Black Tie Combinations

[McMurdo]

Is kiltie a defunct brand? I couldn’t find much about them online. There are some children’s buckle brogues made by kiltie on the uk ebay though.

I have no idea, mine came from a seller in Eastern Europe who described them as dead-stock military shoes if memory serves.

[Blaidd]

Here's the most detailed discussion of formal dress I can find



Note here the mention of jabot, black tie, and white tie



Here's the rest of the Evening Dress outfit





IMHO plain hose, ordinary ghillies, hunting sporrans, and other such Day Dress items aren't suitable for Evening Dress.

OC this was a fantastic read, thank you. What publication is the extract from?

[OC Richard]

One of the vintage Highland Dress catalogues I have.

It's interesting because some of those are mere catalogues, others have articles on the history of Highland Dress, and guides to the wearing of Highland Dress.

About buckled brogues, I think I'll start a new thread about those, rather than tack it onto this thread.

[Friday]

I can't imagine that those blistering and bleeding feet were cause by the top of the shoes so can only imagine that the shoes those fellows wore were ill fitting to begin with

I remember seeing comments when looking at Gillies that band Gilles often had thicker soles. As a thicker soled shoe they would require a longer time to break them in. I wonder how much of the problem with Gillies is lack of proper break in period.

[Blaidd]

I remember seeing comments when looking at Gillies that band Gilles often had thicker soles. As a thicker soled shoe they would require a longer time to break them in. I wonder how much of the problem with Gillies is lack of proper break in period.

If you are referring to the military bands, I assume you describe the 'double soling' practice, often used for drill/ammo boots. The intent, apart from making a heavier sound when horseshoed and hobnailed, was to prevent the leather upper from creasing, by restricting the bending of the foot, and thereby cracking the highly bulled polished finish. From experience, the damage to the foot was no worse, because movement was restricted

Just a point of interest.

[Liam]

I chuckle as I read the comments about kilt hire shops today. The recent historic posts in this thread are from the equivalent of kilt hire shops in their day.... albeit much more knowledgeable ones, but tailors in their day were much the same.... they had a great deal of influence in dictating fashion, just as do many rental shops today, unfortunately....

[Orvis]

Steve,

I knew you were USMC, but didn't know about your Army service. I'm retired USMC. Thanks for what you did for our country. And you look bloody spiffy in your Prince Charlie.

With regard to the formal higher levels of Scottish Dress, I've gone to black tie events wearing a black Argyle/vest with silver buttons and didn't draw any unfavorable comments. I haven't yet obtained a Prince Charlie, but am thinking about it for any future black tie events. Another thing I was thinking about (and I'm probably overthinking this) was that for white tie (not that I'm ever expecting to be invited to such an event), the Prince Charlie could be pressed into double service with a white pique waistcoat/silver buttons, pearl studs (for the shirt) and a white bowtie. Or, would I get driven out with lashes and scorn by the Kilt Kops for my presumptuousness?

Semper Fi!

[OC Richard]

The recent historic posts in this thread are from the equivalent of kilt hire shops in their day.... albeit much more knowledgeable ones, but tailors in their day were much the same.... they had a great deal of influence in dictating fashion, just as do many rental shops today, unfortunately....

It's interesting, the way the articles in those old catalogues are written.

For example here are excerpts from the introductory article on Highland Dress in the 1939 Paisleys (Glasgow) catalogue:

"The history of Scotland's national dress is too long to tell in a short preface...

The records, well preserved, have been carefully handed down, and today The House Of Paisleys is relied upon for authentic information on all matters pertaining to Highland Dress adapted to modern conditions.

The true making of Highland Dress is a highly expert business...

If any questions are left unanswered, or you desire special information upon any point, you are cordially invited to send us your enquiry..."

And there you have it!

[OC Richard]

I remember seeing comments when looking at Ghillies that band Ghillies often had thicker soles.

When I bought my first pair, around 1976, Keltic offered two styles of Ghillies: a lighter thinner softer flexible type, and a thicker stiffer heavier brogue type.

I bought the lighter ones, and I wore those for over 20 years, some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.

In the mid-1980s I bought a second pair, which I still wear regularly, also the lighter type.

Nowadays all the pipers seem to wear the heavy thick stiff type. I don't know if anyone makes the thinner ones now.

Keltic appears to be defunct.

Here's an old pair of Keltic shoes. They appear to be the heavy "brogue" style.

[LKM]

There are brands that sell their shoes with thicker soles as band or piper ghillie brogues. A few examples are below:
https://www.usakilts.com/pipers-ghillie-brogues.html
https://kiltsandmore.com/piper-ghill...:c113:len.html
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/kilts-a...e-brogues.html
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/kilts-a...e-brogues.html
https://www.amazon.com/Thistle-Shoes.../dp/B01N0T7IQ6

These are advertised as more comfortable and better padded, yet the issue for many people is not the padding or the thickness of the soles, it's the fit of the shoe. We all have different feet and some people, such as myself, have the issue of needing to find shoes that are shaped like our feet. If there was a place in Colorado that I could try on some of these ghillies I would try them on. I wish I could just order the shoes sight unseen and expect them to fit.

My shoe issues:
I wear a size US 13 wide or extra wide, my arch sits differently on my foot then most shoes are made for, and my toes don't tapper much at all. I know I'm not alone in having a foot shape that is not what most shoe makers use. Nearly everyone I have met with feet over US size 12 go for wide or extra wide. Many shoe companies do not even make shoes over US mens size 11 or 12, and most that do rarely make the shoes wide width. If you go into a large shoe store you till find isle after isle of womens shoes, about 2 or 3 isles of mens shoes, and only a few shelves of shoes over size 12. It can take months or years to find a single pair of shoes that fit my feet and I have often resorted to special ordering shoes from shoe makers that have fit in the past.