My Kilt outfit

[Peonbilly]

Hello all, I first posted here about 6 months ago when I first got this kilt, now I got more things to go with it like the black highland shirt, ghillie brogues and the black flat cap. It's my first time tying Ghillie Brogues so it's kind of messed up, and I lost the string to the Highland Shirt, is it a special type of string or could I use any type of black string? What do you guys think?

[GG]

Congratulations to your additions. What to wear when must first of all be a question of the situation. I should say that personally I shouldn’t at the same time wear a highland shirt and ghillie brogues, the first being to me a casual thing and the other one for dress up purposes.
I think you can use any kind of appropriate string with the shirt. 99% of the population have never seen a highland shirt and don’t know what it is or how it should look like. To the rest, you might tell, in case they are impolite enough to make comments on your possible mistakes, that you are the experimenting type of guy. This advice is not limited to a string in your shirt, by the way.

[Liam]

Welcome to the forum from Calgary!

[Nathan]

First of all,

Welcome to the forum from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I see you've already introduced yourself to the forum in the newbie section, but I don't think I caught it the first time around.

I think it's great that you've taken the plunge into kilt wearing. It's addictive and a lot of fun. Depending on what sort of style you're going for, you may find your tastes evolve as you read this forum.

For views on one particular approach and the one I prefer, you should check out Traditionally Made Kilts and How to Wear them. In that section, we discuss the kilt and how it is worn in a traditional sense in its native land, the Highlands of Scotland.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f101/

You can also take a look at the Contemporary Kilts and How to Wear them subforum.

You may also find the 1 kilt 10 looks thread to be an informative jumping off point here:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-attire-46888/

A word of caution, the members of this forum are a classy, informed and intelligent bunch. Some make kilts others study old photos and catalogues, and others belong to families with an unbroken tradition of kilt wearing stretching back for generations. Others have been on xmarks for years which is almost as good . But if you're going to ask what people think of an outfit, some may just tell you what they think without sugar coating it. If you're thick skinned enough to take the various opinions in stride and in the constructive context in which they'll no doubt be intended, you'll do just fine.

To see what I mean, use the search function and have fun reading the past "wars" about emerging trends in kilt wearing regarding the following clothing items:

white hose
ghillie brogues
ghillie shirts/highland shirts/jacobite shirts
flat caps
tartan flashes

With all of this in mind, remember to enjoy your new kilt and to wear what works best for you. Most of all, have fun!

[CMcG]

What do you guys think?

I think it would help if you told us where you are planning on wearing this outfit and what kind of look you are going for

You've got a good start, though there are some things that I personally would do differently if I were, for example, going down to the pub. These examples are intended to work with things you probably already have, but there are many other options if you buy more kit. I'd start by ditching the pseudo-jacobite shirt in favour of a regular shirt. The "Highland" shirt looks a bit costumey and seems more suited to a Renn Fair. FYI, traditional Highland civilian dress (THCD) tends to be a bit more colourful and prone to mixing patterns, but there's nothing wrong with a muted/monochromatic palette sometimes.

I'd steam my kilt to get the wrinkles out. I'd wear regular shoes instead of ghille brogues or at least put regular length laces on them (see earlier comments of being costumey). I'd roll the top of my hose down a bit to show more knee and cover more of the flashes. The effect of that much of one's flashes showing is like little wee flags waving in the wind. I'd also find a sporran strap (think long, thin, leather belt or re-purposed purse strap) instead of a chain because they are more gentle on the kilt and more comfortable.

Here's a picture of me (on the right) down at the pub with a fellow Xmarker wearing something like what I just described, which is a tweaked version of the outfit you posted. I was even wearing a flatcap, but took it off when I went inside. It's not too different from your outfit, but the devil is in the details

[ASinclair]

Hello, William!



Images of black Jacobite shirts on the web appear to use a bootlace, either black or brown. So, you may want to do that. As far as kilt attire in general, I can't really add to all the good advice already posted here. Again, welcome aboard!

[McMurdo]

First off

As to the outfit, honestly it is not my style and that is because it seems too "costumey" for my tastes. I wear a regular button down shirt with my kilts to alleviate that issue, another thought is that if you wear what you normally would with a pair of trousers it instantly becomes more accepted by the general public. The Ghillie Brogues are another costumey piece that I would reserve for wearing with the Prince Charlie jacket at a Burn Night or other black tie affair. I agree with CMcG on the sporran strap, another way to get an inexpensive sporran strap is to go out and get a woman's belt from a local department store.

Here are a couple of casual outfits that I've worn out in the past for different things to give you an idea, these would both be perfect for going out to the local pub with friends.

[Geoff Withnell]

I seldom wear a jacobite shirt, but when I do, I don't have a string in the neck. It seems a certain good looking blonde of my close acquaintance enjoys a bit of exposed male chest with curly chest hair, and who am I to deprive her?

Seriously, look at the examples on various threads here, but do not slavishly follow them but use them to develop your own sense of style.

[Grizzly]

Firstly , congratulations on taking the plunge into the kilted and thus enlightened world. I would reiterate what Nathan, Colin and Glen have said above, the only thing that I would add to their comments is look at the pictures that Colin and Glen have posted and note the position of the sporran belt. It sits below the waist belt. Ditch the chain as it could damage the kilt if not of good quality, a narrow leather belt looks far more authentic anyway. The flat cap is always an interesting conversation too.

[pbutts]

Greetings from Kalamazoo! Is that Mansfield, Ohio by any chance?

It's usually just us pipers who mess with the ghillies so here's a good set of instructions from a piping web site-- http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articl..._brogues.shtml