What do I NEED?

[artificer]

Firstly, Welcome aboard. You'll find SO much advise here that some of it may actually agree with other bits

Secondly, As has been said, for a casual day, you're already set.

If you don't have them yet, a pair of nice black brogues can go nearly anywhere, and are always classic. Allen Edmond make a beautiful pair that can, quite literally, last you a lifetime.**

A tweed jacket and waistcoat can take you from casual to dressy and would be a good buy.

Thirdly, HERE is the 10 looks with 1 kilt thread authored by Panache and McMurdo. It have served as a very good guide for quite a while now.


** Here is the pair from A-E that I love


It's available in black cordovan as well as calf skin.

[Detroitpete]

I'd look at this thread:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-attire-48691/

Decide wear you will be wearing your kilt most often and go from there.

[CMcG]

<snip> At this point I have a kilt (obviously,) hose, garters, and sporran... what is your idea of a good beginner's kilt outfit?

I think an ensemble of kit with maximum versatility and minimum expense is best for a beginner. This allows you to try wearing the kilt in a variety of situations without breaking the bank.

Beyond your kilt, hose, and garters, the rest of your accoutrement will determine the level of formality. What type of sporran do you have already?

Some items allow a wider range of formality options than others, so I suggest a hunting sporran with a metal cantle and a black Argyll jacket with waistcoat. I say an Argyll jacket (rather than crail, wallace, or braemar) because it is most widely available and a hunting sporran (rather than a full mask) because it is less ostentatious for a beginner.

For a more finished look, you'll want a kilt pin, sgian dubh, and a belt.

Shoes, shirts, sweaters, and ties can be drawn from an existing wardrobe and there is no need to purchase ghillie brogues and ruche ties.

By mixing and matching the above items, you can get quite a range of options!

[piperdbh]

Everything else really is just gravy.

Gravy! My favorite beverage.

It looks like you've got all the advice you need, but that has never stopped more from coming in.

[lethearen]

Kilt? Check. Sporran? Check. Anything else just depends on what style you're going for, and what occasions you're wearing it for. Heck, even the sporran is debatable by some of the gents on this forum! I prefer w/ sporran, personally.

The kilt can take you from a back yard BBQ to a white-tie depending on how you accessorize. I was looking for the "10 Looks" thread, but Artificer already linked it

For super casual, the kilt and sporran looks great with a t-shirt, boots, and scrunched down socks. That's my typical weekend attire, mostly for puttering about the house.

When I'm not in the mood for being that casual, I generally wear exactly what you already have, albeit with a button-down instead of polo. I really like the look of tweed waistcoats and jackets (and obviously a tie), as well, but that's far from "necessary" for a beginning kiltie!

In any case, you're already set for a wide variety of looks. If you plan on gussying it up, you'll need a few more accessories, or more specialized versions of accessories you already have. Otherwise, kilt on!

[tetley88mark]

one thing i'd say as one beginner to another is take your time, it's very easy to get carried away and spend an awful lot of money in a very short period when you don't really need to

[wildrover]

Since you're already set as-is, go have a beer and dig through your closet and see what else works.

Grab a nice belt. The casual and dress shoes you already have will probably work. Add a button-up shirt and call it good, for now. Mostly I wear my kilt with Docs and a t-shirt...the most dressed-up I get is for solo piping.

[thescot]

The outfit you have will dress up or down pretty well with no purchases. You can always put on a dress shirt, tie, and sweater and be pretty spiffy for a little something extra. And tee shirt will work for a really casual, slopping the hogs type of day.

For more dressy events, you will definitely want a nice sporran, dress shoes (I recommend a cap toe as opposed to the wing tips, but that's just me),

and a jacket will eventually be needed unless you really never go dressed up. (I also recommend that you save up for shell cordovan shoes; they'll outlast you.)

An argyl will definitely suffice for "pretty dressy" as well as "not-too-dressy," but I prefer the looks of a tweed like this:

Look at the jacket, not the knucklehead wearing it.

For most of the events I attend, the charcoal tweed is plenty dressy. Except for the occassinal black tie event, it does fine. For black tie I either wear a tux or a PC. If you are prone to going to more dressy events, you might prefer the black argyl.

Good luck, take your time, and buy for quality.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

First, let me say that having looked at your photos I'm impressed with your tailoring skills. Traditionalist that I am, I'd suggest the following:

1. Dark gray tweed day wear jacket with matching waistcoat.

2. Black Oxford's with toe cap.

and that's it. Probably 90% of the time you're in your kilt you will be casually attired (as in your photos). On the one or two occasions where you will need formal attire you are better off renting from one of our vendors rather than buying something you will outgrow in a few years. I've no idea what kind of sporran you have, but I would suggest buying a full mask muskrat sporran when finances permit. They look good with a jacket and tie, and and are perfectly acceptable with formal attire.

[Mike_Oettle]

When I first came onto X Marks (only a couple of months back now) I was quite frightened by the cost of things like Prince Charlie jackets, Argyll jackets and the like. Not to mention that I wondered whether I would ever need them for a sufficiently dressy occasion.
I have a corduroy jacket that has served me well down the years. All it needs is to be taken in at the bottom end of the front to allow access to the sporran.
(I recall reading only a few days ago about a chap who took his jacket to a tailor, marked a pair of curves on it, and found when the job was done that the tailor had botched completely by ignoring the curves and cut the jacket in straight diagonals!)
And having noticed that Steve Ashton (the owner of X Marks and known as the Wizard of BC) never wears anything dressier than a suit jacket cut down in similar fashion, I plan to take my new charcoal suit jacket and have it cut down also.
Nothing fancier for me!
But if you want to go the whole hog (and your wife will tolerate it), you are welcome to do just that.
Regards,
Mike