Civilian Spats

[James MacMillan]

I'm totally reserving judgement on the spat issue till I have a chance to see what the many components look like together as a whole.

As for the initial purpose of spats - weren't they made to protect the shoe? High formal wear for the pants crowd would see black or grey spats. Pipers and the gun carriers wear them also.

Has anybody seen a graphic of spats with formal highland attire?

[Nick]

As for the initial purpose of spats - weren't they made to protect the shoe? High formal wear for the pants crowd would see black or grey spats. Pipers and the gun carriers wear them also.

Initially, when they were still "spatterdashes". By the time they evolved into ankle spats they were mostly decorative. Spatterdash.com is the best place to go for ankle spats, I haven't bought a pair myself yet, though once I've got the money I will. They should be coming out with boxcloth spats with leather straps and buckles, though I'm not sure when.

Grey was the most common color, along with tan and white. White is the most formal, though it did depend on the time of day and climate. Grey is the best all around.

I've seen the piper's spats with the level tops for sale a couple times. I'll take a look 'round and see if I can find them again.

Cheers,
Nick

[Chef]

The Tartan Thistle's 100% Wool diced hose are of a much better quality that the acrylic hose from Higgins.

I won't knock anyone who has them, but I think they are a budget item that would be a good choice for light wear or for a pipe band on a budget. I'd be afraid they wouldn't hold up so if that was my choice I would stick with the good off-white hose I wear.

I did find ..this.. where they sell different colored spats, and I just might try them.

I came across this site as well. The only problem with their ankle spats is I don't think they are tall enough to use with hose tops. I think they would look great with a tux though. On that note however, I sent them an email asking if it was possible to have them made a little taller (similar to the ones Sir Harry was wearing). I'll let you know if I get an answer.

Grey was the most common color, along with tan and white. White is the most formal, though it did depend on the time of day and climate. Grey is the best all around.

That was always my understanding from the pictures.

I've seen the piper's spats with the level tops for sale a couple times. I'll take a look 'round and see if I can find them again.

That would be great. I've seen them but I couldn't find them in my search. The two things that I think make the piper's spats a bad choice for regular wear are the rise in the back and the fact they cover so much of the shoe. From the pictures the rise in the back seems difficult to correct but if one found the horizontal tops I'm sure a shoe repair shop could make the changes to the bottom.