If You Could Have Just One Pair Of Hose

[GrainReaper]

If you could have just one pair of hose, what style would they be? What colour?

This popped into my head the other day, I'm helping a friend get kitted out in his first foray into the kilted world, his budget is tight so I'm helping him where I can, I located him a pre-enjoyed kilt for a song.

I told him many of his shirts will work as nicely with a kilt as with slacks, he picked up a belt with a nice buckle that looks like it should look at home dressed up or down.

He asked about hose and I was stumped...... I started out with bottle green hose that seemed to go nicely with my kilt, and then with my second kilt, but it all changed when I recieved a few pair of hose for my birthday, I now have a good number of hose in many colors, and I'm in the process of stepping up from those lower priced ones into the nicer Lewis hose in similar colours.

So if you could have just one multitasking pair what would it be? I'm thinking some nice chessboard hose or Argyll hose, but what about for a newcomer who might be a ways out before becoming a "hose hoarder" as it were.

[Father Bill]

"To go with my tartans" is the key here. I'd pick a figured-knit in a mid to darker green... but that's for my kilts in my tartans.

[S Mitchell]

If I could only have one pair, I'd probably go with claret or deep burgundy. My kilt is green/blue based.

[Tomo]

On a budget I would go with a plain colour, probably black as it's easy to dress up or down, or dark green to tone with my first (and still favourite kilt).

However, I recently got a pair of chessboard topped hose _MLC1454 (678x1024).jpg

These will most likely be my default pair now - unless I am wearing one of my other kilts, but I am now thinking of ordering another couple of pairs to go with them as well. Perhaps one with a shepherd's check instead of chessboard.

[Father Bill]

I like those, Tomo. Where did you get them? My hose wardrobe is probably over-full, but I'll bet there are a lot of fellows who'd like to follow your lead.

[Tomo]

Hi Father Bill. I got them from Anne Stewart http://www.annestewartknitwear.com (she calls them textured diced hose). She is very friendly and easy to deal with (did everything by email). Cost is about £32/US$52 - so she must ship to US (and maybe elsewhere).

[Spartan Tartan]

If I could only have one pair, I'd probably go with claret or deep burgundy. My kilt is green/blue based.

I would do this as well. My kilt is green/blue based as well and I like the deep red for a contrast. Bright red can work, but for a newbie with only ONE pair, this is how I would do it (assuming it in fact looks nice with the kilt and doesn't in some way clash with the other colours).

[Spartan Tartan]

Perhaps a different spin on white hose. Nevermind the hire-shop look, the ease of matching and the clean general appearance (fancy hose or otherwise), I would consider the ability to keep them looking clean. A darker hue or a rich colour would ultimately maintain its "true" colour over many more wearings. I would be concerned that (as is the case with my white running socks) that after a few/several wearing there would be signs of wear that ultimately took away from the clean look of the white.

For what it's worth (yes, I get that is not much at all), I imagine that they would be worn more frequently and therefore have signs of wear. If you polish your shoes, perhaps the polish will creep up onto the ankle. If you wear them with boots to go on a hike, perhaps the dirt and dust will soil/stain the exposed sections. Maybe your hands will leave discolorations on the cuff as you adjust them or remove/replace your sgian... For all these reasons, I would choose a color that was not so pure and could "conceal" the more casual indications of wear over a longer period of time.

Just another way of thinking about the colour choice.

[Kanati]

I gravitate towards the darker colors myself. I suggest that you not stop with one pair.

After a three day Highlands Games event in Texas, color may not matter much.

[davidlpope]

Lovat blue, lovat green, claret/dark red. Probably Lewis hose from House of Cheviot.