Quote Originally Posted by jlove View Post
Hello everyone,


I can't find a definite answer on the internet so I thought I would ask here. Next month, I'm attending a Burns supper. Would it be looked down upon if I wear a fly plaid with my PC? Possibly thinking primary using it just for photos and remove it once I sit down and have dinner. I will be attending as a guest and not a part of the event.

Many Thanks!
Highland dress is subject to the same rules of style and taste as any, and, as Hardy Amies correctly advised us, a man should look as if he has '...bought his clothes with intellegence, put them on with care, and then forgotten all about them.'

For intellegence, we can read taste, understanding and discretion.

Whilst no longer considered and essential part of Highland dress, the plaid is like no other garment - and if chosen with intellegence and put on with care, it can lift a kilt outfit to an agreeably higher degree with its romentic dash and elegance. But it is a difficult thing to forget all about.

The fly-plaid is often scorned, and has been described in print as a scrappy bit of rag - quite unfairly, in my view. However, the more material in a plaid, the better it looks, and most fly-plaids that I have seen appear too skimpy and so open to scorn.

For a smart evening dinner such as a Burns' Night, a plaid is perfectly proper and they are often seen with a Prince Charlie doublet. But it should be remembered that a plaid is an over-garment worn instead of a top-coat, so one with enough material to do its job is better, both practically and in appearace, than the small, square fly-plaid.

What you might call a 'full-plaid' of about three and a half yards length can be worn in a number of ways, and is taken off easily when sitting at table or when dancing.

You mention wearing a fly-plaid essentially for its posing-for-photos effect, which no-one could really object to, but if the look of a plaid is wanted, the full-plaid is by far much better. The wrapped across the body piper-style is awkward with an open doublet like a Prince Charlie, so having it folded in what people now call 'laird style' and carried casually over the left shoulder is more authentic, and can be arrange to show a cascade of tartan if that is your aim.

Removing the plaid and draping it over the back of your chair is both the careful and intellegent thing to do after the photos have been taken and the soup is being served, and you can then forget all about it until the end of the evening. This is when you find yourself running through the rain to find your car, and the benefit of a full-plaid is obvious - both to you and your lady who gets wrapped-up cosily at your side.