My first kilt-critique my photos please!!!!

[scotswelshrunner]

I finally received my adjusted kilt back from Sportkilt (Hunting tartan as they had nothing in Ross) and shot a few pics of myself in various styles. Until my traditional and Scottish made kilt gets here in April, this will be my casual kilt for now and then.Do things look right? I'm sure I have forgotten some things but as this is going to be for casual, around town wear and not formal gatherings, I played a little with the "necessary" items such as a true kilt belt and buckle and hose. The belt is a 2.25" from Ross (ironic) and the hose are from my wife's collection,obtained at TJ Maxx for a few dollars. I just cannot make myself spend $15-30 for one pair of hose. The shirt and sweater are from my regular closet and the shoes a Goodwill special for $12. The sporran is a $10 Amazon deal but I must admit very well made.

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Of course, I'm my own worse critic and know it is not a traditional nor tailored fit kilt. But for what I paid and my objective, I didn't think it too awful bad. Now to hear from your learned kilt wearers how I can improve on a budget. Also, the kilt is a large from Sportkilt tailored down to fit nicely with room for weight if needed (hopefully not) and the length at mid knee.

Enough of my rambling. What do you think? Please spare no criticism. :-D

James Donald Ross

[mookien]

OK. I will spare no criticism. Brace yourself ...

First, let me preface my comments by saying that the man (or woman) makes the clothes, not, as commonly believed, the other way 'round. You could drape a gunny sack around Sean Connery or Angelina Jolie and most folks would swoon over their pictures.

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you belong in that category. You're one of those guys who just look good in a kilt. Life's tough. Get over it. Your pictures and outfits look very good, though I prefer the sweater worn over the white shirt instead of the white shirt only, and then with the collar out rather than in.

I think you could wear pretty much any kilt, "budget" items, and hand-me-down hose from your wife (except the seamed nylon variety, of course), and look good. Also, I really like the tartan flashes, your sporran, and your black shoes. Good work!

[Dale Seago]

I can only echo mookien's comments. Deal with it.

[Downunder Kilt]

Overall you have snatched the reason you have bought this kilt for. Three suggestions, roll the flashes over the garter to make them shorter, get yourself a leather sporran strap (a thin belt from a OP shop does the trick) and try raising the kilt about one inch. Just looks a tad long in the photo. Dont be hard on yourself, when I started wearing a kilt I was not picture perfect, no-one is, and many say I'm still not.

[MacMillans son]

Ok, since you requested it In preparation for your traditional kilt to worn in a more traditional manner:

I would wear the kilt a bit higher, I am a top of the knee kind of guy.
I would wear the hose a bit lower, about 3 fingers below the knee cap (like your left leg on the final photo)
I would lose the matching tartan flashes, and if you prefer flashes go with a solid color. Personally, I prefer self-tie garters but that is just me.
I would shorten the amount of tail, of said flashes, that is exposed below the hose top. 1-1/2 inches is plenty, they are not supposed to look like streamers, or as some say, "Wind socks"

As you can see all of my suggestions were prefaced with "I would" which means you are free to wear things as you see fit, but I would...

A fine first effort given your budget and available accessories.

Apparently Downunder was a bit faster on the keyboard!

[Panache]

Ok, since you requested it In preparation for your traditional kilt to worn in a more traditional manner:

I would wear the kilt a bit higher, I am a top of the knee kind of guy.
I would wear the hose a bit lower, about 3 fingers below the knee cap (like your left leg on the final photo)
I would lose the matching tartan flashes, and if you prefer flashes go with a solid color. Personally, I prefer self-tie garters but that is just me.
I would shorten the amount of tail, of said flashes, that is exposed below the hose top. 1-1/2 inches is plenty, they are not supposed to look like streamers, or as some say, "Wind socks"

As you can see all of my suggestions were prefaced with "I would" which means you are free to wear things as you see fit, but I would...

A fine first effort given your budget and available accessories.

*** Good assessment, I concur.

Cheers

Jamie

[Riverkilt]

I agree, you look very sharp and its YOU, not the "kilt" since in my opinion (only) you're not wearing a kilt but a "kilt-like" garment. Once you're able to afford a "real kilt" I think you'll look very sharp. You've got it all down. Not knocking the SportKkilt...its just a "sport-kilt"....hope the jones to wool, or even polyviscose, isn't too long. You could easily be a kilt model.

[creagdhubh]

Ok, since you requested it In preparation for your traditional kilt to worn in a more traditional manner:

I would wear the kilt a bit higher, I am a top of the knee kind of guy.
I would wear the hose a bit lower, about 3 fingers below the knee cap (like your left leg on the final photo)
I would lose the matching tartan flashes, and if you prefer flashes go with a solid color. Personally, I prefer self-tie garters but that is just me.
I would shorten the amount of tail, of said flashes, that is exposed below the hose top. 1-1/2 inches is plenty, they are not supposed to look like streamers, or as some say, "Wind socks"

As you can see all of my suggestions were prefaced with "I would" which means you are free to wear things as you see fit, but I would...

A fine first effort given your budget and available accessories.

Apparently Downunder was a bit faster on the keyboard!

***

[Katia]

Yep, I agree, looks good... though I dunno about my kilt fashion sense so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

I admit to being a big fan of matchy-matchy, but I think the hose might look sharp if you could find a pair in that same lighter gray as you have a narrow stripe of in the sett. ETA: Oh, never mind... I just went to Sportkilt and looked at the tartan itself. On my monitor, your pics appear that the tartan is dark gray or gray-blue with a thin red line, and then very narrow light-gray stripes. (Now that I've seen what it *really* looks like, the "hunting" name makes a lot more sense!)

Red flashes might look very smart indeed.

[scotswelshrunner]

OK. I will spare no criticism. Brace yourself ...

First, let me preface my comments by saying that the man (or woman) makes the clothes, not, as commonly believed, the other way 'round. You could drape a gunny sack around Sean Connery or Angelina Jolie and most folks would swoon over their pictures.

I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you belong in that category. You're one of those guys who just look good in a kilt. Life's tough. Get over it. Your pictures and outfits look very good, though I prefer the sweater worn over the white shirt instead of the white shirt only, and then with the collar out rather than in.

I think you could wear pretty much any kilt, "budget" items, and hand-me-down hose from your wife (except the seamed nylon variety, of course), and look good. Also, I really like the tartan flashes, your sporran, and your black shoes. Good work!

Thanks for the kind words and all of the advice fellow kilt wearers! I will be tweaking some things with this set up and taking photos along the way, posting some here and on my blog. The journey is just starting for me with kilts and things get interesting today as I wear it out in public for the first time.