kilt trumps accessories?

[OC Richard]

I attended a wedding yesterday at which at least half of the men were kilted. Dozens of kilties in attendance!

I noticed an interesting thing, one that I'd not paid attention to before.

There was a kilted man in just about the most plain possible dress: kilt, sporran, offwhite/cream hose, ordinary loafer shoes, dress shirt and tie. No flashes, no belt, no waistcoat, no jacket.

Most of the kilties were wearing black Argyll jackets or Prince Charlies but this plain gentleman stood out.

What it was, was his kilt. It was a very well-made and well-fitting kilt in a lovely tartan and he wore it well.

And that was all that was needed! The minimum of accessories, the sporran and kilt hose, was sufficient.

He was actually more elegant than most of the men wearing jackets and ghillies etc, but whose kilts were not as nice as his.

Probably many of you have known this all along, and perhaps I knew it subconsciously, but it had never jumped out to me so clearly as it did yesterday.

BTW it was a daytime wedding but I was the only man wearing anything other than black, until halfway through the reception a man wearing a charcoal grey Argyll arrived.

[chrisupyonder]

Your never PLAIN in a kilt.

Chris.

[Cowher]

I agree to an extent. I think sometimes someone will heap on the accessories thinking that it makes them look good. I go to a scotch tasting every year and the mc is a kilted gent that pipes himself into the event. He always wears A prince Charlie and a vest with a bow tie. He has a big chrome waist plate, a dirk with a huge fake looking stone in the end, same with the sgian dubh. White hose and ghillie brogues. He also wears a fly plaid with a huge chrome broach. Everyone else is wearing dress pants and a button up shirt without a tie. He's a great entertainer but neither I nor the rest of the people there are inspired by his attire. My brother in law said he looks like he is trying to play a roll. No one has ever worn a kilt to this scotch tasting. I wore one last year. I didnt wear it correctly nor was it a quality kilt. But this year I have two, high quality, well made kilts to choose from. And I have a few nice and understated accessories to go along with it.
Wile I do think a kilt wardrobe can be overdone I also think high quality understated accessories can add to the beauty of a kilt.

[Tobus]

I think it's not that the kilt trumps the accessories, but that an understated look of style trumps an overdone costume. Less is more, so to speak.

Too many people seem to want to make it a grandiose set of plumage, but I'm really starting to like the look of simplicity with style. I think with most people, this is a function of how long they've been wearing it.

[WillieMacG]

I hate to say it, but, I believe there are some Kilt wearers who still think of it as being more of a "costume."

[Nighthawk]

You know what? The only accessory that I find to be an absolute must at anything other than the most formal of occasions is a waistcoat. Otherwise, I agree- simple can be very elegant!

I think it's not that the kilt trumps the accessories, but that an understated look of style trumps an overdone costume. Less is more, so to speak.

Too many people seem to want to make it a grandiose set of plumage, but I'm really starting to like the look of simplicity with style. I think with most people, this is a function of how long they've been wearing it.

I think it's more of a function of how comfortable you are in your own skin. I've gone places wearing kilt, nice hose, garters, plain shoes, and Iron Maiden t shirt and been told I'm the best-dressed person in attendance. There are people who wear suits and look like they were shoe-horned into them! Even when the clothes fit well and are appropriate, if you don't have the self-confidence to pull those clothes off, then you just look out of place! Just my 2pence...

[Spartan Tartan]

I'm a fan of the understated. Wear it well and with confidence and you'll look great.

[Nighthawk]

Stupid double posts...

[Guinness>water]

I agree with the kilt usually being warn as a costume. I think the few folks out there who wear a kilt wear it so little and only to special events that they only have one set of accessories(shirt, hose, shoes,ect...)

I wear it very often, at least once a weekend. And its clothes to me. Yeah, I have certain socks and belt/sporran but other than those, its just my regular clothes.

At our local Scottish heritage society, I wear the kilt to every meeting and I had been hounding this Macleod fellow to wear his kilt for about a year. He finally wore it to a event. He had a cream Jacobite shirt, cream hose, jeweled sgian dubh, dress sporran, ghillie brogues, and tartan flashes. Said it took him an hour and a half to put on and that THIS is how your supposed to wear the kilt.

To each his own, I reckon.

[Tobus]

I think it's more of a function of how comfortable you are in your own skin.

Or how comfortable and confident you are in your clothes. If you look like you're wearing something that you've never worn before and you're not used to how it feels or moves, it will come across as awkward and wrong to everyone else. Feeling naturally at home in a kilt, learning how to move and sit, are functions of experience and can make even a plain unadorned outfit look better than those who are gussied up and look like they're stiff and miserable.