Put on properly?

[frank_a]

Finally got to go out last night kilted up, new tattersall shirt (starched and pressed), but could not for the life of me find my regimental tie, so the wee lass said wear the tartan, so of course, I do what the wee lass suggests (don't all us Scots?!?).

kilted.jpg

She spotted a fellow with ghillie brogues on, and now wants me to get a pair. Oh well, what is one ever to do? My response? Och aye!

Frank

[MacRobert's Reply]

What a fine couple!

Camera angles can be misleading but it looks like the top of your hose could be a wee bit lower and the bottom of the kilt a wee bit higher to show more knee, and IMHO a regimental tie would be better that the tartan one ... and the shoes look just fine.

[JohntheBiker]

What a fine couple!

Camera angles can be misleading but it looks like the top of your hose could be a wee bit lower and the bottom of the kilt a wee bit higher to show more knee, and IMHO a regimental tie would be better that the tartan one ... and the shoes look just fine.

***

[Tobus]

I agree on both counts. Kilt higher and hose tops lower. Even with a high/close camera angle, you should be able to see the knee. After all, that's where most people are going to be seeing you from anyway.

The hose should not come up to the kneecap. Ideally, they should only go to just above the widest part of the calf, with the garter (or flashes, in your case) tied at that point to keep them from slipping down. It's OK to go a wee bit higher than that, but keeping a "three finger width" distance between the kneecap and the hose tops is best. When they come all the way up over the entire bulge of the calf, they start to look like knee socks.

And of course, having the kilt somewhere around the top of the kneecap helps with this. There should always be a considerable distance for a visual gap between hose and kilt, or it looks like one is wearing leggings.

I also agree on the tie choice, but given the circumstances, I understand. I'd have still chosen a solid-colour tie, though, over the tartan one. I do like the shirt choice, though.

Frank, have you considered experimenting with some other hose colours? This outfit, while perfectly acceptable, seems a bit homogenous in terms of colour. Spice it up!

[Fedgunner]

I agree with the above comments. I would add that if you really want to wear a tartan tie, consider wearing a waistcoat. It will give a nice break between the kilt and tie.

[Nile]

have you considered experimenting with some other hose colours? This outfit, while perfectly acceptable, seems a bit homogenous in terms of colour. Spice it up!

You look great but would look a wee bit better with the advice that's been given and, I agree with Tobus, a contrasting color would break it up a little, perhaps the tie, hose or garters. I also agree with McRoberts, the shoes look fine.
Nile

[frank_a]

Thanks for the comments lads, just doing my best. Have a waistcoat on order, was hoping beyond reason to have it for last night. Ordered it around the 1st of February, bespoke, and 8-10 weeks. Ever hear of a fellow named Jones?

Between remodeling the wee home, and tearing apart my wee hot rod for a needed rebuild, cash is but a spare item. I fancy a nice silk regimental tie (maybe red, green & blue?), and some of those great argyle hose, you know, the hand knit kind like the Prince of Wales wears. Alas, my birthday and Christmas are a long ways away. Nevertheless, we'll see what we can do.

Thanks for the comments on my wingtips. I bought them for kilting up. I have enough problems bending over to tie them, let alone lacing up some gillie brogues!

By the way, the wee lass was out shopping at a Celtic place with her sisters a few weeks ago and bought me a very nice white collarless Irish shirt, buttons to the neck, puffy sleeves and all. I may wear that out to a local pub this weekend, and if I do, I will trouble you with pics...

Back to the salt mines. Enjoy your day lads!

Frank

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Not at all bad for a first go. It's often better to err to wearing a kilt slightly short than slightly overlong -- that looks dumpier. At or close to the very top of the kneecaps is quite all right in any situation. Not sure I'd hold with the elaborateness of kneeling and taking a measure from belt to floor for kilt length, not when kneecaps are so handy.

This sort of thing is much more bothersome with a belted plaid, where it's all on you to get it right -- and your hem straight, which is the worst of it. The philabeg you just wrap and buckle and pin -- if necessary, pin your apron so it doesn't flap about, say, in windy weather. At least an eight-yard tank of a kilt is nice and warm regardless of the rawness of the day.

Time was, way back in the way-back, when the plaid-wearer young bucks' equivalent of wearing one's pants way too low on one's, ah, fundament was to adjust the plaidie wayyyy short -- mid-thigh not being quite the daringest mode. There's at least one woodcut featuring many shocked Frenchwomen taking the spectacle in, and there was comment at the time from the censorious types that usually wrote about such things. 18th century?

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Come to think of it -- anybody even thinking of pairing a red foulard power-tie with a kilt deserves to. And I hope he's a good cook, because that's where his taste is.