Flashes question

[flairball]

I've got a question about flashes. Must the color of the flashes coordinate with the colors of the kilt, or can the match with another article of clothing?

My kilt is a SWK Nightstalker so I ussaully wear black flashes, but I've worn my kilt with a white shirt, and a brown, herringbone vest. So, if I wear the vest, can I also wear brown flashes?

This is with black shoes, black sporran, and black belt of course. I was thinking I'd match this up with off-white hose.

[Dirk Skene]

usually the flashes match either the pattern of the kilt or at least it's most prominate colour. But heck, I could see me in a Gunn kilt which is moslty green & blue, with a red shirt & red flash. ... but then again, I'm a bit strange.

[MacWage]

Well, I think A LOT depends on the tartan and the associated clothing, particularly hose.

Example:
The Black Watch (Campbell/Hunting Grant, etc) tartan is VERY simple and dark colorwise. Thus, black flashes are about all that coordinates (unless one MATCHES the green or blue/navy. Most coordinate with whatever is worn WITH the kilt.

I like to coordinate the hose with the kilt and the flashes with minor colors (usually the bright stripes) in the kilt, which brings them out. THAT is one of the thinks I like about Caledonia 155! It has red, blue, black, green, white, and even yellow in the kilt, allowing for a wide range of coordination.


I'd say that brown flashes could look great or terrible, depending upon the coordination with the hose and jacket in question. Most herringbones have other accent tones, besides the main one. IF off-white is in the jacket, it might work. Brown hose with black flashes might work better. Maybe brown flashes with black hose IF the brown MATCHES the brown of the jacket (ties black to kilt and accessories and brown to the jacket).

Other thoughts?

[MacWage]

But heck, I could see me in a Gunn kilt which is moslty green & blue, with a red shirt & red flash. ... but then again, I'm a bit strange.

THAT is probably what I would do, and plan to whenever I get a Gunn kilt (to go with the Wilsons in my family). With green hose, that would look good. It would also tie in with the striping on the kilt too (red stripe on green).

[flairball]

The vest I'll be wearing is brown with black accent, so it is dark, but definately the brown is the primary color. I'd be wearing with it; off-white hose, a white shirt, and a brown country tie with slight red, green and black accents. Since posting I've pulled everything out, and laid them out together. It looks like the combo will work well.

While in the closet I also found a steel grey tie with an emboidered pheasant patern I'd forgotten about. It looks like this tie will go well with a white shirt, black flashes, and my grey hose which match almost exactly.

[Jimmy the Celt]

A great thing about X Marks . . .

When in doubt, post pics! Another help would be to look at Ham's gallery You can't go wrong taking clues from there.

[Nanook]

The Black Watch (Campbell/Hunting Grant, etc) tartan is VERY simple and dark colorwise.

I don't agree. Its neither simple nor dark. Its subdued. It contains a lot of pigments so was a bit of a status cloth. The weave pattern is not involved yet it creates quite a complex and multi-faceted visual impression. That's part of its beauty and flexibility. Its not boring to the eye.

Thus, black flashes are about all that coordinates (unless one MATCHES the green or blue/navy. Most coordinate with whatever is worn WITH the kilt.

I don't see how "Black" coordinates and to what colour hose? Blue and green coordinate quite well--- and look good--- with the Government Tartans. It need not match and, honestly, unless one is using a piece of matching tartan from the same batch it can't. Different materials can, at best, coordinate but never match. Traditional colour for flashes here , however, is red as the red torrie on a dark blue (Balmoral) bonnet.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

To answer the question, while it is usual to select flashes in a color to tone with the tartan of the kilt, it can also look quite good to match the flashes to another color in the outfit, and even in some cases flashes are worn that match no color in the outfit at all!

The important thing is to consider the whole outfit. It is always safest to select a flash color that tones with the tartan, and so this is generally reccomended. Why? Well, when a salesperson is helping you select your flash color, they will know the color of your kilt, but they won't neccesarrily know what you may or may not be wearing with the kilt at any given time. Thus is is safer for them to reccomend a flash color that they know will go well with the kilt, no matter what else you are wearing with it.

Also, the manufacturers of flashes (the nicer ones, at any rate) choose their colors specifically to tone well with the color ranges of most of the major tartan mills.

However, there is absolutely nothing that says one has to wear flashes to match the tartan. As you suggest it is also quite permissible to wear flashes that match another color of the outfit. Like I said, you must consider the whole outfit and how everything goes with everything else. You may have a color in your shirt, sweater, jacket, or even bonnet that may not match your tartan colors, but tones well with it, and you may choose flashes that work well with that color.

I'll give one example. I sold a gentleman a plain charcoal grey tweed kilt once. He selected a matching charcoal grey tweed Argyle jacket and grey hose to wear with it. When he asked for advice on flash color, I asked him what shirt he was planning on wearing with the outfit. He said he had a burgundy shirt in mind that he thought would look good with the tweed color. So I sold him a set of burgundy flashes to tie in with the shirt.

Sometimes one even sees flashes worn in a color that doesn't appear anywhere else in the outfit. I'm thinking here specifically of red flashes. Often these seem to be worn universally, even though there may not be a speck of red in the rest of the outfit. You see this especially with the dark Black Watch tartan. Look at this gent's uniform:
http://home.stny.rr.com/the7thblackw...ing%20good.jpg

There is no red in his outfit at all except for the flashes, and they look quite good. They add a bit of color and brightness to the uniform.

Now, all this does not mean you should just wear whatever color flashes you want willy-nilly. But you can and shoudl consider more than just the colors of the kilt itself. Keep the whole outfit in mind and you can open up another whole range of possibilities.

Aye,
Matt

[MacWage]

I don't agree. Its neither simple nor dark. Its subdued. It contains a lot of pigments so was a bit of a status cloth. The weave pattern is not involved yet it creates quite a complex and multi-faceted visual impression. That's part of its beauty and flexibility. Its not boring to the eye.


I don't see how "Black" coordinates and to what colour hose? Blue and green coordinate quite well--- and look good--- with the Government Tartans. It need not match and, honestly, unless one is using a piece of matching tartan from the same batch it can't. Different materials can, at best, coordinate but never match. Traditional colour for flashes here , however, is red as the red torrie on a dark blue (Balmoral) bonnet.

For the FIRST point, I meant the COLORS to the eye, not the patterns or pigments. Simple is NOT necessarily boring. Simple refers here to the color contrast and range, which in most weavings is not very far. This allows for the visual interest (to the interested) and adaptability. I like the tartan, my first purchased kilt and my first "self-made" kilt was Black Watch, as are many of my tartan/plaid "saxon" clothes. The color range for most weavings (right term?) is just dark and looks almost solid to the casual observer who does not notice the subtle interplay of the black on the navy and green, they just see a "black" tartan with touches of hunter green and navy (as has been TOLD to me more than a few times). It lacks all the "bright" touches usually associated with most tartans. Note, the very way that units differenciated themselves was to add color touches to the basic Black Watch base. In contrast, a complex tartan is my other favorite "general" tartan, Caledonia, which has a wide range of colors of various brightness with some in dark hues of navy and hunter and others (like Marton Mills PV) which use much "brighter" hues. Otherwise, it has a lot of red, as well as black, white, and yellow (with the last 2 in the form of stripes.
Back to my point, few use black flashes with dark hose. I've seen many times were a lovat green or blue is used with a hunter/navy modern tartan, which looks TERRIBLE. The "MATCHES" meant a bottle green or navy hose similar enough to the tartan itself that the eye doesn't go ":confused: ". Black is the other color, besides navy and green, but looks best with an otherwise black outfit.

The point I intended is in the second point, where the RED from the RED COAT is used to coordinate with red falshes and hackles and torries. There is NO red in the tartan itself, but it is taken from "accessories," in this case the traditional color of the British military jacket.

Therefore and thus, I think the brown flashes with black hose would go well with the shadow tartan, especially as the the accessory "is brown with black accent, so it is dark, but definately the brown is the primary color." If no black hose, I'd say off-white (or the ever popular "Oatmeal") is a good alternative.

Many do not like black hose, but that is the color I actually wear most out of what I have, as it coordinates with the most variety of kilts and my clothes.

Legal mumbo-jumbo.
Your results may vary, body type and shape may make solicited and unsolicited advise null and void. Opinions are just that, opinons, everybody has one and many are different. The binding of the advise and opinions upon the recipient way be dependant upon the legal, social, business, and religious ties, connections, responsibilities and duties. Colors, beauty, and coordination vary as to the eye and taste of the beholder. DO not pass GO, do not collect $200, go drectly to the nearest kilt store and buy more kilts and kit, going into deep, deep debt. There's a hole, there's a hole, there's a hole in the bottom of the sea.

[MacWage]

Reading Mr. Newsome's post (sent as I typed the above) reminded me:
Just don't do what was done by a gent at the Hendersonville games and wear red flashes with burgundy hose, especially when NEITHER matches the rest of the outfit. THAT just looks bad . . .
He also wore a collared gray pull-over with a black Prince Charlie jacket.

Barclay took pics, if you don't believe me.