Semi-Dress or Daywear?

[KennethSime]

A few weeks ago I picked up a second-hand Charcoal Arrochar Tweed Braemar jacket & waistcoat from a Scottish etsy store for an extremely reasonable price.

I reveal my age a bit here (and perhaps my class), but it's the first time I've owned anything approaching formal wear, and had to pick up a few accessories prior to showing off to you fine folks. Here in California, this is probably about as formal as I'll ever need to be. I took a few photos of the jacket combinations, as well as a few color combos with flashes, hose, and ties.

Few questions for the rabble:

• Am I getting close to semi-dress, day wear, or not quite either?
• Which color combination do you like the best?
• Should ties and flashes always match?
• Also open to any and all feedback here: am I wearing everything right?

Ties, flashes, pin, and ancient green lewis hose fresh in from USA Kilts. 8-Yard Fraser Gathering Hunting kilt from Celtic Craft Centre, worn with USA Kilts Kilt Extension Straps. Day sporran and navy blue hose from Kilt Society. Smith boots from Altra Running.

P.S. Pardon the sloppy windsor, this is the first (and second) time I've tied one.





Full album here.

[Father Bill]

Hi.

To be honest, I cringe when I hear the term "semi-dress". "Ain't no such animal." What you're wearing so well is daywear, and darned nice daywear at that. Ties and flashes match? Why? Quite unnecessary and honestly, I've never heard of that.

I'll let others respond to your other questions, but I think you've got a nice outfit there.

[KennethSime]

Hi.

To be honest, I cringe when I hear the term "semi-dress". "Ain't no such animal." What you're wearing so well is daywear, and darned nice daywear at that. Ties and flashes match? Why? Quite unnecessary and honestly, I've never heard of that.

I'll let others respond to your other questions, but I think you've got a nice outfit there.

Hey Bill,

Thanks so much for the kind words!

Please excuse my ignorance around the term "semi-dress" - I've heard some folks don't believe in it, but it seems to be pretty widely used. Perhaps another hire industry creation?

I heard Rocky from USA Kilts mention on a Kilts & Culture episode that he tries to match his tie with his flashes, which is why I tried it out here. That said, I think I prefer the green tie, and the red flashes. I think I will look for some Charcoal Lewis Hose, then I could wear the green flashes with the green tie.

[Father Bill]

Hey Bill,

Thanks so much for the kind words!

Please excuse my ignorance around the term "semi-dress" - I've heard some folks don't believe in it, but it seems to be pretty widely used. Perhaps another hire industry creation?

I heard Rocky from USA Kilts mention on a Kilts & Culture episode that he tries to match his tie with his flashes, which is why I tried it out here. That said, I think I prefer the green tie, and the red flashes. I think I will look for some Charcoal Lewis Hose, then I could wear the green flashes with the green tie.

Sort of depends on whether you want to look like a Scot wearing a kilt or an American wearing a kilt. Scots don't worry much about matching stuff. The "semi-dress" and "semi-formal" terms are more recent inventions than longer iconic terms. For that reason, what they mean is likely up to a lot of questions to which nobody really knows the answers even if they say they do. Usually it has most to do with the way they sell/hire their kilts and accessories.

I always wonder why somebody would want to look mostly Scottish, so I prefer to look at what is done in Scotland by traditionalists rather than by hire companies or other styles. You'll generally do well watching Rocky's stuff, and he has a wonderful line. My own assessment is that he sometimes 'Americanizes' his styles a bit, but not horridly so.

Hang around here for a while, read a lot before you spend a lot more money. You've got a nice kit now, so you don't need to spend a lot of money for quite a while, and when you're reading, always look at the top right corner to see where they're writing from. Scottish advice will likely be the most iconic and useful.

[KennethSime]

Quite sound advice Bill, thanks very much!

[Liam]

Hi Kenneth...
I think the matching flashes to tie can work and you have done it well although this isn't necessary. A few observations as you have asked.... in the first 2 pictures your sporran strap needs a slight adjustment as it is bunching your kilt. It is ok to button the bottom button of a kilt vest. Showing less of your flashes would make it a more traditional look. I always like a belt with a kilt if a vest isn't worn, but this isn't necessary.
If this is your first and second attempt of a 'half Windsor' you've done well. the widest part of the tie should be at the top of your kilt or belt though.
Over all great job!
Slainte

[OC Richard]

A few weeks ago I picked up a second-hand Charcoal Arrochar Tweed Braemar jacket & waistcoat from a Scottish etsy store for an extremely reasonable price.

Congrats! Very nice tweed jacket there.

Many people are of the opinion that a charcoal grey kilt jacket is the most versatile kilt jacket one can have- I've heard many Scots as well as people in other countries say so. For sure the fact that black, white, and grey are non-colours mean they don't clash with anything, and a charcoal kilt jacket looks great with nearly any kilt.

Am I getting close to semi-dress, day wear, or not quite either?

"Semi-dress" is, as far as I know, a recent term with Highland Dress, and to me doesn't have much meaning in regards to the tradition as I feel it exists.

Taking the long view, Highland Dress is an example of Punctuated Equilibrium: in between periods of stability it has undergone rapid and thorough change.

So throughout the Victorian period Highland Dress had certain looks, then around World War One it went through a near-total transformation giving us what I consider modern traditional Highland Dress.

The Highland Dress that emerged in the 1920s (and which is still being worn today by those who prefer it) had two categories: Day Dress (or Outdoor Dress, or Field Dress) and Evening Dress.

Each had dedicated shoes, socks, sporrans, jackets, shirts, and ties. Thus there was very little overlap between the two modes, and no middle ground.

The next period of change in Highland Dress started between 1970 and 1980 with the rise of the Kilt Hire Industry. Time will tell whether the attitudes and dress-items which appeared then will be accepted into the tradition.

Kilt Hire, initially, was mostly about the black Prince Charlie and everything else had to be modified to go with it.

Then the black Argyll became a common hire thing too. But where did the black Argyll fit? It didn't look quite like a Prince Charlie. Was the black Argyll dress? Or was it something else?

With sporrans these things meant the creation of "semi-dress" ones. The sporranmakers took traditional leather Day sporrans (which from c1910 to c1970 had been brown) made them up in black leather. Then they started sticking on elements from Evening sporrans like chain tassels and /or silver Evening sporran tops.

This new dress was immensely popular with Pipe Bands the world over: by the end of the 1980s nearly all competition Pipe Bands the world over went with black Argylls and black leather sporrans with silver Evening tops added.

With hose, the Hire Industry introduced and popularised plain white hose for wear with the black Prince Charlie and Argyll.

I started kiltwearing just before the Kilt Hire Industry transformation hit, and to me that look isn't traditional. None today can say how it will be regarded 50 years from now, whether the traditional dress of the post-WWI era will reassert itself, or the Kilt Hire look will become integrated into the tradition.

Which is a very longwinded way of saying that, to me, tweed is tweed, and tweed is Day Dress.

Barathea and velvet are Evening Dress, and by no means confined to black.

[KennethSime]

Which is a very longwinded way of saying that, to me, tweed is tweed, and tweed is Day Dress.

Thank you Richard, both for long-winded explanation and the succinct summary.

As a student of history, I appreciate both equally. :-)

[Jock Scot]

...........................

Which is a very longwinded way of saying that, to me, tweed is tweed, and tweed is Day Dress.

Barathea and velvet are Evening Dress, and by no means confined to black.

I agree with much of what you have said OCR although I take issue with two of your points.

Firstly, civilian pipe band attire trends is an issue entirely for bands and has nothing to do with general civilian kilt attire trends. Yes, those trends might run parallel with each other from time to time but that is all.

Secondly, the idea that tweed is entirely for day attire mis represents what actually is and has been been done in the Scottish Highlands for certainly nearly(who can remember their first couple of years?) the last 80 years to my personal knowledge.

What one wore in the evening, particularly if one was having guests ,or if one had an invitation to visit elsewhere has always been somewhat of a lottery to some and a complete mystery to others. However, what was/is worn depended how the invitation was worded and experience and this still holds true today.

Two words were the key to how we dress if we were/are giving an invitation or receiving one for an evening event. “Supper” or “dinner” were/are the two critical indicators to the dress required. Supper requires tweed and dinner requires black tie etc.. Likewise, if the invitation was to pop round for a “wee drink with a few friends” then ones experience would come to the fore, but usually that would mean tweed, but .........not always! A fair indicator in this case is, if the invitation is verbal then tweed is the choice and if it’s written then black tie is the norm. If in doubt, it never hurts to ask!

My circle of friends , as I still do myself on occasion, have no hesitation to ring round, or ask one another when meeting, what the "form" is at "Freddie and "Linda's do " or "my do" next week? Some might know, some might not, but by the "jungle telegraph" we all --------well, nearly always------end up wearing the hosts intended dress requirements.

So all in all your blanket tweed for day attire etc., is far too much of a simplification, even in today’s rather more casual attention to attire details.

[KennethSime]

What one wore in the evening, particularly if one was having guests ,or if one had an invitation to visit elsewhere has always been somewhat of a lottery to some and a complete mystery to others. However, what was/is worn depended how the invitation was worded and experience and this still holds true today.

Here in California, amongst the youth, virtually all invitations are sent via SMS text message, which implies t-shirt and flip-flop.

In all seriousness, I thank you Jock - as someone who never really dresses up for anything but weddings, this really helps expand my understanding.