"Brigadoonery"? "TCHD"? Who decides?

[BadenochWolf]

I not a fan of either if that helps.

Honestly though, I think the pith helmet is an idiosyncratic choice but it was worn by kilted regiments. The pseudo jacobite shirt is the product of Hollywood imagination. It leads people to incorrectly deduce that the kilt was worn this way in a bygone era. Just my thoughts.

You just cut to the heart of the issue for me: the pith helmet was a part of a military uniform in previous generations, but not civilian dress. Why is one ahistorical affectation bad and the other not?

[Panache]

You just cut to the heart of the issue for me: the pith helmet was a part of a military uniform in previous generations, but not civilian dress. Why is one ahistorical affectation bad and the other not?

While certainly most notable as part of the kit for military units stationed in the tropics, the pith helmet wasn't solely used as part of military uniform. I believe the term "Bombay bowler" was often used to refer to civilian pith helmets used in tropic regions.

It is also worth noting that military uniforms have often influence civilian dress. This is no different for highland dress. I am pretty sure that the two straps on the right hip so often seen on modern kilts come from the high waisted military kilts where the top of the kilt came to the bottom of the rib cage, making the second strap necessary for a proper fit. Even though civilian kilts don't have that military rise, the two straps carried over to civilian dress.

Cheers ith:

Jamie

[BadenochWolf]

I believe the term "Bombay bowler" was often used to refer to civilian pith helmets used in tropic regions.

Interesting. Some erstwhile Rhodesian cousins led me to beleive a "Bombay Bowler" referred to a packable Panama hat such as this one

[Panache]

Interesting. Some erstwhile Rhodesian cousins led me to beleive a "Bombay Bowler" referred to a packable Panama hat such as this one

Here is another link from the same website on the Bombay Bowler

http://www.militarysunhelmets.com/20...-bombay-bowler

Cheers

Jamie

[Nathan]

You're asking great questions @BadenochWolf, in fact, there was considerable discussion between @CMcG and myself about whether to include the picture of @Panache (EDIT: I should have written @Tobus) in a pith helmet in the THCD thread. Ultimately, it was chosen as an example of a sensible adaptation to a non-Highland climate. We were trying to illustrate that THCD isn't quite as rigid as some think, so long as there's a sensible explanation for deviation from the conventional choice.

In the case of a shoelace-necked pirate shirt, it serves no function that a more traditional button down shirt does not serve. It is no cooler or more comfortable than a modern shirt worn with the neck open. It is likely less cool than the short sleeved variety.Moreover, it is actually featured in the wardrobe of the movie Brigadoon and its popularity followed the popularity of the film and Broadway production. To my mind it is, therefore, perhaps the very definition of Brigadoonery.In answer to the title of your thread, "who decides?" the answer is the Highland Scots. They alone get to decide what is and is not traditional where they live and if most of the kilt wearers among them would look upon a garment or look as nontraditional, it is.

There's not much external logic to it. An idea or garment has been accepted and adopted or it has been rejected. Sometimes it has just been ignored. The members of xmarksthescot.com came up an acronym to help clarify discussions around what is perceived as traditional civilian attire for kilted civilians by kilt wearing Highlanders with a family tradition of doing so who live in the Highlands but the members of this website are not the final arbiters of what is or is not THCD. In short, we are mere scribes studying and explaining a culture and perhaps even influencing it (time will tell) but not directing it.In the case of the pseudo Jacobite shirt, it has been pretty much rejected by traditionalists in the Highlands as a poor idea. It looks historical but isn't. One can be just as comfortable in a shirt of their own era, so why the pageantry? The answer for "why the pith helmet?" goes back to my sensible deviation from convention point. A wool bonnet is a terrible choice in the Arabian or Indian sun. Something lighter with a little shade makes sense. @Panache lives in California where the sun gets pretty hot compared to Badenoch, so he may have chosen a logical garment with a kilted precedent over say a cowboy hat which would serve the same function but be more incongruous due to its iconic Western status.Does that help any?

[BadenochWolf]

The answer for "why the pith helmet?" goes back to my sensible deviation from convention point. A wool bonnet is a terrible choice in the Arabian or Indian sun. Something lighter with a little shade makes sense. @Panache lives in California where the sun gets pretty hot compared to Badenoch, so he may have chosen a logical garment with a kilted precedent over say a cowboy hat which would serve the same function but be more incongruous due to its iconic Western status.

Does that help any?

Sadly, I'm not actually *in* Badenoch, though parts of my Scots heritage come from that area. I chose the forum name because one Alexander Stewart was given the appellation "the Wolf of Badenoch." I thought it would work as a way to consolidate differing parts of family history in one username. It wasn't until after I had made the name that I learned his moniker was NOT a compliment.

I was slightly bemused to see the pith helmet accepted over Balmoral or Glengarry in hot weather. My only extended contact with *actual* Scots, aside from a few ex-pats, was in Iraq running supplies into the Triangle of Death for the Black Watch. Even in that blistering weather, inside the wire, I only ever saw them in Glengarry or khaki ToS (with cockade). Granted, this is a point of unit pride and esprit de corps, but I wasn't sure how the pith helmet worked in to acceptable warm-weather headgear. Hence my questions.

I'd like to ask you and @Panache, as well as the wider forum: If one is not quite confident enough to wear a pith helmet in public, what headgear would be traditionally acceptable in a blisteringly-hot, sunny climate? My local games are coming up soon. The forecast for the day is currently 90+°F (32+°C), ~100%rH, full sun, and nary a breeze. I'm rather fair and would like not to end the day as red as my scarlet flashes, nor would I like to flirt with heat stroke.

[Nathan]

Sadly, I'm not actually *in* Badenoch, though parts of my Scots heritage come from that area. I chose the forum name because one Alexander Stewart was given the appellation "the Wolf of Badenoch." I thought it would work as a way to consolidate differing parts of family history in one username. It wasn't until after I had made the name that I learned his moniker was NOT a compliment.

I was slightly bemused to see the pith helmet accepted over Balmoral or Glengarry in hot weather. My only extended contact with *actual* Scots, aside from a few ex-pats, was in Iraq running supplies into the Triangle of Death for the Black Watch. Even in that blistering weather, inside the wire, I only ever saw them in Glengarry or khaki ToS (with cockade). Granted, this is a point of unit pride and esprit de corps, but I wasn't sure how the pith helmet worked in to acceptable warm-weather headgear. Hence my questions.

I'd like to ask you and @<u><a href="http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/member.php?u=2230" target="_blank">Panache</a></u>, as well as the wider forum: If one is not quite confident enough to wear a pith helmet in public, what headgear would be traditionally acceptable in a blisteringly-hot, sunny climate? My local games are coming up soon. The forecast for the day is currently 90+°F (32+°C), ~100%rH, full sun, and nary a breeze. I'm rather fair and would like not to end the day as red as my scarlet flashes, nor would I like to flirt with heat stroke.

I noticed you weren't *in* Badenoch, but I needed a Highland locale to juxtapose with California and your moniker served as fine inspiration. I'm a fan of the look of a Panama hat or the Tilly hat for very hot weather but just like the soldiers you mentioned, I still tend to wear my Balmoral or simply go hatless with lots of sunscreen. Thankfully, I have enough hair to protect my scalp for now. I wore a Balmoral bonnet and a beret in uniform in extremely hot temperatures and you get used to it. I did wear a pith helmet for a big parade once and it was comfortable in the sun, I have to say. I personally wouldn't wear it with civilian attire - just my style preference - but this guy does a good job with it.

[Panache]

...
I'd like to ask you and @Panache, as well as the wider forum: If one is not quite confident enough to wear a pith helmet in public, what headgear would be traditionally acceptable in a blisteringly-hot, sunny climate? My local games are coming up soon. The forecast for the day is currently 90+°F (32+°C), ~100%rH, full sun, and nary a breeze. I'm rather fair and would like not to end the day as red as my scarlet flashes, nor would I like to flirt with heat stroke.

A nice panama hat is perfect way to ward off the Summer sun. This is what I wore after the Red Thistle Dancers performance on Saturday at the Pleasanton Highland Games when it was 90+



And what I wore the next day at the Games



The panama is nothing if not practical

Cheers

Jamie

[mookien]

In post #20 that's my brother in the Holyrood! Note that both Alan and the "kilt inspector" are looking at him. Not a good sign.

[bwat]

In post #20 that's my brother in the Holyrood! Note that both Alan and the "kilt inspector" are looking at him. Not a good sign.

I wound back throught the thread to see what you were talking about here. This lead to the realisation that I've spent too much time on this forum since discovering it. This conclusion was reached from the following two premises:

1) I correctly identified the Holyrood kilt and fairly quickly to boot, and
2) I noticed the kilt before I noticed the kilt inspector.


Number two has me slightly concerned to be perfectly honest.