Quote Originally Posted by MacLowlife View Post
But here is an analogy...

We are dealing with something we might term Dinna Ken wha' or as our friend Robert calls it Je ne Sais Quoi....

Similarly, many of us can't afford to buy brand new, even off the rack brand new. A virtue of the necessity of cobbling together is the style that emerges from the process of tinkering and modifying and altering. I'd like to think that comes from paying attention, instead of just paying a lot of money.
That's a very good point. The pics posted earlier illustrate it very well. The "PC" in the photo was fashioned from a used tailcoat. At a glance it looks like another PC but something is different, though it isn't immediately apparent. If the workmanship is good it is a one-of-a-kind peice that is unique in an understated way.

I wish I had known what I know now when we had our wedding. I wore my kilt, but skipped the PC and went with an Argyle (a rental no less)in black with white shirt and black tie. It's the exact same one we see in every rental shop, almost every company website, etc. The whole kit looked good, but didn't look "like me." If I had it to do over I would have picked up a tux jacket or tailcoat and went to work on it adding all those details I've come to love.

One thing that I also have noticed is that it's easy to spot the guys who are truly comfortable in a kilt--comfortable enough to "do their own thing". It took me wearing it frequently for months, as everyday clothing, before my own style started to show. In my case I had to get comfortable enough to see it as "just another article of clothing" before I could shake the idea that it has to be worn this way or that. Now I find myself mixing black and brown leathers(if HRH Prince Charles can do it, why can't I), wearing flashes or ties that aren't of a color in the tartan, wearing a grey jacket with the blue waistcoat I just got. My wife says I'm starting to look like I dress in the dark...after seeing a lot of pics, many being of royalty and aristocracy in Scotland(no offense intended), I take it as a compliment because that's what I though of them at first! I know better now--thanks in large part to the folks on this forum.

That could be one of the things leading some to see the guidlines as chisled in stone rules. Those who only wear a kilt for special occasions often have one or two "outfits" that fit withing the confines of what is often preached as "proper" and haven't spent enough time between the apron and pleats to be comfortable breaking out of the mold. Others seem to see it as a sacred thing and hence it must be done in an almost ritualistic way. That is how they are comfortable doing it, and that's perfectly fine. I'm not a kilt-kop. I noticed a long time ago that even in a wall of black suits the guy who wears a unique tie and shirt stands out--not because it's flashy or bright, but because he looks (and is) comfortable enough to let his persona show through.