Panache Answers the "Big Kilt Questions"

[pascs]

Some excellent points covered there.

On the 'wearing white hose' front.......

Where has the aversion to wearing white / cream hose come from? I'm from Scotland but living away from home at the moment and for me the white / cream hose are the correct attire to be worn with black tie. From many years of Scottish weddings and black-tie events this is what the majority of men wear at formal occasions.
Of course for less formal occasions then the field is more open although I've never seen some of the less subtle outfits which I see here as being the norm.

I guess its just wearing the right outfit for the occasion and what you feel comfortable in

[English Bloke]

White Hose?

There has been all manner of debate on here regarding hose, hats, feathers and good form. Essentially boils down to taste. What is good for one is anathema to the next.

I think the bulk of those averse to white hose believe it presents a "Look what I picked up at the hire shop today" appearance and doesn't allow for the injection of personal flair. You'll hear PC Jacket or Ghillie shirt when matched with white hose referred to as the 'cookie cutter' look, as in, all those biscuits come from the same packet.

Personally I don't care either way. I just wear what I have... Although I must add, I currently have no white socks. and I don't wear the black Ghillie shirt I do have because neither suit me... In my opinion.

Good thread Jamie. Nice guide to kilted common sense.

[Livingston]

VERY good information, Jamie. I agree with everything you have stated in answer to all the questions. I would, however, might I suggest one more caveat to question 6?

Question # 6 Which tartan should one wear?

One should wear the tartan that you like and/or the one that has meaning for you.

That's it!

The one caveat being that one should respect the restrictions on certain tartans (like the Balmoral tartan) and try to be conscientious of those tartans that are copyrighted and not seek to thwart fees/requirements that should be addressed. If you think about it a tartan pattern is just a few lines of color, tartan fabric a bit of cloth. We as human beings can assign meaning to them. Those colors can mean a family, a profesion, a place, an event, a Faith, a company, etc...so please remember to be respectful of the feelings others may have about their tartan. Liking a tartan for simply how it looks is absolutely just fine! It doesn’t hurt however to know what the name of a tartan you are wearing is and what it might represent (you will also sound a whole lot smarter when someone asks you "Hey what is that tartan?" and you have a good answer.

Second caveat, If you are representing a clan, pipe band etc. at a function, wear the tartan associated with that clan, pipe band etc. This also goes along with the respect of the tartan you are wearing in that you are respecting the wishes Chief of Clan MacLea or the wishes of the Pipe Major. It also helps prevent confusion of those that don't know tartans and might wish, after the function, to associate the tartan you are wearing with the wrong clan or pipe band.

[madmacs]

This is my experience as well. I get asked if I'm Irish nearly as often as Scottish. The kilted Irish are all over the place on St. Paddy's day here so it's likely regional interpretation to some degree and clearly a modern view, not historical.

My wife and I had dinner out in St Louis Saturday night, and I wore a kilt... The questions I got were:

What clan is it?
Is there a Scottish festival in town?
Do you play the pipes?
Are you from Ireland?

And the comment "you dont see that in St Louis everyday"

Now I will admit that it was a Maclean hunting kilt (green) so that may have coloured the Irish comment, but it does kind if go towards the perception that kilts arent only Scottish

[kc8ufv]

My wife and I had dinner out in St Louis Saturday night, and I wore a kilt... The questions I got were:

What clan is it?
Is there a Scottish festival in town?
Do you play the pipes?
Are you from Ireland?

And the comment "you dont see that in St Louis everyday"

Now I will admit that it was a Maclean hunting kilt (green) so that may have coloured the Irish comment, but it does kind if go towards the perception that kilts arent only Scottish

When people have seen me in my OD UK Original, usually the most common questions I am asked are if I am from Ireland or if I play the pipes. Scottish tends to be way down the list.

[Peter Crowe]

When people have seen me in my OD UK Original, usually the most common questions I am asked are if I am from Ireland or if I play the pipes. Scottish tends to be way down the list.

What you say does happen in North America, but when I speak with my accent (middle class Glaswegian Scots) folk here in the US more often than not ask me if I am Irish, which only proves that many people in the States can't tell the difference between a Scottish and an Irish accent. No one from the United Kingdom or Ireland would ask if my accent was Irish, they might not be able to place it as Central-Western Lowland Scots, but they would be in no doubt I am anything other than a Scot.

Therefore, if people have been exposed to kilts through Irish-American heritage, they might make the assumption that kilts originated in Ireland. In my experience people from Ireland do not make that claim, and all the evidence clearly points to Kilts originating with the Breacon Feile in Scotland from the later XVI century.

[McNulty]

Any ways, Panache, thanks for answering the "Big Kilt Questions". As always, there are after discussion discussions. Either way you go, it was good to read your straight forward answers. I wonder how far/long this thread will go?
McNulty

[robthehiker]

Well that made my day.

[Standard]

I remember reading this on the other website, and am glad that you posted it here too.

As per white hose, to me they were the only, and logical choice when I started wearing the kilt. They didn't seem to me at the time to stick out like coloured hose do. Which is of course a laughable reason, I am after all wearing a kilt which is no where near the norm here in west central Illinois. These days I still have my white hose, but much prefer the look of the coloured ones that I have in two shades of green and a pair of blue. I like the options which the coloured hose give me in pairing with my several kilts, and with whatever shirt, tie, etc. I may be wearing at the time. Would I wear the white hose again? Sure, but not as often as coloured hose.

[Mickey]

As per white hose, to me they were the only, and logical choice when I started wearing the kilt. They didn't seem to me at the time to stick out like coloured hose do. Which is of course a laughable reason, I am after all wearing a kilt which is no where near the norm here in west central Illinois. These days I still have my white hose, but much prefer the look of the coloured ones that I have in two shades of green and a pair of blue. I like the options which the coloured hose give me in pairing with my several kilts, and with whatever shirt, tie, etc. I may be wearing at the time. Would I wear the white hose again? Sure, but not as often as coloured hose.

I think you may have hit the nail right on the head here. For the last 30 years, my socks have been white, black or green. That's it. So the idea of colored hose wasn't an option with me. I'm astounded that I now will not hesitate to put on a pair of say, bright purple hose! Though I still have a ways to go before I will feel comfortable even considering diced hose, no matter how good I think they look on others.

I'm surprised that some folks have been assumed to be Irish rather than Scottish. I've never met anybody who didn't assume me to be Scottish right from the start.