A Different take on White Kilt Hose

[FossilHunter]

Perhaps he is talking about this look. This is a Scottish wedding, in Scotland, attended by Scots.

I don’t usually see so many pirate shirts in kilted wedding photos. Lots of “chieftain vests” too.

[Jock Scot]

I don’t usually see so many pirate shirts in kilted wedding photos. Lots of “chieftain vests” too.

I do not wish to be unkind to anyone in that picture ( a lowlands wedding I suspect), but nearly everyone in that picture shows to a greater or lesser extent a " hire( rented) company " influence with their attire. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that if that is their choice and as long as they are provided with the full knowledge of the facts, but as an example of traditional kilt attire worn to a wedding then , I am sorry , it fails miserably.

[kingandrew]

It does look unfortunate when everyoneshows up in the same color socks.

I've worn white socks before with formal wear (in my early kilt days). But I happily wear other colors/patterns, too. But I don't see white as wrong so much as unimaginative and dull.

And I have nothing against the "pirate" shirt or "chieftan" vest, and do wear them on occasion myself. But I would not wear them to a wedding. To me they are casual wear, and i dress up for weddings. And I do wonder why I don't see any daywear jackets in this photo, since it seems to have been taken during the day. I would have thought there would be at least a few Argylls, whether black or tweed, as well as a few of the less fancy models.

Andrew

[Tobus]

And I do wonder why I don't see any daywear jackets in this photo, since it seems to have been taken during the day. I would have thought there would be at least a few Argylls, whether black or tweed, as well as a few of the less fancy models.

That was one of the first things that jumped out at me in this photo. This is obviously a daytime wedding, but most of the men are dressed in evening attire. Then I started looking at their sporrans, which all look eerily similar in style. Then the shoes. They're all wearing ghillie brogues except for that one fellow with his combat boots and scrunched socks. The more I look at this photo, the more I tend to agree that the "kilt hire effect" is at play.

[Katia]

I've worn white (cream) with my kilt, if not wearing the argyle hose... but... only because I feel I can get away with it since as a dress tartan, white does figure prominently in the sett (well, and also because my white personally-owned kilt hose are the cotton ones, and I've only found those in white and black, and I do love cotton hose). Otherwise I wouldn't bother. (I much prefer to wear gray, though.)

[FossilHunter]

That was one of the first things that jumped out at me in this photo. This is obviously a daytime wedding, but most of the men are dressed in evening attire. Then I started looking at their sporrans, which all look eerily similar in style. Then the shoes. They're all wearing ghillie brogues except for that one fellow with his combat boots and scrunched socks. The more I look at this photo, the more I tend to agree that the "kilt hire effect" is at play.

White hose, ghillie brogues, Prince Charlies during the day, semi formal sporrans.

All this combined screams hire shop to me. And I would bet it’s a hire shop that rents out pirate shirts as well.

And if most Scots only rent kilts when they need or want them, it shouldnt surprise anyone that they would think white hose are traditional or correct. That’s all they would ever see.

[Father Bill]

Agreed on the hire-shop interference. Trouble is, this guy owns his own and everything else looked good escept for the knee down.

[Tobus]

I think this all points to the fact that there isn't one single tradition in the Highlands, despite what people may wish to believe. There may be regional differences, but there are also personal differences between families, or groups, or social circles. Some are influenced by the traditions of their forebears which are handed down directly. Others are influenced by what others wear, such as their clan chiefs or other notable people. And yet others are influenced by hire shops, adverts, or more recent traditions from the 1980s onward. When someone says, "that's the way WE do it", he cannot possibly speak for everyone in the Highlands or even his own region.

In other words, we should never put too much stock into one person's declaration of what's "correct".

[OC Richard]

I do wonder why I don't see any daywear jackets in this photo, since it seems to have been taken during the day.

As I've mentioned before, I pipe at many weddings here in California and fairly often one side of the family flies over from Scotland.

These Scots have nearly always been dressed in standard Hire dress, with the ubiquitous black Prince Charlies, white hose, and ghillies laced high.

About the white hose aspect of it I will say that I've not piped at one of these weddings recently, not since dark hose began supplanting white hose in Scotland. These weddings were all during the white hose hegemony.

When I show up in a charcoal grey Argyll I'll be the only gent not in black.