Accessorise Me!

[Galant]

Alright, I'm looking at belts, sporran straps, hose and flashes.

The hose and sporran I think I've got covered, but the others I'd like some options and variations.

Can anyone help or are all these things pretty much standard?

Would it be wiser to wiat 1.5 weeks for the Mesa Highland games and just shop there? (Cheaper?)

[Colin]

since the sporran and hose are covered, why not check out some of the belts online, but wait until you see what they have to offer at the games before buying. Flashes can be easily made and more easily bought.

For casual belts, I have a few made by Rudi at www.celticempire.com

[Hamish]

Galant,

No disrespect but why not spend a while looking at as many kiltmakers' and kilt suppliers' websites as you can find. E-mail some of them and request that paper catalogues, where available, be sent to you

Study and compare the photographs on those sites, in those catalogues and in other kilt-related places on the Net.

You have so much information nowadays, at your fingertips. When I began wearing the kilt (back in the early 1950s) and needed to obtain my first accessories, there was no-one to ask so I wrote to as many kiltmakers as I could trace, got hold of their illustrated catalogues and studied them until I worked out what went best with what, or what I believed I would like.

By all means ask the more experienced of those here for help and advice - everyone has their own opinions and will be pleased to point you in the right direction, but there is no substitute for discovering some of the answers for yourself.

Now, here is my opinion: the items you list are pretty much standard, although you will find variations of them as you check out the different suppliers. You will have to decide how formal or traditional or casual you want your first 'outfit' to be. It is difficult for me to be more specific since the notions of what is formal, etc. are really quite different in the USA and the United Kingdom.

If you have only 1½ weeks to wait before the Games, then I would certainly wait and see what is available there. You'll also have the huge advantage of being able to see and touch the items, rather than selecting from photographs.

[GMan]

Galant,

One advantage of getting things at the games is being able to see what others are wearing. That way you can see for yourself along with the touching what the vendors have, you can use more of your senses.

[Andrew Breecher]

I'd also suggest waiting for the festival. I'm a very tactile person, and love to be able to examine, touch, and turn over what it is I'm buying. I often purchase from my local kilt shop, even though it's more expensive than what I might find online, just because I'm able to see exactly what it is I'm buying ahead of time. It also helps to support the shop, and keep it open in my area!

Andrew.