Advice on some colours/accessories for my wedding kilt.

[Litany of the Highlands]

Hi,
I've not posted here before, but I thought it looked like nice community, so if you'll indulge me I'd like to glean some ideas off of you rabble.

I'm getting married in roughly 3 months, and will be wearing a kilt come hell or high water. I own several jackets and kilts already and have been wearing them very frequently to formal, semi-formal and casual events - for over 10 years - since I was 18. I have two, full 8 yards, heavy weight kilts**, but have ordered a Great Scot Modern (also 8-heavy) and new Braemar jacket and 5 button waistcoat (both in black, but with navy paisley linings). I should explain that despite owning a Prince Charlie + vintage 3 button waistcoat for years, I simply do not really like it as a formal jacket. I personally always thought the Braemar plus 5 button to be a smarter look, just my taste.

Anyway, so now to my actual dilemma(s). I had an always used original seal skin sporran which I can't now bring to the US, so I need to buy a new dress sporran and now find myself contemplating the colour of said sporran, along with my entire kilt accessories. I had kind of just assumed I would do my standard coloured cravat in a ruche (main or second main colour from kilt, so purple, or teal or navy) and cream/ivory hose, with hose flashes being either the tartan or the same colour as the cravat, w/e colour that is, and an Ivory shirt. Ivory shirts, is another weird thing I have always done, at first by accident, but I then later realised that it worked really well with kilts especially if you opt for ivory hose. I do understand the irony of hating the Prince Charlie but liking ivory shirts, but in this case especially I may have no choice, as my fiancée's dress is ivory...

So guys (& girls), it is your wedding in 3 months, and you need to complete a Great Scot Modern, Braemar 5 button, & ivory shirt. What colours do you opt for with the neck-tie, sporran, hose and flashes? If you can picture that.

So far I'm torn between:

Option 1:
A Purple cravat
Ivory fur Sporran
Ivory hose & matching tartan flashes.

Really classic, but also super rental (which irks me more than slightly)....however my jacket and waistcoat have a deep blue Paisley jacket lining and waistcoat back, so I'm hoping if I go this route, altogether it'll be far enough away from a rental job in appearance.

Option 2:
A Navy Paisley cravat (that matches my jacket waistcoat reverse)
Ivory fur Sporran
Ivory or Lovat hose & Navy flashes.

Option 3:
Trying Navy or Black hose with 1 or 2, and maybe a darker sporran?

Any suggestions advice, criticism etc would be welcome. Thanks.


**Of two original kilts one is looking a little worn (this one I wore less ironically), and is slipping into the smei-formal/casual arena due to this. And the other is a slightly weird fit since it was measured before a lengthy marathon rowing and cycling obsession (my hips and seat and now much bigger, even if my waist is virtually the same).

[The Wizard of BC]

I have just a few rules that I try to pass on to my customers.

Never, ever outshine the bride. This means that if the bride is in a simple casual dress you do not dress in Purple PC with a Bright white rabbit sporran and fly Plaid. All the people in the audience will see is the guy in the kilt. This is her day, not yours. It is she that all eyes should be on not you.

Dress in a manner that is in keeping with the level of formality of the event. Again, if the level of the event is one where those not in kilts would be dressed in shirt and tie you do not take it up a notch and dress formally.

Both of these can be determined by asking the bride. She knows what she wants her wedding to look like.

If you don't like the look of the Prince Charlie Coatee then an Argyle paired with a tux shirt and black bow tie is a perfectly acceptable alternative for Black Tie, formal events.

And finally there is the KISS principal - Keep It Simple Stupid. The kilt itself is a very versatile garment. It is also an attention getter. So keep your accessories simple and understated.

I usually try to avoid any color brighter or louder than the colors of my kilt. I want my kilt to be the centerpiece of my outfit. I want it to be the kilt that people notice not the sporran or the tie or the jacket. I will usually choose a simple dark, small pattern or simple stripped tie. I use the flashes as "That little splash of color" in my outfit. I will sometimes coordinate the color of my flashes and pocket square. Not match, just coordinated.

[Litany of the Highlands]

I have just a few rules that I try to pass on to my customers.

Never, ever outshine the bride. This means that if the bride is in a simple casual dress you do not dress in Purple PC with a Bright white rabbit sporran and fly Plaid. All the people in the audience will see is the guy in the kilt. This is her day, not yours. It is she that all eyes should be on not you.

I don't know if you mean literally a purple PC or a purple tartan + PC, but yes, I agree. Not only is it much more formal looking, almost painfully so sometimes, even for weddings, you are right that it can be a poor choice for both guests and groom for exactly that reason. And funnily enough I did nearly once make that mistake with an evening wedding, where it should technically be fair game...So I not only liked the Braemar 5 button more for the lack of nearly over the top formality, but thought it looked msarter as well without being more formal. I think that's the main reason you see so few classic PCs at weddings these days, even evening weddings. It seems that formal attire is slipping down a notch in the last few decades, as my parents still think a PC is appropriate at times that virtually no one under the age of 40 would consider wearing one.

That being said this is obviously not a good idea for a groom imo, though that is the tartan I have ordered.

http://euanacameron.com/wp-content/u...6-DSC03733.jpg

Dress in a manner that is in keeping with the level of formality of the event. Again, if the level of the event is one where those not in kilts would be dressed in shirt and tie you do not take it up a notch and dress formally.

If you don't like the look of the Prince Charlie Coatee then an Argyle paired with a tux shirt and black bow tie is a perfectly acceptable alternative for Black Tie, formal events.

Most weddings in the US, at least where I live, are shirt and tie events, maybe the occasional guest wearing tuxedo. They are "formal" on paper but do not reach tuxedo levels of formality for men or woman. Indeed none of the grooms at the last 4 weddings I've been to had a tuxedo or bow tie. Two had 3 piece suits and ties, 1 had a vest/waistcoat suit trouser combo, and the other had just shirts and pants with suspenders, with grooms-men wearing matching outfits. It's in this league that our wedding will be, tuxedos will be fine, but most people prefer a colourful or nicely put together suit. Which makes sense, since this isn't the Royal wedding, people will be having fun, celebrating, and maybe getting very merry, tuxedos just don't make sense in the modern culture/wedding philosophy of the west unless you are having a very expensive very formal event, with minimal roudiness. So I think again not opting for a PC + bowtie is a good move personally. I also haven't thought about it rigorously, but is a Braemar and a Ruche really above the suit and tie level by a massive degree? Even if you thought it was, I am the groom that counts for something right?! But yes, I will not have a white rabbit and fly plaid, I want an ivory or light-ish fur, which white or grey bovine would satisfy as far as I'm concerned.

And finally there is the KISS principal - Keep It Simple Stupid. The kilt itself is a very versatile garment. It is also an attention getter. So keep your accessories simple and understated.

I get what you're saying, and that is absolutely my normal philosophy as a guest, and its only with some suggestions from a cousin or two that I've even contemplated having anything more complicated than option 1. I'm still not completely convinced that navy hose would be out of place. One of my cousins even suggested ancient blue hose, with a purple cravat and purple enamelled cantle and grey fur sporran. Which is a tantalising prospect but I'm not sure if it's bridge too far, in terms of possibly being dumb once it's all together, or if it simply would be too much compared to the bride etc. My fiancee has been to weddings with me in a kilt (hired) before and doesn't seem to think it will be an issue, but you could be right that it might be.

I usually try to avoid any color brighter or louder than the colors of my kilt. I want my kilt to be the centerpiece of my outfit. I want it to be the kilt that people notice not the sporran or the tie or the jacket. I will usually choose a simple dark, small pattern or simple stripped tie. I use the flashes as "That little splash of color" in my outfit. I will sometimes coordinate the color of my flashes and pocket square. Not match, just coordinated.

Yep absolutely. Don't take away from it. The purple in Great Scot is quite vibrant though, so a less vibrant shade would be good, but again like you say, having something less imposing like navy would be even better for leaving the kilt alone. I have to disagree with the pocket square though, I've always though it best to coordinate/match with the neck tie.

[Liam]

My suggestion would be purple hose, white shirt, self tie black bow tie and a badger sporran.
Slainte and congrats on your upcoming nuptials!

[room2ndfloor]

[QUOTE This is her day, not yours. It is she that all eyes should be on not you.......
All the people in the audience will see is the guy in the kilt. .......
Both of these can be determined by asking the bride. She knows what she wants her wedding to look like.....

[/QUOTE]

What? It is not the groom's day as well? A wedding is not happening without the groom.

A wedding is not some kind of fashion show or exhibition of the bride. It is a public declaration of a solemn contract or a sacrament, however your religion may view it. There is no "audience", there is a congregation of family and friends who witness the wedding and rejoice with the bridal couple.

I agree that the bride should be consulted, and the groom should also have a voice.

[Litany of the Highlands]

I have made some progress, just thought I'd let you know.

Firstly, upon further discussion with my fiancée, I've learned the "ivory" dress is basically straight white. So I've got a white shirt.

I also got a good deal on House of Cheviot Lewis hose and got both Ancient Blue and Navy hose. I've got a dark purple cravat, and my kilt maker is throwing in another Cravat with the navy paisley made lining material I've got on my jacket. So I've basically decided to see how it all looks when I get it in a few weeks.

Given the above, my tartan, and groom status I went for a light grey bovine sporran.

[Tarheel]

Given the above, my tartan, and groom status I went for a light grey bovine sporran.

Good choice on grey. Will contrast the kilt and lighten the look in front and not distract from the other items (colors) you're wearing.

[OC Richard]

it is your wedding in 3 months, and you need to complete a Great Scot Modern, Braemar 5 button, & (white) shirt. What colours do you opt for with the neck-tie, sporran, hose and flashes? If you can picture that.

Here's the tartan (a bit bigger than your avatar)



My personal thing is to avoid the main kilt-colours for the rest of my outfit when possible.

The kilt is already presenting those colours- let them breathe!

My tie would be black, no question there.

My sporran would be the goat-hair one I always wear.

I'd wear buckled shoes.

My only conundrum would be hose and flashes. The jacket being black, the kilt being dark blues and purples, I would want to introduced some contrasting colour into the outfit, preferably a lighter colour, a warm colour.

With weddings you have the "wedding colours" which dictate what you can wear and what you can't. Were it any other occasion I'd get hose that contrasted against the kilt, say claret or Old Gold. Or perhaps pick up that pair of lighter blue stripes with St Andrews Blue hose. But it being a wedding I'd follow the wedding colours.

BTW I found this image online, appears to be the same tartan but with a pair of white lines instead of a pair of light blue lines. Gives a bit of an impression of a wedding outfit using a tartan like that (though I wouldn't wear the white hose, myself)

[OC Richard]

A wedding is not some kind of fashion show or exhibition of the bride.

Sorry to say, it often is!

I'm a piper. I do few weddings nowadays but around 20 years ago I used to pipe at 40 or so weddings a year.

Many are the Bridezillas who have a radar for anything which might detract the slightest amount of attention from themselves, in advance of the wedding and on the day itself.

And even after the wedding! Once I was chatting with a guy and a woman ran up and started yelling at him for talking to anyone other than her. "I'M your bride! I'M your wife! I'M the one you should be talking to! I'm tired of you talking to other people!"

Wow.

[Litany of the Highlands]

Here's the tartan (a bit bigger than your avatar)

This is a good example however the blue is quite a bit lighter and has a tealish tinge to it, definitely some green in there. I know computer/picture representations can be wonky for loads of reasons. but here is some I got my hands on at the kilt shop (in scotland).

[will fix link]

My personal thing is to avoid the main kilt-colours for the rest of my outfit when possible.

The kilt is already presenting those colours- let them breathe!

My tie would be black, no question there.

I do agree with that, I wouldn't want to wear bright purple that matched the colour in the tartan in anyway, with you on that. However, I think maybe have a different philosophy for dressing as the groom, I am pretty convinced towards complimenting the kilt, not contrasting it, when it comes to the other colours. If I had a Royal Stewart kilt, I'd probably be looking at having ties/flashes be in claret/dark red/dark crimson, ivory, dark yellow/mustard, or maybe black. For other tartans I could compliment with lighter shades as well, it's just that pink isn't really my thing, per the Royal Stewart example. Not to compete with the kilt but to accentuate it. I know you can do this by having contrasting colours as well, but like you say (though for a different reason), being a groom, I personally, don't feel the setting calls for contrasting colours. Also not convinced it will look right in this scenario. Contrasting colours seems, in my head at least, to be a day wear convention.

Given that, I'm probably going stick to my dark purple tie, it isn't going to be anywhere near as bright and vibrant as the kilt colour, but again, I've got a pretty dark navy back up as well, if it looks off.

My only conundrum would be hose and flashes. The jacket being black, the kilt being dark blues and purples, I would want to introduced some contrasting colour into the outfit, preferably a lighter colour, a warm colour.

With weddings you have the "wedding colours" which dictate what you can wear and what you can't. Were it any other occasion I'd get hose that contrasted against the kilt, say claret or Old Gold. Or perhaps pick up that pair of lighter blue stripes with St Andrews Blue hose. But it being a wedding I'd follow the wedding colours.

BTW I found this image online, appears to be the same tartan but with a pair of white lines instead of a pair of light blue lines. Gives a bit of an impression of a wedding outfit using a tartan like that (though I wouldn't wear the white hose, myself)

Yes, it is a bit of a conundrum, but I'm definitely settled on non-ivory hose!

Yea, I've found several with that tartan (Spirit of Scotland) as example outfits. Quite handy, for getting a idea of something might look like.

All in all, I've been to 4 Scottish weddings in my life (actually in Scotland), and seen a huge variety of outfits, styles, and colour palettes amongst the wedding parties. I definitely can see that my generation is more "experimental" shall we say, with some elements THCD, sometimes only in a limited capacity and sometimes in a far more radical way. But within Scotland, to me, as a Scot, this makes sense, THCD is something most people have seen a lot of growing up, it does make some sense that newer generations will try new versions or takes of it, especially if you are getting married and specifically want to stand out from established THCD, of the last 50 years of so. The last wedding I went to (in July 2016) had all the groomsmen in grey granite tartan kilts, with matching grey Argyll jackets and 5 button waistcoats, white shirts, light grey sporrans and charcoal socks. The bridesmaids wore navy dresses, all slightly different, but made from the same fabric. The groomsmen had navy flashes, and a navy Windsor tie, to match them, that was all. The groom wore a lighter grey Argyll and 5 button, with Isle of Skye tartan, ivory sporran, white shirt, charcoal socks and a silver Windsor tie. All in all, it wasn't some highly matched bridal party, and it wasn't really conventional THCD either.

The other example that comes to mind, is one where the groom wore his tartan, and didn't match a flipping thing in the bridal party colour scheme, but both the groom and grooms men were otherwise textbook examples of THCD, right down to very understated accessory colours. I guess if you had to ask me what a THCD groom and groomsmen would be wearing, in an ideal world, it's probably all wearing custom made groom's tartan, and black Argyll & 5 button or black PC & 3 5 button, and traditional mild, non coloured accessories etc. I have also seen an example in my family's history of groomsmen wearing quite distinctly different kilts from the groom, so it's not a hard rule at all I guess.

Sorry to say, it often is!

I'm a piper. I do few weddings nowadays but around 20 years ago I used to pipe at 40 or so weddings a year.

Many are the Bridezillas who have a radar for anything which might detract the slightest amount of attention from themselves, in advance of the wedding and on the day itself.

And even after the wedding! Once I was chatting with a guy and a woman ran up and started yelling at him for talking to anyone other than her. "I'M your bride! I'M your wife! I'M the one you should be talking to! I'm tired of you talking to other people!"

Wow.

Thankfully, my Fiancee isn't like that.