Inviting Critiscism.... For Jock Scot etc.

[Kilted Karl]

Dear All,

As a historical reenactor and someone who deplores the constant "casualizing" of modern clothing I lean very strongly towards the traditional side of kilt wearing. I just finished reading the "Too Traditional" thread and have been watching the "Two Comments" thread as well and the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.

So I thought I would throw out a picture or two for criticism....



These two have worse light but show the bonnet. A genuine Ryan Ross bonnet and I am afraid I do wear it in a historical manner rather than traditional.





I am not overly well supplied with money so I buy all of my shirts and ties from the thrift store and everything else is made by me (except the hose, garters, hat, and shoes).

I am not really looking for "you look really good" posts. If I am doing something right I would, of course, like to know but what I really need are ways in which I can improve. I would especially appreciate input from Jock Scot, creagdhubh, and other people who really know what they are doing in regards to THCD... go ahead, be brutal .

Thank you all!

Sincerely,

:ootd: Karl

[Jock Scot]

Well done Laddie!

Actually you look pretty damn good and the smile says it all! OK a wee bit of fine tuning. It might pay you to turn your kilt pin up the other way. Those horse blanket pins rarely spring upen, but if it did as you have it now it would fall off. Having it the other way gives you a chance of it hanging on until you spot it has come undone.

It might pay you to consider getting a leather sporran strap when you can as it might be kinder on the kilt in the long run. Have you a leather sporran strap on the last two pictures? Its not very clear. You might consider raising the sporran a tad just to see ifyou like it higher----its no big deal either way. Its a trial and error thing really.

Some, including me, might suggest fastening your bottom button on your waistcoat as that is how many consider highland waistcoats are worn.

Finally when you can, it might be worth thinking about non button down shirt collars.

All these are just minute details that you might consider over time. Oh and the bonnet! Just so you know most in Scotland go bare headed these days and I really do think the traditional method fits your attire better, if I had to chose between that and the historical look.

[Kilted Karl]

Jock Scot,

Thank you for your input, very helpful!

It may be hard to see but the sporran is on a leather strap. I have a chain but I never use it for the reason you mentioned.

:ootd: Karl

[Jock Scot]

Just noticed the SD, it might pay you to push it into your hose quite a bit more. Leaving about an inch to inch and a half, poking out. Its will be more secure that way.

Just, just noticed! It might be worth threading the T bar on the watch chain from the outside to inside , it looks more tidy and will be less likely to catch on anything.

[Liam]

Just to add to Jock's comments, to my eye, your sporran looks a tad small. A minor point as well with your pocket watch chain, the "t-bar" is usually on the inside, not outside. Overall you have pulled things off fairly well!

[Nathan]

First of all, well done. I do agree with everything Jock said in his post. Here are some tweaks you might consider.

Bonnet: I wear a bonnet in the traditional manner but only at clan events etc... otherwise I go bareheaded. One guideline I tend to follow is that I don't wear a bonnet if I'm not wearing a jacket. I also prefer a more traditional and less historical looking bonnet shape. If you're dressing in period attire, by all means wear the flat blue bonnet, but when dressing traditional, keep it traditional. You acknowledged that you know this already in your OP.

Tiny nitpick: Your kilt looks a tad high to my eyes as do your hose. I try to have the hose go up to about three fingers below my kneecap and the top of the kilt in line with the top of my knee at the highest and mid knee at the lowest. Yours looks to be a few fingers above the top of the knee but this could be a camera angle thing. Hose for sure, kilt maybe.

Garter ties: I like to show less of them to avoid the wind sock effect and just have a peek of colour. I also line them up directly to the outside edge of my shin bone. These are personal preferences and how you have yours are perfectly fine.

Keep it up and kilt on!

[McClef]

Very well turned out and modeled!

Fine tune it as you see fit having listened to sage advice above.

[BCAC]

Jock Scot,

Thank you for your input, very helpful!

It may be hard to see but the sporran is on a leather strap. I have a chain but I never use it for the reason you mentioned.

:ootd: Karl

If that's the case it is very expertly disguised as a chain!

[Kilted Karl]

The leather belt is braided so in the right light it does look rather like a chain.

:ootd: Karl

[OC Richard]

I question the accuracy of that statue.

The sporran doesn't resemble any sporran I've seen worn by The Cameron Highlanders in WWII, or indeed the sporran of any regiment. Without having a period photo of Bill Millin in front of me, which could prove me wrong, I would guess that the sculptor was basing the sporran on a civilian one he happened to be using for reference.

Here's a page from an old catalogue of standard civilian sporran styles. You'll note that several have the big exposed snap that appears on the statue; in fact the civilian sporran at top left appears to be what the sculptor had in mind. I've not seen a military sporran made like that. Also on this page, at top right, is a sporran with an exposed stud closure such as was used by the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, and, without tassels, by The Black Watch. The Camerons didn't use either the big exposed snap, or the exposed stud.



The Cameron Highlanders wore a sporran with a hidden fastener on the flap and no tassels. Here it is



Luckily for the reenactor this is exactly the style now worn by The Royal Regiment of Scotland, and it's widely and cheaply available. The RRS even wear the old Cameron sporran badge, I think. (Of course you'd want 'white metal' or German Silver rather than the modern Staybrite.)

Here it is



About your civilian kit, it looks fine to me, though I did note the buttondown collar. Oddly, I recently saw a Tattersall shirt by an established English maker with a buttondown collar! So even the British aren't immune to it.

It is very difficult to find a true British-style Tattersall shirt over here in the States, but in one of my recent mall-scrounging expeditions I finally found one! It's the first time, in years of looking, that I found a shirt here that meets all the parameters of the traditional British Tattersall shirt.