Hose

[BigMacMcDaniel]

Hello all,

I am looking to get a new pair of kilt hose for my MacDonald kilt and was wondering what colors would best complement it. I'm looking particularly at the Lewis style from HoC but I'm open to suggestions from other makers as well.

Thanks,
BigMacMcDaniel

[Jock Scot]

Claret, bottle green, lovat green would be worth a thought.

[BigMacMcDaniel]

What are your thoughts on the tartan green? Would it be too dark?

[Jock Scot]

What are your thoughts on the tartan green? Would it be too dark?

Absolutely not! Just so you know, some colour descriptions mean much the same, so my bottle green will be your (as near as makes no difference) tartan green. The same with claret, that could be ,burgundy, or maroon. I know some of the more artistic types may want to split a few hairs on this, but for this mere mortal the colour descriptions are very close and close enough to make little difference.

[BigMacMcDaniel]

Thanks for the clarification. My initial thought of bottle green went in the direction of a lighter color. I'm thinking those are the hose for me then. I'm also considering the 'mustard'. Thoughts?

[IsaacW]

Dark green have been my "go-to" hose for years. I am now liking claret quite a bit as well as a pair of brick red hose I recently got with chessboard loden tops. It is hard to be lovat green as well! Basically everything Jock said with a big seconded motion.

Oh... and mustard... often looks smashing with most tartans but can be a bit bright for my tastes on some occasions.

[BigMacMcDaniel]

I think my main concern is that I don't want to make any fashion faux pas by getting the wrong color hose to go with my kilt.

[IsaacW]

I think my main concern is that I don't want to make any fashion faux pas by getting the wrong color hose to go with my kilt.

Than my biggest comment is to not purchase white hose , or even black for many.

[BigMacMcDaniel]

Alright I'll bear that in mind. I'm not a fan of white anyway. It dirties to easily. Thanks for the help.

[The Wizard of BC]

May I suggest another alternative.

Don't pick the color of your hose based on the color of the Tartan in your kilt. You did not pick sock color based on the color of your pants did you?

We want our kilts and our Tartans to stand out, to be the centerpiece of our outfit. If you make everything match the Tartan you, in effect, push the Tartan to the background.

My suggestion is to look at your outfit as a whole. Look at your shirt color, at your tie color if you are wearing one. Then coordinate your outfit as a whole.

I will often choose a color of shirt at random out of my closet. Then go to my drawer and choose hose to coordinate with my shirt. Blues-greys-blacks etc.
Greens-browns-yellows etc. Reds-yellows-creams.

Then I go to my closet and pull out a kilt.

I will often demonstrate this idea in my shop. I cam hold two or three completely different Tartans up in front of me. And it will almost always work as long as the rest of my outfit is coordinated.

So my alternative suggestion is not to worry so much about what color hose go with what Tartan. There are a lot of colors of hose to choose from. Have fun, practicing coordinating colors. Have fun looking at your outfit as a whole.

Try this. Put on a shirt and a pair of hose that go well together. Don't try to match, just colors that, to your eye, look good together. Then stand in front of a long mirror without kilt. Does it look good to you? Then hold your kilt up and I think you will be surprised that it will still look good.

As just one example (I have many examples of this idea if you would like me to share them) Here I am wearing our own X Marks Tartan. With a Khaki shirt and tan hose. There is no brown or tan in the X Marks Tartan. And it works pretty well.