Ok, so they're not MY photos, but...

[Amoskeag]

...these photos from Manley Richardson look really sharp:

Well now I like this one. Seems to me I've seen this tartan before. As a matter of fact when I wear mine we are indistinguishable. Apart from the grey hair, scraggly grey beard, 44" waistline and the 25 years or so we could be twins!

While I personally prescribe to the less is more approach to fashion I also realize that it a personal thing. I cannot feel comfortable being over critical of a fellow human being, I've been whacked a few times with the Golden Rule(er). I am an historical musician and I spend a lot of my time in historical clothing. Left to my self I fall into the category of "Thread Counter" or worse. I want my kit to be as authentic as I can possibly make it; correct underwear, stockings, straight razor, hair pomade, etc. I do this because people pay me to do this and I owe it to those who hire me to represent a correct image (alright, hopefully no one sees the underwear, but I hope you get my drift) I've been doing this for twenty years and have seen all manner of weirdness. I don't look at my clothing as costumes; I get dressed for whatever specific image or impression I am trying to achieve and then go about my business as if my attire is normal. The trick is to simply fit in as if you belong. Most of us in our daily lives wear clothes appropriate for the occasion, we don't stick out too much. Sometimes we do and thats OK as well. I certainly don't get paid to wear a kilt (most times) but I try to wear it like my usual attire.

We played a Victorian Ball on New Years Eve and we all manner of interpretations of 19thC attire; I was disappointed that there was no Highland dress as it would have been appropriate (sort of). We had "Lil Bo Peep"(I have never seen a bonnet that big, it looked like Yosemite Sam's hat!), "Count Dracula", "Scarlet O'Hara". The point is that they were all there and having a good time. They were trying. I got to give them points for that. While this is not directly kilt related I think the basic premise applies. That is not to say that there is no place for the "Kilt Snob". There are many folks here who dress to the nines and serve as a power of example to the rest of us farmers of how to do it right. The kilt is obviously a multi purpose garment, maybe a hundred years from now a tux jacket with jeans will be appropriate, Dear God I hope not!

I enjoyed the hundreds of pages of Do's and Don'ts and had a few chuckles. I was pleased to see that the bulk of the entries were true weirdness. One of the most coordinated and best looking outfits I have ever seen was the pink kilt guy. I hate that color but he had it going on!

Anyway I didn't mean to ramble, you folks have that effect on me, Heck I wore a SWK McLaren Thrifty to the gym yesterday! Next it'll be BVD's under my britches! See what you have done!
Bob

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Good point about cost. The fella in the first pic is probably wearing $1000 in highland attire. That's a lot of money. How long does it take to save up that kind of dough? At $20 a week just a bit less than a year. Three bucks a day. How much is that? The cost of a beer down at your local pub or most of pack of cigarettes?

Here's how I covered the cost of buying everything at once.

I shopped around until I found a credit card that gave me air miles as well as a decent interest rate. I used that card to buy all of my kilts, etc., and then put it away never to be used again. (Well, until the next time, that is.) Every two weeks I went on line and paid $50 to the credit card company, and in way less than a year I had three things:

All my day wear stuff, a good cedit rating, and a ton of air miles. I now use the card exclulsively for filling up the car, and zero the balance when I get the bill at the end of the month. The air miles are picking up the tickets to Scotland this summer.

[Rex_Tremende]

The kilt is obviously a multi purpose garment, maybe a hundred years from now a tux jacket with jeans will be appropriate...

Borrow that Yosemite Sam hat, slip on a pair of boots, and you've got the perfect ensemble for the Country Music Awards. Shake hands with a hundred years from now; it's here.

Regards,
Rex.

[Panache]

I am sensing a "snobby' vs. "cheapy" fight beginning to brew.

If cajunscot saves an entire year and then orders a handmade Matt Newsome boxpleat kilt in the finest quality tartan to wear with pride, that's a good thing.

If Panache saves for less time and orders a Stillwater heavyweight kilt and wears it with pride, that's a good thing.

Is the handmade kilt going to be better quality than the mass produced Stillwater?

You bet!

Does this mean that the Stillwater kilt is garbage?

Nope!

But they are different.

Just like a Miata isn't a Porsche 911.

They both can be quite nice in their own way.

It seems that most often those who knock the value of the really good stuff have never had the pleasure of owning or wearing it.

It also seems that those who knock the affordable stuff have never condescended to giving it a try.

I (like McMurdo and a few others here on XMTS) have a bit of perspective and see the place for both types.

The Mod Squad is really sick to death of these kinds of arguments.

I believe that Greg's original point was to try and illustrate the concept of understated kilt outfits.

Let's stick with that.

By the by,

...Actually a nice pair of intact wingtips goes very well with a kilt.

I'm with Rex. If you want Ghillie Brogues then do yourself a favor and save up for ghillie brogues. If you don't, then just get a pair of nice dress shoes. They will work great with a kilt.


Cheers

Jamie

[auld argonian]

It may just be me but whenever I see these posed model shots I always think that the shoulders of the jackets look too broad for the person wearing them. There's just some kind of problem with the proportions...I have that problem when trying on jackets; sometimes they fit in every other way but the shoulders look too broad. I refer to it as the "Clark Kent Look" after those old Superman TV shows from the Fifties where George Reeves wardrobe as Clark Kent had these almost geometrically shaped suit coats.

Is it just me or does anybody else see this?

Best

AA

[Riverkilt]

I agree with the simplicity.

This isn't my photo either, but its one of my favorites for kilt simplicity.


Sweater, vest in lieu of sporran, and maybe no belt but hard to tell for sure.

And, hey, where can I get one of those crooks...look neat with the kilt but I don't think it'll be very functional with cattle.

Ron

[McMurdo]

Ron you could try here

[Panache]

I have removed a post from this thread that was very insulting to some of the membership of our forum. I would remind everyone that simple courtsey toward all is expected. We may disagree, but we should always remain the ladies and gentlemen of X Marks the Scot.

Respectfully

Jamie

[beloitpiper]

I think some people misunderstood me. Please don't confuse "simplicity" with "expensive". One person can look really great in a Stillwater, and another look really bad in a tank. It's all how you wear it. And in my opinion, simplicity helps...a lot. Even in boots, scrunched down hose, kilt, and rugby shirt you can look really good. In fact, this is how I wear my kilt most of the time.

I hope that clarifies things a bit.

[beloitpiper]

Just how were the last two yours?

Oh, and those were taken by me. The guy in the photo is my friend Nick King, and we did a photoshoot last winter. The whole outfit is mine, but the model is my friend. I was the photographer.