The Solid Coloured Kilt

[CMcG]

I've become interested in solid coloured kilts: Irish green or saffron, tweed, shadow tartan, contemporary, etc. Not quite as interested in modern kilts like UKs, AKs etc because I prefer a more traditional cut/style of kilt. FYI Matt Newsome has a great article (2006) about solid colored kilts that interested rabble ought to read, if they haven't already.

I'd like to elicit some discussion about single colour kilts:

- Do you like them? Why or why not?

- Should a solid colour or tweed kilt be worn the same or differently from a tartan kilt? If there is a difference from tartan kilts, what general stylistic or aesthetic principles can you suggest for solid colour kilting?

- I've done some visual research and am going to post a few different series of photos. Do the outfits in the photos work? Why or why not?

[CMcG]

[OC Richard]

What a great thread! I'm a "visual guy" and I love seeing a lot of photos like this, for my "eye" to adjust to accepting self-coloured kilts as normal.

I really like the "windowpane" outfits people have shown us.

Here are some more vintage photos.

This is very interesting, a stripe along the selvedge:



This might be a very dark tartan, it's hard to see:



Not really self-coloured but interesting:



And in the Army, the London Scottish:





And the 21st Battalion from Canada:

[M. A. C. Newsome]

What a great thread! I'm a "visual guy" and I love seeing a lot of photos like this, for my "eye" to adjust to accepting self-coloured kilts as normal.

I really like the "windowpane" outfits people have shown us.

Here are some more vintage photos.

This is very interesting, a stripe along the selvedge:

A dominant horizontal stripe along the bottom of an otherwise solid colored kilt was not all that uncommon at one time. We have a matching kilt and jacket for a small boy in the museum that is a solid brown (similar in color to the London Scottish kilts, actually), with a darker brown stripe about an inch above the selvage of the kilt.

There is a photo that graces the back cover of Bob Martin's All About Your Kilt from the Royal Archives. It shows Queen Victoria's Ghillies at Balmoral, October, 1858. Of the nine men in the photo (all kilted), three are wearing Balmoral tartan, the other six are in solid kilts. Of the six in solid kilts, two have this sort of stripe along the bottom.

This might be a very dark tartan, it's hard to see:

I think you are correct, this is a tartan kilt.

Not really self-coloured but interesting:

This is the Northumberland tartan, aka Shepherd's Check.

[CMcG]

[CMcG]

[CMcG]

[CMcG]

[BoldHighlander]

[BoldHighlander]

I like the "Irish" solid coloured (saffron & green) kilts, in fact I'd like to add a green one to my wardrobe one of these days (this type/colour was adopted by the Clan O'More society as our "official" kilt a few years ago).

I also like the various tweed kilts. Not only do I think they look good (especially when paired w/ a matching tweed jacket & waistcoat), but I'd like to have a couple just for knocking about / outdoor wear (i.e. hiking, etc); to save wear on a clan tartan kilt

I really don't think they need be worn any different than a tartan kilt, other than some colours of tweed might be more appropriate for evening social functions than others.