Esquire Magazine's Advice On Kilted Formal Attire

[DyerStraits]

So, the last question taken up by Nick Sullivan, Fashion Director for Esquire magazine in his "Ask Nick" sartorial advice column in the February 2014 issue, reads:

"Since visiting Scotland a few years back, I have been taken with the kilt. I have been wearing a bespoke kilt in my family tartan with a Prince Charlie as my black-tie attire. Is this wrong?" --Joseph T. Nairn, Fairport, NY

To which Mr. Sullivan reponds:

"Technically, the combination of a properly composed kilt and Prince Charlie (the short black jacket, usually with silver buttons) constitutes correct evening attire. All the more so if you can claim Scottish ancestry (and if you can't, prepare yourself for griping from purists). And make sure you go for the full kit: hose and garters, sporran, and a sgian dubh tucked in your sock. And no underwear, regardless of high winds and freezing temperatures."

Obviously, as a noted menswear maven (for the likes of Esquire, no less), Nick is to be commended for his endorsement--the phrase "sgian dubh" is in italics--even as he gets as many components of his reply wrong, or at best half-baked, as he does right (note that nearly every sentence of his response contains a minor element of error). Given the necessary brevity of his responses this perhaps can be forgiven, and, as someone who has read and/or subscribed to Esquire since adolescence it is nevertheless quite gratifying to see an affirming mention of kilted attire in its pages. Perhaps a few letters to the editor--with expository details--from the X-Markers is in order? Who knows, maybe that would lead to an actual fashion spread with the many different casual/dress/formal/semi-formal/athletic ways that kilts can be worn, etc.?

[MacLowlife]

Note well the actual question asked: Is it wrong to wear a kilt and a PC as formal attire (where most men are in tuxedoes)?

One can either interpret this as asking for advice on the proper wearing of the kilt, in which case Mr Sullivan does OK, considering his lack of expertise, or one could consider this a question about proper formal wearm in which case he gets it right ( YES) with a handful of extraneous errors.

Maybe Mr. Sullivan quietly researched his answer by looking here. Maybe he blended any new information he gained with his own ideas. Maybe he just winged it. Maybe if he sees this thread, he will consider your suggestion. Chanc es are, the les said about the near misses, the more likely he will be to feature the kilt again. Remember, in baseball, right half of the time is exceptional.

[DyerStraits]

Note well the actual question asked: Is it wrong to wear a kilt and a PC as formal attire (where most men are in tuxedoes)?

One can either interpret this as asking for advice on the proper wearing of the kilt, in which case Mr Sullivan does OK, considering his lack of expertise, or one could consider this a question about proper formal wearm in which case he gets it right ( YES) with a handful of extraneous errors.

Maybe Mr. Sullivan quietly researched his answer by looking here. Maybe he blended any new information he gained with his own ideas. Maybe he just winged it. Maybe if he sees this thread, he will consider your suggestion. Chanc es are, the les said about the near misses, the more likely he will be to feature the kilt again. Remember, in baseball, right half of the time is exceptional.

...Or, as Warren Buffett says, better to be approximately right than precisely wrong. I agree, Nick gets an "E For Effort".

[CDNSushi]

I wouldn't get too riled about it... The fact that he concedes that wearing a kilt is acceptable formal attire is a huge positive step. There are still MANY so-called men's fashion "experts" who get red in the face and start spewing vitriolic comments at the mere mention of Highland attire. Those have also been discussed here from time to time. Needless to say, any exposition of kilt-related wear by mainstream media will run the gamut from well-written to completely uninformed and ignorant. This fellow seems to be squarely in the middle, which is a lot more than I can say for many other style journalists and bloggers.

[TheOfficialBren]

I wouldn't get too riled about it... The fact that he concedes that wearing a kilt is acceptable formal attire is a huge positive step. There are still MANY so-called men's fashion "experts" who get red in the face and start spewing vitriolic comments at the mere mention of Highland attire. Those have also been discussed here from time to time. Needless to say, any exposition of kilt-related wear by mainstream media will run the gamut from well-written to completely uninformed and ignorant. This fellow seems to be squarely in the middle, which is a lot more than I can say for many other style journalists and bloggers.

I think that JD nailed it here.

[DyerStraits]

I think that JD nailed it here.

I agree completely.....

[Downunder Kilt]

Gentlemen, we must forgive these style journalists and bloggers, for they know not what they write about. They are not part of the XMTS
" Kilted Cognizanti".

[DyerStraits]

Gentlemen, we must forgive these style journalists and bloggers, for they know not what they write about. They are not part of the XMTS
" Kilted Cognizanti".

....All the more reason to lobby the editors--with a personal appeal to Mr. Súilleabháin--for an instructional "All About Kilts" pictorial!

[TheOfficialBren]

....All the more reason to lobby the editors--with a personal appeal to Mr. Súilleabháin--for an instructional "All About Kilts" pictorial!

...then direct them to the "1 kilt 10 different looks" thread.

[Nathan]

I agree with everything he said... I know some don't but I wouldn't call him out for "errors".

"Hey Donald, where's your troosers?"
"Lad, I don't know where you've been, but I see you've won first prize..."

;)