Clan Crest Badge Affixed to a Day Sporran..

[Famous Willie]

It's a free world where most of us here live so we do have the privilege of having choices, but just so you know if you want to wear your kilt in a traditional manner then you do need to be aware of a few things. Things to avoid , if you look like.

The matching of colours.... a very modern and a particularly American thing to do if these sorts of discussions are anything to go by..... is almost studiously avoided by the traditional kilt wearer, so matching ones shirt and hose,for example, is not at all necessary. If anything ends up matching then it's more by accident than anything else.

Tartan ties are not usually worn with a tartan kilt.

Black shirts are a no no for many. They are worn with the kilt these days but many of my generation have historical reservations about them. White shirts are fine for formal(dress) occasions,but loud(heavy) plain colours are not usually considered traditional by many tradionalists. Think about tattersall patterns, or small gingham checks, for example.

There are many threads here going back a a few years which describe people with traditional kilt attire who "choose" their attire for the day by reaching into the wardrobe and wearing the first shirt, tie, hose that comes to hand with no thought at all to matching. Sadly many of those very useful discussions were held before the " traditional kilt" section was born so they may be difficult to find, but try and find them if you can as they might be very useful to you.

Now you know!

Thank you Jock, really appreciate the reply. What about having the Shirt match the Flashes or the Tied Garter if one chooses to wear one, and wearing hose to match the Square in the Tartan. I read somewhere that this can be done.

Bill.

[Jock Scot]

Thank you Jock, really appreciate the reply. What about having the Shirt match the Flashes or the Tied Garter if one chooses to wear one, and wearing hose to match the Square in the Tartan. I read somewhere that this can be done.

Bill.

The trick, if you want to wear your kilt attire traditionally is don't obsess about this matching idea. If you take my tartan(MacLeod of Harris) as an example, it consists of green, blue, red, yellow and black colours so it is actually quite tricky wearing hose, or flashes, or jacket, or shirt, or tie where something does not match with something in the tartan, but the trick is that no thought is given on the colours you might wear---- the grab the first thing that comes to hand method---! This is helped somewhat by wearing tattersall patterned shirts where the basic background colour is usually white or cream, also the Club/Regimental style tie helps with a splash of different colours too. The shades of my claret hose for example may not exactly match the red in the kilt and usually there is a real difference in shade of different parts of my attire. So today I may wear green hose, tomorrow I may wear yellow or red. The point is that no thought is given about matching anything and it works.

Now, if you want to deliberately wear a tartan tie that matches the tartan of the kilt, or hose or flashes that match your shirt then carry on, its not a hanging offence and something that you are quite entitled so to do. However, its just not the traditional way of doing things.

[ThistleDown]

We're moving off-topic here, but this is Bill's thread and he is entitled to do so. Jock is, of course, correct. Highland dress is not a uniform (and it's not 'regalia', as some call it). It's simply the way the kilt is traditionally worn today in Scotland. The emphasis must be placed on 'today', because how we wear it in a traditional manner is constantly evolving. Most of us don't wear tartan ties with tartan kilts, but a few do. Most don't make any attempt to match hose with shirts, but some do. There was a period of time when white hose were all the style (although there is an appearance difference between hand-knit white hose and machine-made). That was a strange glitch in the evolution and we have mostly moved beyond it.

Some of us do just reach into the armoire for a shirt, but some of us (or our wives) still try to find something that is pleasing to the eye. A lumberjack shirt and a red Menzies kilt are fairly jarring to the eye; so is a lemon yellow shirt and a Macleod of Lewis. We are a bit more cautious than Jock is making us out to be, in other words. The tattersall shirts we all have hanging there make it fairly easy to decide. As Jock said, white or cream is traditional, but there is a trend by younger folk to darker shirts and one day those might become alternatives just as the tattersall has become the norm. It's rarely a good idea to think you might be leading the pack when you are a neophyte and don't come from generations of wearing Highland dress, but always go with what is comfortable.

When it comes to hose we do usually have to choose from what we have and that's almost always from a selection of what our wives/girlfriends/mothers/aunts/friends knit for presents for us. Colours rarely are perfect matches for colours in the kilt(s) we have, so we go with what's in the drawer -- and that invariably works out well. Knit and hand-tied garters are much the same but we have favourites and those are what we wear.

Jackets are another thing and probably the second most expensive item of Highland dress you will buy. Be cautious here and make every effort to think about the occasions when you will wear whatever you buy, and not jump at what you think looks good on someone else. Tweed in one of its many forms is probably best for you, but if the only time you will wear a kilt is at black-tie, formal events, then there are a variety of formal jacket styles that will be appropriate.

[Famous Willie]

We're moving off-topic here, but this is Bill's thread and he is entitled to do so. Jock is, of course, correct. Highland dress is not a uniform (and it's not 'regalia', as some call it). It's simply the way the kilt is traditionally worn today in Scotland. The emphasis must be placed on 'today', because how we wear it in a traditional manner is constantly evolving. Most of us don't wear tartan ties with tartan kilts, but a few do. Most don't make any attempt to match hose with shirts, but some do. There was a period of time when white hose were all the style (although there is an appearance difference between hand-knit white hose and machine-made). That was a strange glitch in the evolution and we have mostly moved beyond it.

Some of us do just reach into the armoire for a shirt, but some of us (or our wives) still try to find something that is pleasing to the eye. A lumberjack shirt and a red Menzies kilt are fairly jarring to the eye; so is a lemon yellow shirt and a Macleod of Lewis. We are a bit more cautious than Jock is making us out to be, in other words. The tattersall shirts we all have hanging there make it fairly easy to decide. As Jock said, white or cream is traditional, but there is a trend by younger folk to darker shirts and one day those might become alternatives just as the tattersall has become the norm. It's rarely a good idea to think you might be leading the pack when you are a neophyte and don't come from generations of wearing Highland dress, but always go with what is comfortable.

When it comes to hose we do usually have to choose from what we have and that's almost always from a selection of what our wives/girlfriends/mothers/aunts/friends knit for presents for us. Colours rarely are perfect matches for colours in the kilt(s) we have, so we go with what's in the drawer -- and that invariably works out well. Knit and hand-tied garters are much the same but we have favourites and those are what we wear.

Jackets are another thing and probably the second most expensive item of Highland dress you will buy. Be cautious here and make every effort to think about the occasions when you will wear whatever you buy, and not jump at what you think looks good on someone else. Tweed in one of its many forms is probably best for you, but if the only time you will wear a kilt is at black-tie, formal events, then there are a variety of formal jacket styles that will be appropriate.

Yes, I have seemed to gotten the Thread way off topic, so I think I will ask one of the Moderators to close the thread. I do appreciate your advice also Thistledown, and will have to really think of how I want to wear the Kilt and how to attire it. Like I mentioned to Jock in a reply, I am fortunate that over on this side of the Atlantic, not too many are attuned as to the proper way to wear the kilt. And living here in Kitchener, one don't see the Kilt too much. In fact I've only seen one other fellow wearing a kilt.

In a couple of weeks, I should have my Tartan Kilt from the Kilt Maker, and I can toss the Utility/Cargo Kilt into storage and only wear it on very casual occasions. Like I mentioned to Jock, I've been told I wear it wrong also,.

Thank you again Thistledown,

Bill

[ThistleDown]

At the request of the OP this thread is now closed.

[Famous Willie]

The trick, if you want to wear your kilt attire traditionally is don't obsess about this matching idea. If you take my tartan(MacLeod of Harris) as an example, it consists of green, blue, red, yellow and black colours so it is actually quite tricky wearing hose, or flashes, or jacket, or shirt, or tie where something does not match with something in the tartan, but the trick is that no thought is given on the colours you might wear---- the grab the first thing that comes to hand method---! This is helped somewhat by wearing tattersall patterned shirts where the basic background colour is usually white or cream, also the Club/Regimental style tie helps with a splash of different colours too. The shades of my claret hose for example may not exactly match the red in the kilt and usually there is a real difference in shade of different parts of my attire. So today I may wear green hose, tomorrow I may wear yellow or red. The point is that no thought is given about matching anything and it works.

Now, if you want to deliberately wear a tartan tie that matches the tartan of the kilt, or hose or flashes that match your shirt then carry on, its not a hanging offence and something that you are quite entitled so to do. However, its just not the traditional way of doing things.

Thank you Jock,

I guess it is going to be a learning curve for me. I think one saving grace for me, if I can call it that, is Over on this side of the Atlantic, most are not really attuned to the proper way a Kilt should be worn. Even at the Highland Games I attended in August, I seen all kinds of examples of the way the kilt was worn, and how it was attired. I do know, once my Tartan Kilt comes from the Kilt Maker, I won't be wearing my current Utility/Cargo kilt much. In fact I was told that I overdress the Utility Kilt, and should only wear it with a T-Shirt, Scrunched Socks and Boots.

Thank you again, for your advice.

Bill