Entire DIY ensemble

**hospitaller** · 2nd October 08, 10:02 PM

My camera crapped on me today (the USB connection does not seem to be communicating) so I can;t upload the photos, but as soon as I can, I will.

I bought a jacket and a waist coat at the local Goodwill store and I converted both of them for kilt wear.

So today I went to work wearing my DIY slate wool kilt, wearing my DIY flashes, with my DIY waist coat and DIY Jacket conversions.

The feeling of having an entire formal outfit, made by my own hand, and all for less than $50 is priceless.

Heck, some hose sell for $50 and here I am wearing an entire outfit for less than that.

Again, soon as I can transfer the photos, you'll be able to criticize/comment.

Cheers and keep DYIng

**Mipi** · 2nd October 08, 11:04 PM

I hope you'll fix your camera. If not, put the memory card into card reader and problem solved. Hardly wait to see pics.

At the moment I'm working on traditional kilt (more or less), planning sporran and even making my own kilt straps. Will post pics when done with kilt.

Regards!

**Bugbear** · 2nd October 08, 11:42 PM

Sounds good. I've done the jacket conversion and modified my StillWater kilt a bit, but I don't think I will be trying to make a kilt.

Glad it's all come together for you, and congratulations for being able to make all of those items.

**Kerr the Walker** · 4th October 08, 08:08 PM

It's been said before, and will most assuredly be said again....but the cleverness and inventiveness of the folks in this group never ceases to amaze me.

Well done Hector. Having made your kit yourself, I'm sure it will add just that much more "swagger" to your step.

**hospitaller** · 6th October 08, 06:15 PM

OK, I finally managed to get the USB working again, so here's the photo of the outfit mostly DIY I wore to work the other day.

**Panache** · 8th October 08, 10:23 AM

Hector,

You asked for comments / critique so I would like give you my honest opinion of your ensemble. First off let me say that I am very impressed that you were able to do your jacket and waistcoat conversions yourself, I lack the skill with a needle to do anything but sew patches on things (and the F-H.C.A.G. might have a tale or two to tell about how I messed up doing that!)

Taking a look at your ensemble

Originally Posted by hospitaller

What works for me

The kilt jacket, kilt, and hose all go well together. The grays, while not the same, are complimentary to each other.

The red tie and red flashes work well as a counterpoint to the gray (I use red flashes and tie myself to similar effect when wearing darker colors/tartans)

The sporran tassel colors. The white tassels give the simple black leather sporran a bit of flash that elevate it into a dressier accessory (a more elaborate/ brighter button on the flap would be even better)

What doesn't work for me

The waistcoat, while nice in itself, it just doesn't work color wise with the jacket or the kilt (it appears to have a greenish cast to it as opposed to the slate color of the kilt jacket and kilt). It also has a texture to it that stands out as being far too different from the kilt and kilt jacket. It is a nice waistcoat and I think it would work well with a tartan kilt.

Belt and Waistcoat. Some may disagree, but I think you wear one or the other. Wearing both makes one's waistcoat look too short.

The shirt. A simple white shirt or even better a pale blue one, would make your outfit look far more elegant. The check just doesn't seem very dressy and takes away from the dramatic flair of the very nice red tie.

The sporran tassel length. They seem to long to me. I think they would look better if the ends didn't hang below the sporran.

This is just my two cents, take it for what it is worth.

Cheers

Jamie