Which outfit is "more Scottish?"

[ThistleDown]

With all due respect to you all, may I suggest that we turn this around?

Assume that this is an American teaching in a Turkish school and invited to wear dress that tells his/her students something about American culture by way of appropriate and traditional dress. The choices (and I am bound to miss some) are: (1) sombrero (2) high-crown stetson (3) bowler (4) tricorn (5) Tilley (6) Homberg (7) turban (8) nothing; and he/she choses to accompany any of those with (a) shorts (b) jeans (c) tuxedo pants (d) chaps (e) pantaloons, and has the option of adding (i) a pheasant feather (ii) wool tights (iii) ? ...you get the idea.

Mix and match. But whatever you do, you surely will not get all in America to agree that what you come up with is traditional American dress today.

In regards to the National Dress of Scotland, on the other hand, you will easily obtain from Scots what is "correct and/or accepted" attire for any occasion at any time of the day -- in Scotland -- because we don't have your wonderful confusion of styles, fashions, cultures and traditions. But you must understand that our culture is based on tradition and that is what drives us to say what is and what is not acceptable Highland dress today. If you wish to wear Scottish National Dress, therefore, dress as a Scot wears it.

Was that a rant? If so, I apologise.