Puzzle of the Brown Kilt Hose

[Bugbear]

The dark brown, over-the-knee, wool stockings from Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc that I ordered can bee seen in the after pictures of the jacket conversion I talk about in this thread. They are at this album link: Corduroy Jacket Conversion album
I also ended up ordering The Scottish Tartans Museum's Lewis kilt hose which can be seen in the complete ensemble pictures at this album link:Building a Daywear Ensemble



This evening I ordered
the dark brown, over-the-knee, wool stockings from Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc., and hope to review them soon. They are to be part of my daywear outfit, and are the last piece: shoes, brown wool tie, light blue button down and white button down shirts, jacket, waistcoat, kilt, bunny sporran, alturnative plain brown sporran, optional belt (minus waistcoat), kilt pin, and non-cream-colored hose. Ehh, sometimes the tweed flatcap for the American look too; sorry Jock Scot.

A while back MacMillan of Rathdown suggested in my "Bunny Sporran" thread that I pair brown hose to my wool Stillwater, half-set, Weathered Lamont kilt. We also discussed a brown, corduroy jacket and waistcoat he once had, and this lead to me converting a brown corduroy suit jacket and waistcoat to fit my kilt. I mean if it worked for him...

All this is to avoid having anymore pictures taken of me wearing cream colored hose until I am able to buy The Scottish Tartans Museum's "Lewis Kilt Hose."

The funny part of the whole puzzle is that I won't know if the jacket is acceptable until I post pictures, so I had to start somewhere: a twenty dollar pair of long socks.

I figure that these will be a different shade of brown from the Lewis hose, and would have a different look to them. It's also good to have more than one pair of socks. It has been a bit of a challenge finding suitable brown wool hose, though, and I'm finding that accessories are not always a one-shop-stop deal.

[Jock Scot]

Go for it Ted.You have put a lot of thought into your outfit and as you say you have to start somewhere and your brown hose will do fine. Now! About this flat cap of yours. Well, I will forgive you,-------eventually!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Just for reference, the "brown" Lewis hose are a nice mid-shade of brown. The "bison" color Lewis hose is a lighter brown, more of a tan or oatmeal color.

[Bugbear]

Go for it Ted.You have put a lot of thought into your outfit and as you say you have to start somewhere and your brown hose will do fine. Now! About this flat cap of yours. Well, I will forgive you,-------eventually!

Thanks Jock Scot. I'll try to leave the flat cap out of some of the pictures.

These dark brown hose will eventually end up with the dark brown jacket and waistcoat that I am about to start cutting and sewing on as a conversion. That will put to use a three piece suit that is missing it's matching trousers by adding the kilt. It will also allow me to direct the money that I won't be spending on these jackets toward the Lewis hose, and eventually a traditional kilt and kilt jacket et al that would be usable as day or evening wear. That is why I called it a puzzle because all these pieces have to fit together or it will be an un-frugal mess.

I think the Lewis hose will be better, reading Matt's post, with the current corduroy jacket and waistcoat. All of which will be better than the cream colored hose.

[Bugbear]

Just for reference, the "brown" Lewis hose are a nice mid-shade of brown. The "bison" color Lewis hose is a lighter brown, more of a tan or oatmeal color.

Thanks for describing those, Matt. When I am able, I will invest in a pair of each of those. The medium brown would probably be the closes to the color of the corduroy jacket, but I think there is a lot of color close to the "bison" in the kilt. Either should go very well, and add a nice variety to the outfit.

[starbkjrus]

I look forward to seeing this myself Ted. I really need some ideas to get some brown into my Kilt-robe.

[Bugbear]

I look forward to seeing this myself Ted. I really need some ideas to get some brown into my Kilt-robe.

I'm just trying to get the hose and jacket to be in the same color range so it frames the kilt. If it were possible or practical, I would have the hose exactly match the jacket so that together they become suit-like. * Correction note: "exactly" was a bit too strong of a word here. The jacket is corduroy which is not a single shade of brown, and also changes with light direction, so an "exact" match would not be possible. *

I decided to avoid all black jackets and accessories for this kilt because it has a lot of brown in it, but only black stripes. It just makes it easier for me... So, it ends up that I will have a brown daywear outfit, and a different kilt and outfit for everything formal and evening. That's why I'm trying to keep the costs down on this outfit by making the jacket conversions on my own and so on...

Another piece of this is that it has cooled off a bit out here, and I can wear the jacket and waistcoat a little longer than the five or so seconds it would take to get a picture.
Good luck, starbkjrus, with your Kilt-robe.

[Woodsheal]

I took my off-white (or "cream") colored kilt hose and threw them in a pot of simmering water with 10 or so tea bags. They came out a nice medium-brown shade!

[McMurdo]

I look forward to seeing this myself Ted. I really need some ideas to get some brown into my Kilt-robe.

Dee
All you need is the Isle of Skye tartan and all of a sudden Brown works

[Rex_Tremende]

I took my off-white (or "cream") colored kilt hose and threw them in a pot of simmering water with 10 or so tea bags. They came out a nice medium-brown shade!

And how did the tea taste?

Ted, I have a pair of brown hose from Gaelic Themes. For some reason, the fibers in these are tighter and tougher than in their other colors. I usually buy mediums, and they serve me well. Last year I bought a pair in medium at a Scottish festival in Kentucky, but they were so tight I couldn't pull them up my legs (I have sturdy calves, let's say). I gave them away.

Last month I found another pair in large, so I thought I'd try again. These do fit, but just barely. I haven't worn them with anything yet, and I haven't washed them. But when I do, if they shrink in the slightest, I'll send for your address.

As anyone who would watch "What Not To Wear" on TLC (as far as I know, they've never had anything to say about kilts), brown is a neutral and it can go with just about everything. I don't see a problem in mixing different shades of brown (as Glenn just demonstrated with his IoS) just as you could put it with many different shades of red, green, blue, yellow, orange, or purple - though perhaps not all at once. Sometimes, I think, if you get too matchy-matchy it looks like you tried too hard - I'm running into that with my new MacCreary. A little insouciance goes a long way.

Regards,
Rex.