes considerably more, which I tend to like with the style of hose shown (the same applies to diced hose).


Here are what my flashes (sometimes garter ties) look whilst wearing plain hose with my Highland day attire. The majority of the flashes are hidden from sight, with only the very bottom "flashes" of colour exposed from underneath the turnover. A quintessential look of HRH Prince Charles, and one in which I am very fond of as well.


Cheers,