What else does he need?

[Shanntarra]

The Rogue has been wanting to finish is highland formal. He wears it to all my opening nights but I think he needs more and I would like suggestions.
BTW the tartan is McDonald.


So far on the list:

• socks
• flashes
• sporan (he wants something to hold his kilt down in a stiff breeze)

We got him celtic shoes, but what next?

[haukehaien]

I would suggest pulling the kilt up; the kilt should be worn at or above the natural waist (~navel level) rather than down around the hips.

Definitely get a sporran and a jacket, either a black Argyle or a Prince Charlie jacket. Proper hose and flashes will round out the look as well.

[The Wizard of BC]

Perhaps it is a trick of the camera or the angle the picture was taken at but everything looks to be far to large.
The shirt sleeves seem to be too long. The vest seems to be baggy and too long, the Kilt appears to reach down to mid calf and the hose are falling down around the ankles.

Oh, I hope I'm mistaken about this.

[Shanntarra]

Perhaps it is a trick of the camera or the angle the picture was taken at but everything looks to be far to large.
The shirt sleeves seem to be too long. The vest seems to be baggy and too long, the Kilt appears to reach down to mid calf and the hose are falling down around the ankles. Oh, I hope I'm mistaken about this.

The kilt is sitting at his navel. My rogue has very short legs. I'm working on an X-Kilt for him and he is 20" to under his knee. The vest is a store bought tuxedo vest. From your discussions, I know it needs to be shortened. Also it isn't as fitted as I would like. He has a "bay window" so the front is pulling oddly. The shirt sleeves are about 2" too long. They dont' make 30" sleeves, only 32".
The hose are actually white men's dress socks he bought to wear until he got real socks. They kept falling down all night. His new shoes have ties that X up his legs . They help the socks stay in place but they are not real highland socks. I'm tempted to buy him a proper pair this weekend at the scott shop. Is $15 bucks too much to pay for starter socks?

[KFCarter]

Right, although we can't know for sure from the photo, it does appear that the top of the kilt is way too low and needs to be, as haukehain explained, at the navel at least, or as much as an inch or two above. ( Edit...since you posted that it's at the navel, have him pull it up a couple of inches above, and see if it brings the hem to the right spot on the knees) Hopefully, that will bring the hem of the kilt up to the top of the knee or so, but not lower than the mid knee. Since you're going for "formal" make sure the sporran you choose is a dress (or at least semi-dress) sporran (google those, you'll find lots of examples). With the sporran in the proper place, it will become evident that the vest is too long... it will interfere with the sporran... As mentioned before, you'll want a black Argyle jacket or a PC (Prince Charlie) Jacket and depending on which one you choose, you'll want a waistcoat that is cut to go with the jacket. The waistcoat that works with an Argyle would not work well with a PC and vice versa.
The socks you want are actual purpose-made kilt hose... long enough to cover the calf and then fold down several inches to cover the garter and the top part of the flashes. There is a lot of back and forth about the proper color of hose and there are those who swear by white hose and those who swear "at" white hose. You can find a lot on this site about that. IMHO, dark hose, or hose that pick up a muted color from the kilt are good... patterned hose such as "diced" hose or "argyle" hose are better, but pricey. Again, searching these terms will bring up LOTS of examples on this site.
Happy hunting!

[KFCarter]

Is $15 bucks too much to pay for starter socks?

No, that's pretty low cost actually.

If time isn't a factor, there's an ebay-based seller from the UK that sells kilt hose that would be good for starter socks. The socks aren't as luxurious as some of the more favored brands, but they're decent performers, come in a few colors and are good for daily wear use.

link:
http://stores.ebay.ca/WB-SOCKS_KILT-...QQftidZ2QQtZkm

For a real step up, try the Lewis hose avail at the Tartan Museum
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/hose_lewis.htm

Just a couple examples.

[MonsterDon]

Might I suggest a belt with a nice buckle.

[Shanntarra]

Depending on the weather this weekend he may wear his kilt out. Until he get's a sporan he is still warry of windy days (can't say i blame him)

Trust me these $15 socks are "I only wear them 2x a year socks" not good ever day wear one's, but before he makes a big investment it is a start. Thank you for the good sources. I will add them to my list.

Thank you for the jacket names. I at least now have a name to go looking for. I've been itching to make him a suit and this might be an opetunity for to try out tailoring and see how close I can get. OR he may just break down and buy one himself.

Thank you for the head start. Around here we are limited to known places unless you know someone. You have been a great help.

EDIT: He does have a nice 3 inch wide belt with a celtic buckle. I don't remember if he is wearing it though. I'll see if I can't find a more recent picture of him in the kilt. That one is from 18 months ago.

[The Wizard of BC]

I went back to try and find where you describe what style this Kilt is.
I found where you said you bought it as a Traditional.
If so the Top Straps should be cinched into the natural waist just under the ribs.

The Hem should then hit just at the top of the Knee Cap. If not perhaps you could fold up and blind stitch a hem for him.

The Hose worn with a Kilt are like over the knee socks. The flashes you see hanging down from the turned down cuff are not the important part. It is the elastic Garters that are holding the flashes and the hose up that is important.
You can make some Garters with some non-roll waisband elastic and some Velcro. Look in the tutorials section for instructions on making flashes and Garters.

[The Barry]

As is stated above, I'd be far more concerned with the fit of the existing items before adding any other items to the closet. The kilt is not being worn properly, it is far too low. The waistcoat appears to be too long, but I can't really tell. It might be a waistcoat made to wear with pants, and that would hang too low. The shirt doesn't seem to fit well.

Bottom line, take him to a kilt shop. Have him properly fitted up and down. Then start buying the rest of the outfit.