White Hose

[mookien]

Ross: The best advice I ever read, and I think it came from a Matt Newsome article, was to think of white (and its variants) as just another color.

If you like it with what you are wearing, go for it. Don't worry how others may feel.

Also, Kevin80222's comment about white hose going well with kilts that contain white makes a lot of sense to me. I've seen that combination before and really like it.

[The Volusianator]

Look at it like cigars, smoke what you like, like what you smoke. Why should it be any different with hose?

You're in hot pursuit now.

Some folks here absolutely hate, loathe, despise and detest hose made in white, off-white, near-white, cream, ivory, ecru, eggshell and any other color in that family. Others don't mind.
Some folks here say that those shades, especially white, remind them of rented kilts. Others, who have no experience with rented kilts, don't mind.
Some folks here say that one should never wear those shades unless required to do so as part of a uniform. Others don't mind.

You see where this is headed? I've just typed out what often turns into pages and pages of arguments. In other words, if you want to wear hose made in any of the aforementioned shades, go right ahead.

[Panache]

Question # 4 What about white hose and highland attire?

Let me set you all straight

Once upon a time no one wore white hose

Then a few decades ago, mainly because of use by pipe bands and promotion by kilt rental shops, white hose became a prevalent fashion which is still currently in vogue with highland attire.

So wearing white hose isn't wrong. (Let’s pause here a moment. Does everybody got that? WEARING WHITE HOSE ISN’T “WRONG”! Good. Let's continue...)

However, I go to a lot of SCD dances and highland games and see a huge number of guys in kilts with white hose. Sometimes they look quite nice with these fellows outfits and sometimes they look quite ghastly.

So please observe the following when thinking about purchasing and wearing white hose

DON'T

Buy them because that is what the guy in the catalogue is wearing
Buy them because that is what everyone else seems to be wearing at the highland games/ Burns Night Suppers/ etc.
Buy them because you can't decide what color hose looks good with your tartan
Buy them because they are the cheapest / best deal
Buy thin acrylic ones
Ignore other options like diced or argyll hose because of the cost (they really can make an outfit!)

DO

Buy them if you actually think that white goes well with the tartan / outfit
Buy good quality ones of thick wool (hand knit out of natural wool is your very best option)
Ignore anyone who dislikes white hose on general principle
Wear them with confidence because YOU think they look great

ith:

Cheers

Jamie

[creagdhubh]

Well said!!!

[mookien]

Jamie: Well, that just about sums it up. Maybe your post should be made a sticky and referenced any time the subject comes up.

[Bob C]

Like anywhere else, this site has its fair share of over-opinionated individuals who never miss the opportunity to impose their opinions on everyone else, right or wrong. I mean what is the point of having an opinion otherwise? OK so they don't like white hose, or buckle brogues, or lace jabots, or long kilts, or short kilts, or utlilikilts, or..or..but that means absolutely nothing whatsoever if you happen to like them - any of them. All this "white hose are just for hire shops" is simply snobbery. Wear what you want and enjoy it. And sit back now and enjoy the hornet's nest you have stirred up amongst the opinionati (is that a word?)

Hear him! Hear him!

[Rollo]

Excellent, Jamie !!!

[sevenoaks]

May I suggest that if you go back far enough in history not only the hose would not have had any vivid colors or fancy diamond patterns knitted into them but the wool they were made from would have been the natural colors of the sheep they raised. IE white, gray, browns and black. the dying of these garments came much later The basic dress would not have been the tartans we see today but rather blanket like robes that were used as protection from the elements. I would doubt the kilt sprang into the Highlands, the Lowlands or the borders of England as this area changed control many times over the centuries. I would also suggest that the clan tartans did not come into full use before the 17th to 18th centuries. Sir Walter Scott did a lot to popularize the tartans and assigned tartans from areas to the common names in a given area. Before this time Plaids were more indicative of an areas rather than clan names.
The kilt has evolved from a very early time and even the Scots word "kilt" derives from the Old Norse kjalta, from Norse settlers who wore a similar, pleated garment.
There is no correct or wrong way to wear a kilt and no colors you are forbidden to wear with it. There are no laws stating that the kilt can not be worn in any country that I know of. No laws saying a kilt must have a certain weight or the material a kilt has to be made from wool and nothing else. Some tartans are protected but they are very few.
Would I wear a thousand dollar kilt if I were fishing, camping or hunting in the wilds of British Columbia.. not very likely but I would wear a utility kilt or a less expensive kilt made from some of the newer fabrics. I would defy anyone who told me I was not dressed correctly, even with boots and work socks around my ankles. The kilt kilts has evolved over many centuries and will continue to evolve for many more.
The color of your hose is a personal choice and no one can tell you differently. No country "owns" the kilt!
So enjoy your kilt and wear it as you will.
Let the criticism begin.

[Gael Ridire]

Jamie - AMEN!!! My first hose purchase was white/cream. Wore that the first year cause that is what everyone I saw was wearing. I hated the dirt and shoe scuff marks on my hose at the end of the day! Finally noticed there were other colors, and settled on dark green cause it worked better with my kilt and red flashes. Plus, wearing colored hose was being different. You know, that Gael/Celt thing!

[Downunder Kilt]

I would also suggest that the clan tartans did not come into full use before the 17th to 18th centuries

If you have any evidence that clan tartans came into full use before the start of the 19th century, then I would very much appreciate you putting it forward