Hose again

**Robin** · 23rd October 06, 03:20 AM

The "hose issue" for dress occasions keeps haunting us.

Members often ask questions about what to wear at a special event (Wedding, Christmas, Burns Supper etc.) and we mostly agree on what to wear, but the color/type of the hose is always a hot issue.

I know...off white is the standard, but why? Because it looks best? because it became fashion because of the kilt rentals?

White hose seem to be a "no go"...pipers only...but, but...we wear a pure white shirt, not an off white shirt...white doesn't sound odd to me :confused:

Black hose...why not? Black is "classy" and it's a match with the jacket :confused:

Diced and Argyll hose...why not? Are they old fashion...outdated :confused:

Tartan hose...seems perfect to me...old fashion and outdated :confused:

Other colours...when they match ....why not :confused:

I know...it's a free world, we all can do what we like...cheerfuly disagree with eachother and move on until the next "what to wear" question pops up...and start all over again.

When I see pictures of people dressed with off white hose...I see something that's odd, not matching...why oh why?

When I see a picture of a piper wearing a saffron kilt with black hose...I see something that looks very right...why not? questions, questions.

Please throw in all your wisdom and lets sort it out once and for all :rolleyes:

**Pour1Malt** · 23rd October 06, 05:33 AM

ai'll jump in oan this....

(an let me clarify fierst, that ai have a Masters degree in design,

which includes costuming...

so me opinon is shaped by that an not by "historical kilt wearin rules"....)

ai do no agree that ainly pipers shuid wear white hose... ai think that if ya wear a white shirt ya shuid wear white hose...(oor a matching colour)...but no aff white....

if ya wear an aff white shirt ya shuid wear aff white hose....oor a matchin colour...

coloured hose, including black yins, arr no fur casual dress ainly... they luek greit if used weel in formal dress...

the whale ootfit needs tae appear "balanced"... if ya have a dark jeeket, dark vest, dark tie, dark sporran, dark kilt... an white arr aff white hose... ya will luek "aff balanced"... if ya take the jeekit aff an arr wearin a white shirt... then ya shuid balance wi' the white hose....

the whale ootfit also has tae bae "focused" in the richt place....

"focus" means "where do ya want folk tae luek"... generally folk firest luek at the brightest are lightest thing ... sae... if yur hose are the brightest thing every yin will keep luekin a yur hose an no yur face (which is usually where ya want folk luekin).... ya usually want tae wear a licht coloured shirt tae bring the focus tae yur face....

black hose dae no work wi' an ootfit that has nay other black in it... same fur other coloured hose... black is "classy" and works weel fur forrmal events...

tartan an diced hose arr auld fashioned but no "oot of date"... they luek great- when they arr used correctly... ie- matchin colours, balanced, focus is where is shuid bae....

they's me twa pennies oan the subject....

**Robin** · 23rd October 06, 05:37 AM

P1M...it seems we think pretty much the same

**macwilkin** · 23rd October 06, 05:50 AM

Robin,

You'll get no arguement frae me as well -- I personally prefer diced and/or tartan hose with formal attire. I also like black and dark coloured hose.

Regards,

Todd

**cavscout** · 23rd October 06, 06:01 AM

Before the pic of the saffron piper was posted it really never registered how nice a pair of black hose look in a formal outfit. I feel a change in perspective happening.

I'm still not sold on white hose. In my mind it looks, like you had a wedding come up before laundry day and had to wear white athletic socks with your church clothes.

Off White, just seemed the safe route to take for formal wear to more or less manage the color variations. Would look odd to have a jacket one shade of black, a kilt with another shade of black, hose another shade and shoes another shade.

as far as other colors, I think they could work but might be harder to pull off. Would require much more work to mix-n-match the right color.

Argyle hose, I love the look but the price is a bit hard to swallow considering the number of opportunities I have to wear them. Calling them old fashioned might be a bit too strong. I'd probably go with vintage

but definetly not out dated. If they were available in the right colors at a good price, I'd add a pair to my arsenal. Are they made in acrylic or cotton? Hmmm.

**macwilkin** · 23rd October 06, 06:14 AM

Argyle hose, I love the look but the price is a bit hard to swallow considering the number of opportunities I have to wear them. Calling them old fashioned might be a bit too strong. I'd probably go with vintage but definetly not out dated. If they were available in the right colors at a good price, I'd add a pair to my arsenal. Are they made in acrylic or cotton? Hmmm.

J. Higgins offered a pair in acrylic, but the pair I had lasted about a year, and I followed "care & feeding" directions to the letter, and only wore them 3-5 times in the year. I recommend splurging and getting a wool pair; yes, it is expensive, but my wool hose have been worth every penny I've paid for them, and I only wear them 3-5 times a year.

Regards,

Todd

**davedove** · 23rd October 06, 07:06 AM

P1M pretty well sums up what I think on the issue. It's really a matter of personal choice, color coordination, and "balancing" the outfit.

The off-white hose are really a product of the rental shops, who can just supply the one color for everyone. I personally think that the off-white hose don't really match a lot of outfits, as there are all these dark colors with off-white hose.

One thing off-white hose do well is set off the laces of ghillie brogues, which would tend to get lost with black or other dark hose.

I like to wear black hose with my formal outfit, especially with my MacIan tartan. My jacket is black and there are prominant black stripes in the tartan, so it feels more balanced to me.

**Panache** · 23rd October 06, 08:44 AM

Robin,

You should have had a third choice "Depends on the outfit and person".

The black hose on Robin's dress outfit might look dashing on Robin, but make Cajunscot look like he has thick ankles. Cajunscot's tartan hose on his dress outfit look dashing on Cajunscot, but make Panache's legs look ghastly pale. Panache's white hose on his dress outfit look dashing on Panache, but on Bubba...

The only exception is Hamish, it all looks good on him

Cheers

**Joe Gondek** · 23rd October 06, 08:58 AM

Not being a knitter I don't understand the cost difference between sollid and diced hose.

Can anyone explain why wool diced hose cost so much more than solid colored hose?

The nylon diced hose are machine made,solid colored wool hose are machine
made.

Can't diced wool be machine made?

**scoutniagara** · 23rd October 06, 10:24 AM

It takes more time to set up the knitting machine to make diced hose, and if they're done by hand, each colour change needs to be knotted and changed...more time, more money.

I agree with previous posts: I wear cream/off-white hose for semi-formal/day use, and my dark green/navy for formal/evening occasions. Even my former pipe bands didn't wear white hose. I only wore off-white hose, when I danced. (No matter how I word that, it sounds like I danced naked wearing only my hose.

) I wear my black hose with a kilt that is predominantly black, such as my Black Stewart SK. Another thing to consider, is to minimize contrast of your hose with your shoes if not wearing Ghillie Brogues i.e. black shoes with black hose. I will be looking for Lovat blue hose for my MacTavish kilt I'm buying from SWK, but off-white will be just fine. For formal occasions with the MacTavish tartan, I'd wear my navy hose.