Gentlemen, polish your shoes

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Looking at all of the photos of Highland Games that have been posted I have noticed that very, very, very few gentlemen seem to polish their shoes when kilted (please, no comedians with smart remarks about trainers, sandals, flip flops, etc.). If you are going to wear "proper" shoes, the least you can do is polish them.

[Colonel MacNeal]

I often wear oiled shoes with my kilt on casual occasions, and they don't take a polish. I believe quite a few other gents do as well.

[cessna152towser]

I would NEVER wear polished shoes with a kilt, there is no need to exhibit to others a reflection of what is under the kilt.
I do wear dressy shoes with a kilt sometimes but these are not freshly polished.
For most situations boots are more suitable as they provide better traction.

[pdcorlis]

I suspect that in some quarters shoe polishing is a lost art.

[gilmore]

One does NOT wear polished shoes with a kilt, there is no need to exhibit to others a reflection of what is under the kilt.
I do wear dressy shoes with a kilt sometimes but these are not freshly polished.
For most situations boots are more suitable as they provide better traction.

Depends on the effect one wants to create....

[JS Sanders]

Dunno - may be a futile exercise.

I pipe at a lotta funerals and believe me when I say funeral directors always give you the once-over. Shined shoes impress them.

But they'll be the first to admit even well maintained cemeteries always are dusty. Even a short walk to a graveside will give one's shoes a fine coating of dust. It seems so even after rain.

Perhaps the same at Highland Games? Lotsa people to stir things up.

[The F-H.C.A.G.]

At a Highland Games there is generally a lot of dust. How could you tell if the shoes were polished or not when the wearer arrived? They're covered in dust within a few minutes regardless.

Be well,

[Dall_Piobaire]

I am with MacMillan, especially on the "proper" bit. I do believe a good polish is a lost art. Remember the guys at the train stations and airports, oh and outside the barber shops, and I am not that old either.

[Nighthawk]

Can I ask here- why bother? Have you ever been to one of these festivals? They're dusty and dirty! The shine would be gone be before you ever got through the gates! Why even wear brogues in the first place? If I'm going to be standing at a festival for 9+ hours (like yesterday) there is no way I'm wearing brogues anyway! It's much more sensible to wear something comfortable- like a nice pair of moccasins for example. Not to get down on those of you who want to wear your nice shoes to a fest or the games- but even a lot of pipers who were competing at the festival yesterday were wearing black tennis shoes with ghillie laces, instead of proper brogues. I just pose this question because I can't stand to wear mine for more than a few hours at weddings and Burns Suppers and such- and I spend a lot of time at those sitting down.

[Rogerson785]

Arriving at the 2009 Kansas City Highland games I had brush shined brown shoes and after the rain and mud from the previous night they were no longer polished, sorry.

I think that you can catch a slight shine off my left shoe?


However, later that night I switched kilts and changed to black boots and when I returned to my motel the boots were no longer black but two toned brown and black.

As you can see some shoes and boots do not take to polish too well and given certain conditions at the games many people will forgo their Burns shoes for well the Burns dinner and not get all muddy at the games, and as you can see none of us were wearing running shoes, sandals or Crocs.