Flashes &sgian duhn questions

[piperdbh]

Not all legs are as perfect as my wife's!

And also with you?

[ForresterModern]

I generally wear either garters with flashes or garter ties whose ends then become the flashes when they hang out below the hose turnover. Otherwise, as Ryan says, your hose tops will head south with any activity.

I rarely wear a sgian dhub mainly because, aside from highland games and similar celtic themed events, most of the time I am out kilted I am places where I would not carry a knife, certainly not one of the size of a SD, and certainly not in an openly visible manner (work--a children's hospital, a function with my son and his friends, golfing, horseraces, black tie dinner, etc...). IMHO not a necessity, although I do have a few that are indeed functional with a sharpened edge, I think the most I have used them for was to cut off some tags from something I bought at a games or to trim a couple loose threads here and there, maybe split an apple or orange once or twice.

[Tobus]

I always wear traditional garter ties. I love the way they look, and they do a fine job holding my hose up. Without garter ties (or flashes, if you care for that look, which I don't), they just look like tall socks to me. But with them, they look like kilt hose should look. That's just the way I personally see it. I have, though, seen some examples of really thick hose with chunky turnovers that look OK without visible flashes/garters. I guess it's an issue of proportion. I do think it would be easier to get away without them if one were wearing patterned hose, or patterned cuffs, rather than plain self-coloured hose.

I usually wear a sgian dubh, but if I'm going somewhere that it might be a problem, I'll leave it behind. So I can go either way with it. I do see it as a normal part of Highland attire, but don't think it looks "off" when it's missing.

When I do wear one, though, it's always a functional knife. Wearing a fake or non-functional knife just for looks seems kind of strange to me, like it's a prop for a stage costume.

[Dale Seago]

For me:

Everything Tobus just said. Garter ties and functional sgian; only time I don't wear the latter kilted is in Japan, where it stays under my pillow in my room.

[lukeyrobertson]

I wear mostly traditional garter ties. I also had my wife help me sew some waistband elastic into garters when I want the hose to stay up but not have any flashes showing. That way the hose don't slide down. I reserve the sd for more dressy situations.