Got my first pair of ghillie brogues

**JRYoung** · 7th February 15, 04:42 PM

My first pair of ghillie brogues arrived in the mail this morning. They're actually the third pair of brogues that I've ordered, but the only ones I've received. The first pair I bought from MacGregor and MacDuff and a week and a half later I received the package without the brogues. I filled out the USPS lost mail recovery form, but not surprisingly I never heard anything back. The second pair I bought from Celtic Trading Post and after about a week he sent me an email saying he must have accidentally sold the brogues in my size, so he refunded my money and said he was going to send a different pair of brogues to make up for it, but I never received them and after some research on the forum I understand he's not a very organized fellow and I just let it go. I guess third time is a charm after all, because I've finally got a pair of brogues and they fit quite well and are in pretty good nick. I need to adjust the length of the laces and figure out exactly how I like them laced, but I already like them more than regular brogues and can't wait to wear them once the weather warms up.

I've bought a few other odds and ends lately, mostly I've been working on getting together a nice black tie setup should the occasion ever arise for me to wear it. I got a really nice old PC on ebay, it's old and has some wear, but fits me rather well.

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I've just about got everything I need, except the proper wing collar shirt. I've ordered it, though it hasn't arrived just yet. The kilt in the photo is just a SWK thrifty, which I know it's not a proper dress kilt, it's just what I had close by for the photo. Though pretty soon I'm planning on ordering a 5 yard wool kilt in Mackenzie Modern from Rocky, so then I will have a proper dress kilt and my first custom made kilt. I forgot to wear my sgian dubh for the picture and if there is anything else I forgot or if there's something you think I should add, please feel free to say so.

**Father Bill** · 7th February 15, 05:18 PM

Actually, looking pretty good to me. The Sghian is not required so that's okay. Yank your bonnet down over your right ear.

**Liam** · 7th February 15, 05:34 PM

Nice looking outfit!

**RCAnderson** · 7th February 15, 05:34 PM

JRYoung,

Looking good!

As for the wing-tipped shirt, if you are going for black-tie you normally wouldn't wear a wing-tipped shirt with it, but a traditional turn down collar dress shirt and black bow tie. A wing-tipped shirt is normally reserved for white-tie events, however here in the U.S. that normally goes out the window and most people wear wing-tipped shirts with both types of formal wear because they are used to wearing the wing-tipped shirt with the tuxedo. Either type of shirt is acceptable for black-tie events.

The only reason I know the difference is I used to own a wedding company and we assisted the parties with their tuxedo rentals.

**JRYoung** · 7th February 15, 06:11 PM

Thanks mates for the compliments.

RCAnderson, thanks for the info. While I will probably never have a need to dress white tie, I will still wear the wing tip shirt. Personally I like the look of the wing tip collar and I've rather grown to like french cuffs, which seem to be hard to find on dress shirts anymore. Although, I will have to get a pair of nice silver coloured cuff links.

**YOJiMBO20** · 7th February 15, 07:48 PM

Looks good!

As Father Bill said, pull down the side of the balmoral so it doesn't look like you have a mushroom on your head.

Also, and this is just my preference, but your laces look to be tied a bit too high. Try right above the ankle bone.

**Bruce Scott** · 7th February 15, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by YOJiMBO20

Looks good!

As Father Bill said, pull down the side of the balmoral so it doesn't look like you have a mushroom on your head.

The Balmoral will respond very well to the treatment described here: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...almoral-57667/

**Dughlas mor** · 7th February 15, 09:04 PM

Dude, you look awesome!

**OC Richard** · 8th February 15, 06:58 AM

Everything looks great!

You've avoided all the normal 'mistakes' made by newbies (and many not-so-newbies). I particularly like the fact that you're showing some knee in the traditional way. At any Highland Games I attend, both here in the USA and in Scotland, I so often see kilts worn too low and socks pulled too high.

I've recently taken to wearing the Balmoral I got back in the 1980s, and I do have to be careful! Because a Glengarry you can just pop on your head and it does what it does (making it ideal for Pipe Bands) but a Balmoral takes some care. For one thing, I often don't pull it far enough down in front. And for another thing, I sometimes forget to pull it down on one side, and walk around with that "mushroom head" until I happen to see myself in a mirror. Put on properly, though, nothing looks quite as nice as a Balmoral.

Congrats with the vintage/used PC! I picked up a very nice ex-hire one on Ebay. The fabric is very high quality and soft to the touch, a cut above most PCs I see in the shops. Ditto my black Argyll and tweed Argyll, all vintage things from Ebay.

About Ghillies, I'm glad to hear that yours are comfortable. (Sorry that it took three tries!) It never ceases to amaze me how on Pipe Band chat forums people are always complaining about uncomfortable Ghillies, and talk as if the discomfort is endemic. I still have my first two pair, one got around 1976 and the second around 1985, both Keltic brand, and both are extremely comfortable. A few years ago I got a new pair of a currently popular brand and I didn't like them at all. I went back to the 80s Keltics.

Ex-hire Ghillies come up often on Ebay and I got lucky there, getting a new pair that fit great and look new, for under $50.

About the lacing, here you can see a variety, though within a certain range, worn by long-time regular Ghillies wearers

About kilts, have you considered the Young tartan? It's lovely!

Here's a gorgeous Young kilt by our own Barbara Tewksbury

The colours are so nice!

My single critique of your outfit would be that the kilt is not on centre.

**WillowEstate** · 8th February 15, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

Everything looks great!
My single critique of your outfit would be that the kilt is not on centre.

It's fairly common for cheaper MacKenzie kilts to be incorrectly centred - my PV kilt is centred on a white line, not dissimilar to the OP's and this makes it appear asymmetric. My ex-military is centred on a red line, which makes it symmetric, though my thin build and the large sett make that the only vertical red line visible on the front apron! JR will probably want to discuss with Rocky for his new kilt.