I originally asked this in another thread, but Nathan kindly pointed out it would probably be better in a separate thread of its own, so here it is:

I have a question that comes up for me looking at photos and reading through threads but that I have never personally seen addressed (I am sure it has been discussed somewhere, but I just haven't found it).

I see a lot of talk about the proper kilt length, as there should be. I often see no discussion about sock / hose height.

Sometimes looking at photos where the kilt is just right (at halfway up the knee to the top of the kneecap range) the hose strike my eye as quite low, leaving a rather large gap of the middle of the leg showing. Sometimes this is due to the hose slipping and scrunching up about the ankle, which is somewhat sloppy for my taste. Sometmes it is because someone is going for the casual rugby shirt look and has athletic socks intentionally scrunched all the way down. But what I see more often and am a bit perplexed by is hose that are tight, not slipping, and quite far below the knee, with the rest of the outfit in perfect order, at least as far as my untrained foreign enthusiast eye is concerned.

Do any of you have any rules of thumb on what range of hose height, or maybe distance from kilt bottom to hose top, is acceptable?

Perhaps I am going about it all wrong, or perhaps my legs are oddly proportioned, but when I find hose that fit my feet, and turn down the top, I would be hard pressed to get it down as low as many seem to intentionally wear their hose top while still having the hose look properly rolled. This usually results in the hose coming just about 1-3 finger breadths below the bottom of my kneecap, give or take. But I see a lot of photos of smartly dressed men with the hose tops far lower than that.

From the perspective of a traditional purist, what is proper? Is there a different set of guidelines for day attire vs evening formal attire?

It might be helpful to me, and possibly others, trying to get it "right."

Slàinte