One kilt, several looks. A canny Scot's take.

[Calgacus]

Thanks for sharing. Very sharp indeed.

A few observations:

Those diamond patterned hose are quite unique! Not diced and not tartan. Not really picking up colours from the tartan either. They certainly stand out!

The fly front, lay down collar, french cuff tuxedo shirt is almost impossible to find here. Wing collar pleated front tuxedo shirts with studs are by far the most common for sale here followed by lay down pleated front shirts with studs. I do like the concealed placket and the overall look of this shirt. Perhaps they will become more available here in time.

How much more rare would you say a Glengarry bonnet is as compared to a Balmoral aside from among soldiers and pipers?

Final question: Many on this forum have expressed the view that the semi-dress sporran which is sold specifically to be worn with the Black Argyll (morning dress) is neither fish nor fowl and therefore undesirable. I notice you have chosen an evening sporran with this look while I've also seen a simple (usually black) day sporran pressed into service for this level of dress.

I wonder whether there a difference regarding when one would choose one over the other given the context of the occasion or if it's a simple coin toss that goes to personal taste.

Again, thank you for sharing your pics and your comments.

Hi Nathan, thanks for the compliment! I extend that thanks to all those others who have done likewise.

The hose were in an end-of-line sale at my kilt maker's shop. There were only two pairs and both were the same bottle green & cream. They were heavily reduced so I bought both pairs. I know they don't match anything but I do think they work. I'd love a pair of diced or tartan hose, but they are rather expensive, so the compromise was made!

The shirt is my preferred style and came from Slaters, a UK wide chain store. It is of moderate quality but does the job. I'm surprised that it's hard to find elsewhere. I'm not keen on frills, pleats, or even studs, so that is the style I chose.

The Glengarry is indeed a rare beast. Bonnets in general are rare here, as indeed are most forms of headgear, though I see a slight trend for more hats being worn than in years gone by. Kilted gentlemen in Scotland are rare enough, those wearing something on their head rarer still, and those in a Glengarry even more so! You could say that the sample size is too small to draw any statistical conclusions. You are quite right to say that the Glen is nowadays almost uniquely the preserve of pipers and the military. I do play smallpipes (badly) so I suppose I have that in my favour, but I prefer a diced bonnet and some observers might assume I have a military background, which I do not. It's a bit of a tricky one really, I know it has been discussed here how the diced Glengarry originated as civilian attire, but it's not always viewed that way. Maybe that's why I shy away from wearing it. Maybe I should become a one-man campaign to restore the diced Glen to its rightful place on the civilian pate?

I am not a fan of the semi-dress sporran. It screams 'rental!' as it is primarily marketed by kilt hire shops as a 'Jack of all trades' when it is of course a master of none. Looking at it objectively, it could be considered an appropriate choice, a sort of less ostentatious dress sporran just right for formal daywear, however the unfortunate association with the 'rental look' rules it out for me in much the same way as cream hose and ruche ties. A plain black leather sporran would not be out of place, but I don't happen to own one!

The black barathea Argyll & five button waistcoat combination is, if playing by the rules, formal daywear but the occasions that demand that are few and far between. I know it is contentious, but I personally think that it works as a suitable level of dress when black tie is too much, but tweed is not quite enough. Sort of the equivalent of the saxon 'dark suit'. Now I'm going to shoot down my own argument and suggest that possibly a charcoal tweed Argyll is the ideal choice here, though that would logically suggest a plain leather sporran. I'd like to hear others' opinions.

Anyway, I tend not to play entirely by the rules. Sometimes I lean more towards the Pirates' Code

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6kgS_AwuH0

*Edit* I think that's what I'm (hopefully) doing with the hose & Glengarry. Bending the rules, but not too much, just gently. If that is what I'm doing, it is subconscious.

[Spartan Tartan]

Nathan,

I always appreciate your thoughtful questions and contributions. I also, tend to be the guy that just sits back and reads more than anything... I find that so many others are able to properly communicate so much better than I am able to communicate in typed/written media. But in this case....

First, I was thinking how smashing the outfit in 1a presents. I really do think the PC fits Calgacus exceptionally well. For my own use, I prefer the Argyle over the PC. Perhaps that is due to my build, I don't know, but that is just my preference for my own use. In this series of pictures, I think the PC looks far nicer on Calgacus.

As to the hose... I love them. I agree they are unique and I found them to be rather eye-catching. If I could get a pair like that, I would wear them irrespective of colour combination. I generally wear hose that compliment other aspects of my outfit, but in this case the unique and sharp look of those hose make them a great addition to the outfit.

Regarding the sporran. I am not a fan of the semi-dress sporran. Personally, I only have two: A plain leather day sporran (no tassels--don't care for tassels either) and a dress sporrans. I mostly wear the day sporran unless it's a specifically formal event. I think both look fine with a long tie and black argyle and would certainly wear either without concern. I just tend to grab the plain sporran first and get going--although my buddy tends to wear his dress sporran under those similar circumstances... Honestly, I think they both look fine and our suitably appropriate.

Just my two cents...

[Nathan]

I understand that the semi-dress is an unpopular choice on xmarks although I don't mind how it looks with the black Argyll and long tie. I think that is the only jacket it really works with rather than being a jack of all trades sporran, it has a very narrow application.

As a morning dress equivalent, the black barathea Argyll with un-faced notched lapels is somewhere between very formal evening wear and tweed day wear and the semidress sporran is likewise somewhere between the leather day sporran and the evening fur and metal cantle sporran.

On the other hand, a day sporran or, as Calgacus ably demonstrates, an evening (formal) sporran with this jacket and tie works equally well or maybe better. It just seems somewhat odd to have an order of dress where most any smart sporran will work, really but there you are. It seems even more odd that the sporran genre that seems to have evolved in the 70s to fill this very niche as attire became less formal hasn't made the grade among many traditionalists. I can't argue with the logic, though. Why buy another sporran for just one look when either of the two I already have will serve as well or in the eyes of many, better?

Our own Jock Scot in his McRostie day sporran


A Kinloch Anderson model


The canny Calgacus himself


Oh, and I agree with the suggestions that this thread become a sticky.

By the way, McMurdo and I were talking and he reminded me where I'd seen similar style hose in the past. On the very smart Pipe Major John D. Burgess.

[Calgacus]

...By the way, McMurdo and I were talking and he reminded me where I'd seen similar style hose in the past. On the very smart Pipe Major John D. Burgess.

In future if anyone queries my choice of hose I can tell them that if it's good enough for P.M. Burgess, it's good enough for me!

[Calgacus]

A minor point, you might notice that I fasten all the buttons on my waistcoat. I believe that is the done thing with highland attire, and besides, I'm not a corpulent prince. The Kinloch Anderson chap above seems to have forgotten to button his...

[McMurdo]

A minor point, you might notice that I fasten all the buttons on my waistcoat. I believe that is the done thing with highland attire, and besides, I'm not a corpulent prince. The Kinloch Anderson chap above seems to have forgotten to button his...

I do the same thing with Highland wear. There are simply different rules than for Saxon wear.

[Calgacus]

I do the same thing with Highland wear. There are simply different rules than for Saxon wear.

Indeed. You'd think that a major retailer of highland wear such as Kinloch Anderson could get it right...

[McMurdo]

Indeed. You'd think that a major retailer of highland wear such as Kinloch Anderson could get it right...

The thing is that all of them get things wrong from time to time. It makes me shake my head.

[tulloch]

Just for you...

2013-12-29 09.38.36 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr


2014-03-12 17.27.13 by Richard the Rogue, on Flickr

Awww! Thanks. Lovely dog.
I too favor the Havana McRostie sporran.

[creagdhubh]

By the way, McMurdo and I were talking and he reminded me where I'd seen similar style hose in the past. On the very smart Pipe Major John D. Burgess.

That's precisely who I thought of when I saw Calgacus' hose. P/M Burgess, always well turned out.