What would you like to see in a kilt?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Also, increasing the variety found in tartans. Most traditional tartans honestly look the same to my eye. Lots of dark greens and blues, or bright reds and greens, or some variation thereon. Personally, I find 90% of the traditional tartans hideous.

There are well over 8000 unique tartans on record with more being added on a weekly basis now it seems. The great majority of those are not "traditional clan tartans"

Now true, the woolen mills are not going to stock all of these. They are going to stock what sells the most. Introducing more fashion tartans won't change the economics of that.

One of the reasons why the mills will always stock the "traditional clan tartans" more than fashion tartans is because they know good and well that there will be a demand for MacGregor, MacDonald, and Stewart in 5, 10, or 50 years, just like there was 50 years ago. But the fashion tartan that is all the rage this year, might be played out in 5 years, so each time they reweave a new bolt of the cloth, they have to decide if they think the tartan is still popular enough. And that's also why new fashion tartans are designed on a regular basis.

Of course you are always free to design your own, which is easier now than it ever was before, thanks to online tartan design software.

I would love to see some new ones, especially some simpler ones with fewer colors, using the sorts of colors you could find on modern clothing.

I'm not quite sure I follow you, as you were just complaining that one reason you don't like traditional tartans is that they all seem to use the same basic colors. But now you are asking for fewer colors.

There are plenty of tartans out there that just use two or three colors, so perhaps it is that you are not familiar with all that is available. And actually, with jaquard looms, mills now can produce tartan cloth with one color!

And, speaking of variety in colors, keep in mind that the same tartan is often produced in multiple color schemes by the same mill, and that different mills' colors vary slightly from one to another. So with one tartan, I might have the choice between 6 or 7 different color options, all available from stock at various mills.

Another example is having more kilt accessories that don’t have thistles or other overtly Scottish symbols on them, and doing away with some of the overly historical kilt accessories, like doublets and jabots. I think they look fantastic, don’t get me wrong. I think a Sherrifmuir doublet with castellated diced hose and court shoes looks stunning. However, it also looks like you stepped out of the 1700s, Kate & Leopold-style. Even just taking the epaulettes and strange cuffs and pocket flaps off kilt jackets and making them look like regular suit jackets goes a long way to making the kilt look to my eye more like everyday clothing.

Why do we have to "do away" with these types of accessories (which you agree look fantastic) in order to allow simpler, more modern styles? Can we not have both as an option?

And in fact you can order a kilt jacket today with no epaulettes, plain cuffs, and plain pocket flaps. And it is certainly not necessary to wear kilt pins, buttons, badges, buckles, etc., with thistles and rampant lions emblazoned all over them. I certainly don't.

Part of the “tartan as fashion” framework I’d like to see also involves a little more color matching. I know a lot of the guys on this forum believe that anything goes when you wear a kilt. Bright red and green kilt with checkered black and white hose and a blue and yellow tartan shirt or tie to top it off. Anyone who feels that way is certainly entitled to their opinion, and if it makes them happy, then good on them. I’m not trying to judge anyone’s sense of fashion. However, I think something like a nice green and brown checked kilt with a white shirt, lovat green jacket, and plain green tie, would look much less costumey, would be less loud, and would be more likely to be seen in your average joe’s closet.

That is what I would like to see in the kilt market, and wear I would like the kilt to go in the future.

Well, you can wear a kilt outfit just like that now! What you described in the above paragraph sounds like a very nice outfit to me, and there is nothing mentioned that you could not find available today from any number of reputable Highland dress retailers.