Clan tartan ties, unforgivable sin?

[kingandrew]

Luke,

The outfit looks great. For some reason I always thought you looked like your clean-shaven avatar and thus didn't recognize you in the picture

Dollander,
I think it's great that you have put all this out there and expressed yourself so clearly. I have several thoughts in response:

1. I can totally see where you get a class snobbery vibe from ideas about what is "done" or not. However, I really don't think that is the crux of the issue to most on this forum. As Jock says, the man on a budget can't afford to buy items of poor taste or quality, since he won't be able to upgrade them for a long time. There is nothing wrong with renting, but there are some things that often come from rental shops that don't look too good. Sadly, most rental shops are much more focused on short-term profit than on advising customers on how to look their best so they become repeat customers. Of course the rental firms are in business and need to make a profit. But it surely would be no more expensive for them to offer helpful advice to their clients. And it is certainly quite possible to dress poorly in expensive clothes of one's own.

2. I am not a fan of white kilt hose, but I have a pair and have worn them at times. When I first started wearing the kilt, I read (I think in Thompson's "So You're Going to Wear the Kilt") that white was considered the preferred color for formal events. So I got some, in order to respect the formal conventions. It does make a sort of sense, as it goes with the fairly austere black/white palette of most formal wear (aside from our tartan kilts and plaids). As I've learned more, I've experimented with other colors and plan to get some argyle hose, as these look more formal to me. So our tastes will evolve and reading the posts on this forum can educate us to details we might otherwise overlook.

3. I don't know why Springsteen wore a tux t-shirt to the Grammies. I have little regard for the Grammy ceremony, but it would seem not going would be a more effective protest than dressing in a tacky and disrespectful manner. I love Springsteen's songwriting and recordings, but I would not be a customer of any "Boss Designer Wear" apparel he would offer. I feel the same way about the many clothing lines endorsed by talented musicians who are not talented clothing designers. Every "red carpet" photoessay shows many examples of rich and famous people who haven't bothered to learn the conventions of formal wear and unfortunately look sloppy or like "fashion victims" as a result.

4. I share your appreciation for Bad Religion and other punk rock artists. And I like to take risks and express myself in my appearance. But I think formal wear is one place where such options are pretty limited. After all, if it gets too innovative or outside the rules, it isn't formal any more. Frankly, wearing a kilt rather than a tuxedo to a formal event is about as innovative as is probably advisable. "Formal" and "uniform" share the same root, form, which means "shape." In both cases, following a specific set of guidelines is what creates the sense of everyone sharing the "form." Formalwear is the closest most civilians will get to a uniform.

5. I think that the members here are all looking to be more knowledgeable and skillful in their kilt-wearing. The comments presented are more about appreciating when this is done well or fine-tuning where it could perhaps be done better. The goal (I hope) is not to canonize a few and castigate everyone else. Rather, discussing and questioning what makes a great outfit great will help me learn how to better express myself in my own outfits and what to look for in items I add to my wardrobe. Understanding the details that make Jimi Hendrix or Mozart stand out so much can help me be a better musician and/or listener.

All that said, I think it is important for us to question why we have such strong opinions on some things and to avoid judging a person's deeper character based only on his or her attire. Oscar Wilde said (tongue-in-cheek), "A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life," but surely it is not the last or most important step.

Andrew