Kilt outfits and colour selection

[OC Richard]

Tomo, to my eye except for the far-left outfit (which has hose that match the kilt) your outfits follow the principle of the main accessories neither matching the kilt nor each other, which I think looks best.

Spending my life in the Pipe Band world, where outfits are generally viewed en masse, from a distance, and mostly from behind I came to realise that from a design standpoint a Highland outfit consists of three major equal-sized horizontal bands of colour

Jacket
Kilt
Hose

This being the case, outfits that have all three match are throwing all of their colour possibilities out the window, and outfits that match two of the three are still only utilising less than half their potential.

Outfits that have all three contrasting are firing on all cylinders, and Tomo's centre and right-hand outfits are like that.

Here's the Pipe Band thing, the overall design is like a flag having three equal horizontal stripes black/red/white





That photo is from the 1990s when everybody wore white hose and black jackets and the overall intent was to have the kilt be the only coloured thing, all other elements being either black or white.

With Highland outfits worn by individuals, which are seen closeup and separately, there's far more room for subtlety and more complex colour juxtapositions than in Pipe Band uniforms which tend to have 3-colour or 2-colour schemes.

[Katia]

I admit it: I like matching. Partly for aesthetic reasons, and partly because I am not the sort of person who could pull off non-matching accessories without someone thinking, "Oh, poor thing, either she couldn't find the hose and top that matched her kilt this morning and had to wear just anything that was clean, or all she can afford is to just buy whatever even though it doesn't go together."

[Highland Logan]

I admit it: I like matching. Partly for aesthetic reasons, and partly because I am not the sort of person who could pull off non-matching accessories without someone thinking, "Oh, poor thing, either she couldn't find the hose and top that matched her kilt this morning and had to wear just anything that was clean, or all she can afford is to just buy whatever even though it doesn't go together."

Maybe just change your thinking. The opposite of matching is not non-matching, it's complementary. And for the people whom can't tell the difference... well just think of the outing as a stroll in the Highlands amongst the sheep.

Frank

[OC Richard]

At least with people new to Highland Dress, I think it helps to cast things in terms of what they're used to, "Saxon" dress.

Here's matching.



When I Googled "matching suits shirts ties" (I worded it various ways) I came upon a large number of advice articles, none of which were about outfits like that.

Rather, they were all discussing co-ordinating suits, shirts, and ties. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-XfcKuK5jU

Co-ordinating involves using contrasting things and is the diametric opposite of matching.

I think there's a strong visual reason to not match the kilt's colours in the accessories: it tends to drain colour from the kilt, diminishing the beauty of the tartan.

Say if a kilt is around 50/50 red/green. If your jacket and hose are the same green as the kilt's, the green in the kilt visually fades due to be subsumed by the surrounding green. It's why photographers wouldn't photograph a green object against a matching green backgound. (Well they might, if the client demanded it.)

Without being surrounded by a sea of matching green, the green in the kilt is free to vibrate against the red in the kilt (green and red being complimentary colours).

And wearing an outfit entirely of cloth the same colour as your skin wouldn't do your complexion any favours.

[Steve Ashton]

I once wore two matching socks, but for the life of me can't remember any time I counted how many colors were in what I wore.

I guess my only "rule" to myself is I refuse to dress in TCHD or like I stepped out of some old catalog.
I'm not a Highland Scot, not pretending to be Scottish, and not going to a Halloween ball. When meeting someone on the street it is the visual "first impression", before you open your mouth, that sets the tone. I don't want my first impression to be "Oh look, a Scot in a kilt. Where are the bagpipes?". I would prefer that they don't even notice the kilt at first glance.

I also don't dress in an outfit inspired by a military uniform. I wore a uniform for much of my adult life and don't think I need a military look to prove how macho I am in my kilt.

This is much the same "first impression" thinking I use if I dressed in pants. My goal is that I never have to wear this T-Shirt.

[McMurdo]

Here is a recent photo of me:



From the bottom to the top I'll go through the outfit:

Shoes: Black
Hose: Purple
Kilt: Predominately Blue and Black with Red & White stripes
Sporran: Brown
Jacket & Waistcoat: Light Brown
Tie: Red, Green & Blue
Shirt: Tattersall

I don't try to look like anything I am not when wearing Highland Dress. I am a First Generation Canadian who is proud of his heritage and culture. This is simply for me where regular kilt wear has taken me over the years as my personal style has developed. I wore the hose with this kilt because I had never done it before and I've always found this a difficult tartan to pair things with.

Another recent photo this one a bit more casual:



Shoes: Black
Hose: Claret
Garter Ties: Green
Kilt: Graham of Mentieth (Green, Blue, Black & White)
Sporran: Brown with a Brass Cantle
Wolly Pully: Navy Blue
Shirt: Tattersall

So lots of colour here as well, but to my eye they all work well together.

[Jock Scot]

I once wore two matching socks, but for the life of me can't remember any time I counted how many colors were in what I wore.

I guess my only "rule" to myself is I refuse to dress in TCHD or like I stepped out of some old catalog.
I'm not a Highland Scot, not pretending to be Scottish, and not going to a Halloween ball. When meeting someone on the street it is the visual "first impression", before you open your mouth, that sets the tone. I don't want my first impression to be "Oh look, a Scot in a kilt. Where are the bagpipes?". I would prefer that they don't even notice the kilt at first glance.

I also don't dress in an outfit inspired by a military uniform. I wore a uniform for much of my adult life and don't think I need a military look to prove how macho I am in my kilt.

This is much the same "first impression" thinking I use if I dressed in pants. My goal is that I never have to wear this T-Shirt.

I can understand and agree with much of what you say Steve, but from what I have seen from some of your pictures you do sometimes do a very good job of THCD and we regular kilt wearers over here don't want to look like we make our attire choices from a catalog either. It is an understandable mistake that some of those new to kilt attire make as they have a picture to follow in their mind, still it could be worse, they could go down the Hire Company route!

Yes, your perfectly legitimate tartan choice-------Xmarksthescot tartan and the US Marine Corps tartan ------- would baffle most Scots as they are not familiar with them, but then, most Scots would probably only recognise their own tartan and perhaps a few more anyway, I think most of us over here see a tartan kilt without much conscious thought. How they are wearing it however, does often register briefly in the mind.

[OC Richard]

About rules, rules are usually customs which have been noticed, then transmitted orally or through writing.

The custom exists whether or not anyone becomes conscious of it, or whether or not anyone conscious of it puts it into verbal form and transmits it to others.

You wouldn't say "there he go" or "there they goes" whether or not you were aware of the rule concerning S at the end of certain verbs.

And longtime kilt wearers accessorise their kilt according to a host of customs whether or not they are aware that the customs exist.

Those new to kiltwearing might violate these customs just as people new to English might say "there he go". To help newbies we verbalise customs, and customs once spoken are often taken to be rules.

Imagine somebody that knew nothing about Highland Dress brought you this photo saying "I want to put together a kilt outfit for my wedding, I found this nice photo of Scottish outfits, I wonder if you could explain everything to me."

Suddenly you would be in the position of trying to take note of, and verbalise, a large number of customs, some of which you might not previously have been consciously aware of.

[Katia]

Maybe just change your thinking. The opposite of matching is not non-matching, it's complementary. And for the people whom can't tell the difference... well just think of the outing as a stroll in the Highlands amongst the sheep.

Frank

I don't really feel the need to change my thinking, no. I like my thinking just fine. I just choose to match my outfits differently than you might.