Dress codes and changing trends

[Nathan]

I'm going to tread lightly here and say that there are far more rules about what not what to wear with a kilt than what you should wear. Less is certainly more, although I think there are a few categories worth considering for the newer kilt wearer:

1. Fit: This really should be the first consideration. Tartan, color, weight - it doesn't matter if it looks like you're wearing a sack.

2. Less is More: the simplest pair of hose and plainest sporran look fine when worn correctly. Problems come when people try to throw in something that doesn't fit with the rest of the outfit, like a pair of spats with a PC (I've seen it!). The thing I've seen a lot more of these days is the inclusion of Pakistani horsehair sporrans with various looks. Yes, I know many people on these boards have beautiful hair sporrans that look great and are historically appropriate. But a) they know what they're doing and b) those sporrans weren't made in Sailkot.

3. The Kilt Isn't a Pair of Jeans: This is where people will disagree with me, but I feel like if you need to wear a pair of combat boots and wallet chain and a t-shirt with your kilt to make it look cooler, you're missing the point of wearing the kilt. Can you get away with a polo or a sweater rather than a jacket and shirt? Of course - people can and do -but to my eye it looks more like a cry for attention. When I see guys in ill-fitting kilts and converse shuffling through the games, they are invariably buying turkey legs and browsing the claymores. Do you want to be that guy? If everything fits, you'll never go wrong with a white shirt, belt, plain sporran, hose, and appropriate footwear (which for today's highlander is probably a pair of muck boots, but I digress).

Not an exhaustive list, but probably longer than it needs to be. Simplicity in all things should be how you approach wearing a kilt if you're shooting for a relatively trad look. I'd say go to the Games and observe to get ideas, but you'll see all sorts of sartorial (since it's Scots, can we say "saltirial"?) horrors there. Keep reading these boards - there are tons of experienced kilt wearers with great ideas. Also take a look at pics from major piping contests, too (like Glenfiddich, Northern Meeting, Bratach Gorm) - pipers mostly get it right (albeit in a very specific ensemble), and the organizers will usually be kitted out pretty well, too.

Of course, if you have the money and inclination, you could always ask WWJD (What Would John (Burgess) Do?

You're right. Point three is where I disagree with you. You're spot on with points 1 and 2 but sometimes a kilt does work as a pair of jeans. For example, if you're heading to a Mudmen or Seven Nations concert. To show up in a tweed and necktie would make you quite the Alex P. Keaton in such a context and you might rip your nice Argyll or tear your club tie in the mosh pit. And even if i follow your advice, for me a button down business shirt just doesn't look as rock and roll as a t-shirt. When the music event is celebrating a fusion of rock and Celtic music, a fusion of rock and Celtic fashion makes sense. What I keep trying to get across is that context matters. People should dress for the situation.

Celtic rock show attire...If I wasn't wearing a kilt, I'd be wearing a pair of jeans with these outfits and I wouldn't be browsing claymores. Obviously, a day sporran would be better than my beat up dress sporran with these looks.
My old band and I ...



Some others...





Hot weather Highland Games casual spectator wear. This is such a common look, we had better get used to it. If these gents weren't in the kilt, they'd probably be wearing the same tops with cotton chinos or shorts. This is the dress code at pretty fancy golf and country clubs these days so it isn't considered slovenly.



Traditional Highland Civilian Day wear. This is what I wear when representing my chief and my clan at Scottish events or any place where if I wasn't in a kilt, I'd be wearing at least a sports coat. I choose to dress a little smarter casually than I did before I passed 30 years of age.



Super formal. If I wasn't in a kilt, I'd be in a tux or tails.



Context is key. Sometimes casual is the right approach but to Tobus' point, the problem is that people think casual is always the right approach and that is indeed a regrettable trend. I wear a jacket and tie every day to work at my day job, then I often check out live music or play a gig in jeans and a t-shirt or casual button down shirt, usually untucked with the sleeves rolled up and a couple of buttons undone. It's well dressed in that context but it would be quite sloppy at my office. When I'm out for summer drinks, I might choose a linen jacket and jeans. My point is that I try to dress as well as I can for the event I'm attending.

Context folks. Context.