"Brigadoonery"? "TCHD"? Who decides?

[BadenochWolf]

Even though civilian kilts don't have that military rise, the two straps carried over to civilian dress.

I'm now inordinately concerned that I am wearing my only kilt wrong. It's a USAkilts traditional 8-yarder. I've been wearing it such that the waistband overlaps my lowest ribs (about 2 inches above my belly button), and the apron ends just above the tops of my kneecaps. If I wear it lower it feels wrongly sized, but perhaps I measured wrong in the first place.

On a personal note, I was not aware till @Nathan pointed it out that you were the gentlelaird wearing the safari shirt and pith helmet in the TCHD guide. I did not mean any slight by calling it an affectation. Please forgive me if it seemed so, you wear them very well. I'm sometimes less handy with our language than one ought to be.

[CMcG]

...

On a personal note, I was not aware till @Nathan pointed it out that you were the gentlelaird wearing the safari shirt and pith helmet in the TCHD guide. I did not mean any slight by calling it an affectation. Please forgive me if it seemed so, you wear them very well. I'm sometimes less handy with our language than one ought to be.

I believe it is actually Tobus wearing the pith helmet in the blazing Texas sun near the end of our THCD guide, although Panache deserves credit for being the Xmarks pioneer of that style ith:

[Tobus]

I believe it is actually Tobus wearing the pith helmet in the blazing Texas sun near the end of our THCD guide, although Panache deserves credit for being the Xmarks pioneer of that style ith:

To be technical, what I am wearing is a straw sun helmet (purchased at my local Whole Earth Provision store), not a true pith helmet. Jamie still remains the king of the pith helmet.

I have been very busy with work and personal stuff lately, so I haven't been on the forum as much. I was sort of surprised to see my photo with the sun helmet included in the THCD thread. If you notice my posture and facial expressions in these photos, along with the pipe that I rarely ever smoke, you will see that I was attempting a bit of comedy (in a pseudo-Professor Elemental way). To be honest, I have never worn that sun helmet in public, and the only time I have worn it with the kilt was for these photos.

That said, the sun helmet is a very practical piece of headwear here in the hot South-Central Texas sun. It provides shade while still allowing plenty of ventilation above my scalp. It's a "hard" straw weave that sits over my head with an air gap, much like a hard hat. I've been known to wear it while I'm sitting on a tractor all day, shredding pastures in the sun (when I'm wearing overalls, not a kilt). But yes, if I were to wear it out and about with a kilt, I would personally feel like it was a bit of a costume, even if it's practical. My Tilley hat is usually my preference for that reason.

So I have mixed feelings on it being called THCD. A practical adaptation of kilt attire, perhaps, with a nod towards military use (or even civilian use in tropical climes), but not really traditional Highland wear.

[CMcG]

To be technical, what I am wearing is a straw sun helmet (purchased at my local Whole Earth Provision store), not a true pith helmet. Jamie still remains the king of the pith helmet.

I have been very busy with work and personal stuff lately, so I haven't been on the forum as much. I was sort of surprised to see my photo with the sun helmet included in the THCD thread. If you notice my posture and facial expressions in these photos, along with the pipe that I rarely ever smoke, you will see that I was attempting a bit of comedy (in a pseudo-Professor Elemental way). To be honest, I have never worn that sun helmet in public, and the only time I have worn it with the kilt was for these photos.

That said, the sun helmet is a very practical piece of headwear here in the hot South-Central Texas sun. It provides shade while still allowing plenty of ventilation above my scalp. It's a "hard" straw weave that sits over my head with an air gap, much like a hard hat. I've been known to wear it while I'm sitting on a tractor all day, shredding pastures in the sun (when I'm wearing overalls, not a kilt). But yes, if I were to wear it out and about with a kilt, I would personally feel like it was a bit of a costume, even if it's practical. My Tilley hat is usually my preference for that reason.

So I have mixed feelings on it being called THCD. A practical adaptation of kilt attire, perhaps, with a nod towards military use (or even civilian use in tropical climes), but not really traditional Highland wear.

Thanks for chiming in Tobus. I've amended the label in the THCD thread to show that you are in fact wearing a straw sun helmet and not a pith helmet. That image is found in the Informal (miscellany for activities and practical variations) section, which is described thus:

"It is traditional to be wise about the weather and to alter one’s dress accordingly. While this may sometimes result is a less smart or strictly THCD look, common sense must prevail, which is actually quite traditional! Sartorial accommodations and compromises for different types of activities are also reasonable, although one can still aim at maintaining a generally traditional appearance. In a nutshell, form follows function.

N.B. some variations may been seen among Xmarkers that are not in widespread use and, notwithstanding their practicality, should be understood as idiosyncratic (i.e., pith helmets, spats/gaiters, etc)."

That part of the guide is intended to cover sensible alternatives to the straight-and-narrow of THCD. As such, there are many deviations included that show grey area and the periphery of what could be considered traditional, but they are positioned according to context. Personally, I try to avoid the blazing sun entirely, but if I was kilting under those conditions, I'd probably opt for a Panama or Tilley. A search of Xmarks shows that pith/sun helmets have been worn by a number of Xmarkers, so it bore mentioning in the guide.

While @Panache is the king of the helmet style on Xmarks, @Nathan and I felt that the rest of your outfit was more THCD. Panache's pictures tend to show him wearing his pith helmet with extra flair such as a fly whisk or an outfit that is more "safari." His personal flair is excellent and I think he looks great, but your interpretation looks more traditional.

[BadenochWolf]

Thanks for chiming in Tobus. I've amended the label in the THCD thread to show that you are in fact wearing a straw sun helmet and not a pith helmet. That image is found in the Informal (miscellany for activities and practical variations) section, which is described thus:

"It is traditional to be wise about the weather and to alter one’s dress accordingly. While this may sometimes result is a less smart or strictly THCD look, common sense must prevail, which is actually quite traditional! Sartorial accommodations and compromises for different types of activities are also reasonable, although one can still aim at maintaining a generally traditional appearance. In a nutshell, form follows function.

N.B. some variations may been seen among Xmarkers that are not in widespread use and, notwithstanding their practicality, should be understood as idiosyncratic (i.e., pith helmets, spats/gaiters, etc)."

That part of the guide is intended to cover sensible alternatives to the straight-and-narrow of THCD. As such, there are many deviations included that show grey area and the periphery of what could be considered traditional, but they are positioned according to context. Personally, I try to avoid the blazing sun entirely, but if I was kilting under those conditions, I'd probably opt for a Panama or Tilley. A search of Xmarks shows that pith/sun helmets have been worn by a number of Xmarkers, so it bore mentioning in the guide.

While @Panache is the king of the helmet style on Xmarks, @Nathan and I felt that the rest of your outfit was more THCD. Panache's pictures tend to show him wearing his pith helmet with extra flair such as a fly whisk or an outfit that is more "safari." His personal flair is excellent and I think he looks great, but your interpretation looks more traditional.

Thanks to you, @Nathan, and @Panache for putting together helpful guides for newbies. My apologies to you all for confusing your and Nathan's master work on THCD with Jamie's great "one kilt ten looks." Both are spectacularly informative and useful.

[BadenochWolf]

To be technical, what I am wearing is a straw sun helmet (purchased at my local Whole Earth Provision store), not a true pith helmet. Jamie still remains the king of the pith helmet.

<<snip>>

If you notice my posture and facial expressions in these photos, along with the pipe that I rarely ever smoke, you will see that I was attempting a bit of comedy (in a pseudo-Professor Elemental way). To be honest, I have never worn that sun helmet in public, and the only time I have worn it with the kilt was for these photos.

It seems I can recall my XMTS commenters, even if I can't recall which post I saw them in. Your picture in sun helmet, while very illustrative, was not what caused me to wonder about historical affectation. It was @Panache in pith helmet, safari shirt, black watch tartan, and loam hose with fly-whisk in hand that left me bemused. I wonder if he would concede that particular outfit, as presented, does sail fine against militaristic costumery?

I'm sorry you rarely use your pipe. I had hoped I had found a fellow kilted briarman. My time with my pipes are a much needed respite from a hectic world. I need it for my sense of well being quite as much as I need time in prayer with my Maker, or time with the Missus. Is there something in particular you find objectionable?

[Panache]

…personally my favorite pith helmet photo is this one where the helmet is part of a fairly regular outfit.*



As for the accessories (fly whisk, etc.) well you could say I am keeping alive the old tradition of carrying as many accessories/weapons as possible when taking a photo, just like the photographs and portraits of days of yore… which makes it very traditional!

Cheers ith:

Jamie


* Plus it has added F-H.C.A.G. appeal!

[Panache]

When we talk about traditional highland dress we must understand that there was no great rule book that every highlander followed to the letter. There was a spectrum of things that people wore at different times. Things came into and out of fashion. There were trends. Some stayed, some disappeared. There were conservative dressers, flamboyant dressers, and those who fell somewhere between.

Picture for a moment two modern gents that often wear highland attire, Sir Jackie Stewart and Prince Charles. They have very different takes on highland dress and exist on opposite ends of the spectrum between conservative and flamboyant. Yet their outfits are part of the same spectrum.

In the picture I just posted above you could complain "Well that horsehair sporran is far too formal for daywear! A true traditional highlander would have worn a simple leather cantled and brown horsehair sporran…"

You could...

Except...

A true highlander would probably look at his kit and the horsehair sporran he was given / inherited and say "Guid enough" and not rush out to buy a new one that was a perfect match ("match-matchy" ?) for his daywear ensemble.

I love traditional highland attire, but have come to realize that I am not trying hit a bullseye of "perfect outfit", but dress along a spectrum where I probably fall more toward the flamboyant than conservative.

And that is OK by me, the world needs staunch conservative traditionalists as well as tartan peacocks.

ith: Cheers

Jamie

[BadenochWolf]

When we talk about traditional highland dress there was no great rule book that every highlander followed to the letter. There was a spectrum of things that people wore. There were conservative dressers, flamboyant dressers, and those who fell somewhere between.

Picture for a moment two modern gents that often wear highland attire, Sir Jackie Stewart and Prince Charles. They have very different takes on highland dress and exist on opposite ends of the spectrum between conservative and flamboyant. Yet their outfits are part of the same spectrum.

In the picture I just posted above you could complain "Well that horsehair sporran is far too formal for daywear! A true traditional highlander would have worn a simple leather cantled and brown horsehair sporran…"

You could...

Except...

A true highlander would probably look at his kit and the horsehair sporran he was given / inherited and say "Guid enough" and not rush out to buy a new one that was a perfect match ("match-matchy" ?) for his daywear ensemble.

I love traditional highland attire, but have come to realize that I am not trying hit a bullseye of "perfect outfit", but dress along a spectrum where I probably fall more toward the flamboyant than conservative.

And that is OK by me, the world needs staunch conservative traditionalists as well as tartan peacocks.

ith: Cheers

Jamie

This was quite a good reply! I wish it could be added as a Post-Script to the many photo-essays on kilt wear here. I don't think there's anything bad or wrong about making a statement with one's outfit. I'm just trying to figure out the nuance of why certain things are considered good or traditional. Namely so I can find ways to bend/break those rules tastefully.

[Nathan]

When we talk about traditional highland dress we must understand that there was no great rule book that every highlander followed to the letter. There was a spectrum of things that people wore at different times. Things came into and out of fashion.

Why is this written in the past tense as if the era of traditional highland dress has passed?