Hawaiian shirt with an XMTS tartan kilt

[Panache]

For your amusement I offer myself up as the subject for an opinion poll. Today for Tartan day, I and my family visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Now the day was an especially warm one and I paired my XMTS tartan kilt my lovely F-H.C.A.G. had made with with a loose fitting blue based Hawaiian shirt, a traditional Hawaiian necklace, and a Panama hat. The question I put forward to the Rabble is...

...does it all work? If tattersall is OK are there other patterns that are OK with tartan? Vote and comment. If it works...why? If if it doesn't work...why? I think there will be some interesting discussions that will come of this.



Cheers

Jamie

[Liam]

Only if you are in Hawaii.... I got a good chuckle out of this one, but had to vote no!

[davidlpope]

Jamie,

You pull this off well.

No one else could.

David

[OC Richard]

Looks fine to me.

You make a valid point, I think. If you look at late 19th century onward British shooting clothes and gentlemen's country clothes you'll see patterned shirts, ties, jackets, and waistcoats worn with long trousers and plus-fours and these were all worn also with kilts. Who can say whether it was a matter of Highland dress appropriating these non-Highland things, or a matter of co-evolution, or the situation where men owned these things and happened to wear them with trousers and kilts alike.

So it makes sense out here at the Pacific Rim for kiltwearers to wear the shirts (and hats) that they might wear when not in kilts.

Having lived most of my years here in California (having come out from West Virginia in the 1960s) I will note that when I finally visited Hawai'i I was surprised by the number of things that weren't different from California! For sure California and Hawai'i are more alike than California is to West Virginia. These "Aloha shirts" (as they're called in Hawai'i) are very common here- there are men for which they form the bulk (or even the entirety) of their wardrobe.

I've told the story before about the funeral I piped at that when I arrived at the cemetery I saw all the gathered people pulling Hawai'ian shirts out of a big box and putting them on over whatever clothes they were wearing. Having just returned from Maui, and having a gaudy Aloha shirt in my car, I thought "when in Rome" and put it on with my kilts. The people were delighted.

Also the gathered people pulled bright loud random socks out of another box, took off their own shoes and socks, and each put on a mismatching pair of the colourful socks. So dressed, and with the heavenly voice of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole blaring out of a boom-box, the funeral commenced. It turns out that the deceased invariably wore an Aloha shirt and two garish and mismatching socks (sans shoes).

[Father Bill]

Sure as the dickens isn't my thing as most folks here know, but you know on you Jamie . . .

. . . believe it or not, voting "yes!"

Bill+

[Tarheel]

There was a comparison of photos during the US Presidential contest between (then V-P) Nixon and Senator Kennedy.
Nixon had a three piece suit when he visited the coast. His statement, "I only feel comfortable in a suit."
J. F. K. was seen in swim suit, deck shoes and polo shirt (with his children). The environment calls for the attire at times.

Jamie nailed the ambiance of a west coast, easy-feeling, day trip. A yes vote from me.

[Farmer Jones]

The colours are well matched.

[sailortats]

I think that in this instant it works and it works well. The fact that the shirt only contains colors seen in the tartan is what makes it work for me.
And it was hot yesterday, reached 82F here in S.F. and most likely it was hotter at Monterey Bay.

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

I think it works OK, and I have also worn Hawaiian shirts with some of my kilts, most recently to my Dad's wedding at home, where I wore a Davidson ancient kilt with a Hawaiian that had a black base color, and then red, orange, and yellow flowers, and I thought that the shirt and kilt went great together, an my wife agreed!

For me, the blue in the shirt is almost too matchy to the kilt. For the XMTS tartan, I would probably go with a lighter, yellow background shirt with blue flowers/designs, but that is personal preference.

[Benning Boy]

I think the aloha shirt is perhaps better worn with a solid color kilt, something like a 5.11 TDK and others. However from the pic above I can see that it might work with tartan if carefully chosen. I do like the camp shirt style, of which the aloha shirt is just a color variation, and have worn solid color camp shirts with a tartan kilt. I think River Kilt has posted pics before of himself wearing untucked aloha shirts at parties.

I have a couple of aloha shirts, one that is special to me because of when and where and how I got it. I may have to experiment with it. Steve Ashton, the Wizard of BC, has written often here that the simplest way to coordinate things when wearing a kilt is to put on matching shirt and hose, or a combination that nearly matches, and then put on any kilt you chose. I suppose if you wore hose close to matching the main color of a Hawaiian shirt the aloha shirt and tartan combination could be pulled off better. The shirt should be tucked in unless your taking part in some very informal activity, like a rowdy party.

My big question now is is it OK to wear a guayabera shirt with a kilt?