Diced hose

[Sir Didymous]

Okay, I know that diced or tartan hose are expected for white tie events. I have further seen them worn at black tie functions and even as part of smart day wear, but is there a time where they are inappropriate? I know that they are considered costumey as part of the pirate/Jacobite shirt look (that whole look is costumey). But is there a time where they are considered too much in the more accepted range of kilt attire?

[ASinclair]

Personally, I follow the 20th century convention that tartan hose and diced hose are formal wear, and solid color hose are informal, day wear. But I'm an old guy and current 'authorities' say you may wear tartan hose and diced hose whenever you like, so if you have tartan hose or diced hose and want to wear them informally, go right ahead.

[OC Richard]

Yes in the "modern traditional Highland Dress" which has come down to us from the early 20th century there were three distinct modes, each with its dedicated shoes, hose, sporran, and jacket, and the mixing of these things was avoided.

The previous period, say, c1840-1900, was rather different, with less clear-cut distinctions, with long hair sporrans and tartan/diced hose commonly worn in all modes.

The distinction between the c1900-c1960 period and the c1840-c1900 period can be summed up in two images





I myself rather like going back past that c1900 barrier and being a bit looser with things.

[Thomas H]

OK is it OK then to wear dice hose with day wear as I love that look . And side note ,is it OK to wear a long hair sporran with day wear ?

[Jock Scot]

OK is it OK then to wear dice hose with day wear as I love that look . And side note ,is it OK to wear a long hair sporran with day wear ?

If that is what you want to wear then do so. However you will look, at the very least, rather theatrical.

[Ron Abbott]

If that is what you want to wear then do so. However you will look, at the very least, rather theatrical.

.........to put it mildly.

[Wil]

If that is what you want to wear then do so. However you will look, at the very least, rather theatrical.

Diced turn down tops I think are spot on for day wear. Diced hose (as in from knee to toe) I must disagree are not day wear hose.

[OC Richard]

If that is what you want to wear then do so. However you will look, at the very least, rather theatrical.

This is a critical point, though I would have worded it differently.

When someone speaks of Highland Dress as traditional, it implies that it has evolved to its present state through an unbroken lineage of antecedents from an unknown origin.

(The evolution or change wasn't at a steady pace but at what is called, to borrow a term from another field, punctuated equilibrium. After over a half-century of relative stability Highland Dress underwent a fairly rapid and thorough transformation around 1900, producing the Traditional Highland Dress we know today.)

To go back along that unbroken chain of evolutionary stages and pluck something out (say, from 1880, or 1780) and wear it today would be an example of historical, rather than traditional, dress, or as Jock is implying, a costume.

Since around 1900 it's been plain/selfcoloured hose and outdoor brogues with Day Dress. Tartan and dice hose were reserved for Evening Dress. Mixing these two modes was to be avoided. However it's easy to find photographs of men wearing diced and tartan hose with Day Dress well past the c1900 point, so the 'rule' wasn't always followed.

[Calgacus]

OK is it OK then to wear dice hose with day wear as I love that look . And side note ,is it OK to wear a long hair sporran with day wear ?

Short answer, No.

There is a member here who has been known to wear both tartan hose and hair sporran with day wear and I think he makes it work fantastically, however it is in my view an exceedingly hard thing to do well and generally best avoided. Diced hose with daywear is not a combination that works as a modern combination.

[Ron Abbott]

Not unless you've got the right gear. My old friend Steve McVeigh could carry it off with this outfit. I remember him telling me that he got the jacket and vest fashioned from old photos of P/M GS McLennan :-

Steven McVeigh.jpg