How to dress-up...

[Meadcrafter]

my new MacLean tartan kilt.

I will soon pull the trigger on my first kilt. An 8 yrd, wool kilt, in Maclean dress modern, from Scotweb.

I would like a black Argyll jacket with matching waistcoat. May need to settle on the jacket alone.

The occassion is the Centenary Gathering of the Clan MacLean at Duart. This will be my first trip to Scotland.

My guestions are...

how can I dress up my kilt without spending a fortune?

how can I use this one kilt for day and evening wear, with out buying two sets of accessories? Brown? Black?

can I wear a Irish fishermans pullover with a Schottish kilt, witout committing a fashion faux pas?

no one seems to like white or black hose around here, so what color do you all recommend with this tartan?

I have about 9 months to pull this together. This includes airfare, motel, transportation, events and food. Any advise is welcome, just please remember this will be in Scotland, so please don't say, "Wear what you want."

Thanks in advance,

-M-

[brewerpaul]

Accessories will put a dent in your wallet, especially if you really want to do it right. Check Ebay for some pretty good deals on some nice dress sporrans and other things. Im doing some dickering with a seller for a dress sporran and belt buckle in hopes to get a nice sporran at an offer I can afford. I cant help you much with the what to wear and how to wear it, I give that to those who do it well. Enjoy your trip to Scotland, thats where I caught the kilt bug.

[piperdbh]

my new MacLean tartan kilt.

I will soon pull the trigger on my first kilt. An 8 yrd, wool kilt, in Maclean dress modern, from Scotweb.

I would like a black Argyll jacket with matching waistcoat. May need to settle on the jacket alone.

The jacket will look better with the waistcoat.

how can I dress up my kilt without spending a fortune?

how can I use this one kilt for day and evening wear, with out buying two sets of accessories? Brown?

Yes

Black?

That would work, too.

can I wear a Irish fishermans pullover with a Schottish kilt, witout committing a fashion faux pas?

Yes, but make sure you take it off the Irish fisherman first.

no one seems to like white or black hose around here, so what color do you all recommend with this tartan?

I think yellow hose would look good with both the red and green tartans MacLean.

I have about 9 months to pull this together. This includes airfare, motel, transportation, events and food. Any advise is welcome, just please remember this will be in Scotland, so please don't say, "Wear what you want."

Thanks in advance,

-M-

If Jock Scot reads this, he's likely to say, "Wear what you have." However, since you're building your kit from scratch, I think you've done well to ask here. Try looking through the posts of JSFMACLJR. He's one of your cousins and is always impeccably dressed.

[madmacs]

Spring for a tartan bias cut waistcoat for evening... Should get away with it and a black argyll... I'm certainly planning to with my maclean modern... Just waiting for locharron...

Go for a semi dress sporran should be able to use it for both day and evening...

I'd probably go for a belt for daywear rather than a vest, but that's just me...

Of course depending on what events you're going to be going to in the evening probably depends how formal you want/need to be...

A bulky sweater goes great with the kilt, and if you have a collared shirt under it allows for getting overly hot dancing at a ceilidh...

Socks wise dark green, maybe... Lovat green... Lovat blue... White (I dont have anything against them)

[Downunder Kilt]

For a waistcoat to go with your argyll jacket and could also be used with a tweed jacket in the future, have a look at the site, Gentlemens Emporium.

For a all purpose sporran that can used night and day have a look at jacobite style sporrans in black. Have a look at the Ferguson Britt sporrans on the STM site to see the variety. I know they are expensive but you can get some ideas of the variety.

Yes to the jumper question

As for hose, the claret/burgundy colour is a good all rounder.

[JSFMACLJR]

Well, I would give a pass to the black argyll jacket, and just get a tweed jacket of any colour or pattern. You'll feel much more at home at the Gathering with "the locals." While the black jacket would be fine for the dressy evening events, it will look a bit out of place during the day. Since you are coming from the US, I think nobody will raise eyebrows if you come with one jacket.

As for hose, wear any colour you like! I wouldn't suggest white or black, of course, but any shade of green, or blue, or red, yellow, grey, tan will work perfectly.

As for sporrans, if you take just the tweed jacket, don't worry about it. I wear brown sporrans in the day and at night if the event isn't too spiffy. If you can get an animal mask sporran, or one of the fur Fergusson Britt sporrans, even better. An animal mask sporran is good anytime, any place, any level of formality.

We have'nt committed yet for the Gathering, but most likely will be there. It should be a grand time!

[pascs]

As its Scotland I would say dress subtly. To me this means no bright colour hose, no animal mask sporrans etc.

If you buy an Argyll jacket then definitely buy the matching waistcoat, this could be worn during the day if you want. I think the majority of Scots dont have multiple jackets, kilts, sporrans etc and tend to have just one outfit - a clan gathering may be slightly different as I've never been to one

A tweed Argyll would be very nice. Also remember that Scotland often gets all seasons in one day so keep this in mind for daytime although middle of the year is likely to be relatively predictable

Also might be worthwhile to look at ebay, I know on UK ebay there are plenty of good quality kilt jackets, sporrans, etc which can be picked up in the right size and low cost which would give you more options for your money.

[davidg]

Bottle green hose would go very well with the red MacLean Modern tartan

Black leather accessories will work for both formal and informal. Even a modestly priced plain, basic black leather day sporran could be worn in the evening without causing a serious faux pas

It is always cheaper to get the vest at the same time as the jacket. It ensures they match as well

Sweaters are fine with a kilt

Why not consider a charcoal grey tweed Crail jacket and vest

http://www.houseofedgar.com/acatalog/Kilt_Jackets.html

This is more for day wear but could be used for semi formal affairs as well

[PEEDYC]

I would agree that rather than a Black Argyle jacket, a tweed one would be be better. It can be dressed up or down depending on what shirt and tie you choose to wear. Coloured for day wear and a white shirt for evenings. I think a black Argyle looks too formal for day wear. I agree also about the jumper too. Arran sweaters go very well with the kilt. I would also suggest that if money allows then a couple of sporrans never go amiss. One semi dress and one day wear. It helps with the casual and dress appearance as do different coloured hose.

Good luck and enjoy your trip. Get some Avon Skin So Soft to ward off them pesky midgies.

[Jock Scot]

Ok you are starting from scratch and not surprisingly you have to buy on a budget. So, I am going to assume you are not going to a formal event? If you are, then you really need to consider two jackets, but for this scenario we will go with one. Oh and yes, a good sweater/pullover does give you another perfectly acceptable option.

For us in Scotland a green/brown/mixtures, tweed jacket and waistcoat will see you through BBQ's, through weddings/funerals, to smart(not formal)drinks do's and dinner with the wife. So very versitile-----see if you can find my old thread on tweed argylls you may find it helpful.

So still on the budget theme, a good black DAY sporran(avoid like the plague, those semi-dress things) and strap will see you through all events at a push.

A good pair of black brogues(not those dreadful ghillie things) well broken in and well polished will again, get you by with any event that might crop up.

Bottle green hose, if you only want one pair, but claret/maroon is also another option.

When you are at the events just notice what the locals are wearing.You will often notice old and battered sporrans, threadbare jackets and hose, darns in the kilt and so on, and not a soul worries one jot! The locals wear what they have, within certain fairly broad parameters and get on with enjoying themselves. Have fun.