Pleats tied to formality?

**HarveyH** · 17th October 13, 03:27 PM

I had a red grant kilt pleated to the sett. For my second kilt I wanted something less formal and went for the hunting tartan in ancient colours, pleated to give as much of the light blue as possible - simply because I liked it. The surprise for me was that something I had done because I thought it would be less formal, actually works as a much more formal kilt.

I don't think it has anything to do with the stripe, but really the colours. The blue and black is somehow more formal than the red - even when I wear the blue casually it looks "smart".
IMG_0074.JPG IMG_0382.JPG
I think these things are unpredictable, and personal style and feeling happy with your own look is much more important than whether or not a kilt "should" be considered formal or not.

**mookien** · 17th October 13, 03:30 PM

I don't think it looks "too formal". To me that pleating suggests military, or perhaps pipe-band. Both of those are good things.

I think you made a great decision, even though in an earlier post I wrote that I would pleat the SHM to the sett. That's for my own reasons that have to do with looking like Duncan MacKay on MOTG. He may be better looking than I am, but he's not nearly as old and big around.

**Grizzly** · 17th October 13, 03:33 PM

That's two great looks Harvey. Both casual in style but very effective. The Saxon cut jacket in the second pic shouldn't work but somehow it does with the scarf and hat. Am loving that hat by the way.

**piperdbh** · 17th October 13, 05:47 PM

All tartan kilts, regardless of pleating style, are equally formal and equally casual. Some are better-made than others, but that's a different thread.

**artificer** · 17th October 13, 07:19 PM

For me the formality of a kilt tends to be more about the number of pleats and it's construction- WITH the caveat that you can always wear a kilt LESS formally, but not always more so.

A kilt which has loads of very fine pleats will go ANYWHERE you want it to, a 'casual' kilt with 10-12 pleats across the back and a less traditional construction will take you most places, but might stand out
a bit in black tie or white tie settings- of course if you're the only chap in a kilt most non-kilties won't know the difference anyway, but at a Highland Society event it might be an issue.

ith:

**unixken** · 18th October 13, 02:33 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

For me the formality of a kilt tends to be more about the number of pleats and it's construction- WITH the caveat that you can always wear a kilt LESS formally, but not always more so.

A kilt which has loads of very fine pleats will go ANYWHERE you want it to, a 'casual' kilt with 10-12 pleats across the back and a less traditional construction will take you most places, but might stand out
a bit in black tie or white tie settings- of course if you're the only chap in a kilt most non-kilties won't know the difference anyway, but at a Highland Society event it might be an issue.

ith:

I dunno... One of Matt's outstanding 4 yard box pleats would look outstanding with a sheriffmuir.

To my eyes, any well made kilt tailored for, and worn at, the natural waist (not low, at the pants waist), can be dressed up or down through the full spectrum of dress (see the 1 kilt, 10 looks thread.) However, low-riding kilts worn at the pants waist are limited to the types of jackets they can be worn with because of the gap between the top of the kilt and the bottom of the jacket/waistcoat. Thus, they can dress down, but not up.

All this, regardless of the tartan, the color palette, the number or style of pleating, or the fabric the kilt is made of.

**artificer** · 18th October 13, 03:42 AM

Originally Posted by unixken

I dunno... One of Matt's outstanding 4 yard box pleats would look outstanding with a sheriffmuir.

To my eyes, any well made kilt tailored for, and worn at, the natural waist (not low, at the pants waist), can be dressed up or down through the full spectrum of dress (see the 1 kilt, 10 looks thread.) However, low-riding kilts worn at the pants waist are limited to the types of jackets they can be worn with because of the gap between the top of the kilt and the bottom of the jacket/waistcoat. Thus, they can dress down, but not up.

All this, regardless of the tartan, the color palette, the number or style of pleating, or the fabric the kilt is made of.

Yes, a box pleat or Kingussie would be the exception to this. I was talking about knife pleats.

ith:

**unixken** · 18th October 13, 04:14 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

Yes, a box pleat or Kingussie would be the exception to this. I was talking about knife pleats.

ith:

But a tartan in a given sett size may require the pleats to be one width, while a larger sett in the same tartan may allow or require the pleats be a different width. Certainly the amount of fabric used will also have some bearing. These, and the size of the individual wearing the kilt, will all influence the size and number of pleats. Does this then not try to mandate that only people "wide enough", wearing a "properly sized" sett, can call their kilt formal, while relegating everything else to causal status? Does this young child's kilt (linked from the Scotweb site) not qualify as formal, because of the limited number of pleats his small frame can fit in to?

Again, I feel the determining factor in what can be dressed up (and what can't), is not dictated by the technical details of the pleats, but where on the body the kilt is designed to be worn. It's a simpler, more direct definition in my mind, and is less vulnerable to the fractions of an inch that determine a good pleat width for a given tartan, amongst all the other factors that go into the construction of the kilt.