Aboyne Highland Games Photos - Various

[creagdhubh]

I rather enjoyed these pictures. Here we have the cream of Scottish Dress Up, done by SCOTS...in the HIGHLANDS... and my, my but we have chiefs and all sorts of terribly important people.

And what do we see?

White socks, for one. Hey, you might hate them, you might like them, you may think that they "work" or they "don't work" but a bunch of SCOTS at a big GAMES in SCOTLAND are wearing them. These aren't athletes, those clueless brutes. These aren't pipe bands. These aren't sheeple-people-Americans. No, these are the Scottish "gentlemen" of the Games. Not ALL of them are wearing white socks. But some are, and I don't see that the other gentleman are sneering at the men in the white socks.

A couple of guys are wearing non-tied up shoes...slip-ons. The paisley vest is just plain fantastic. --I HATE IT--... But what the h311, He likes it, he wears it. Guid on ye, Chief.

I am still not convinced. Why choose white hose when there are so many other smart looking, colourful hose available? Naturally, this is my own opinion and by no means am I attempting to insult the Scottish gentlemen wearing white hose in the photos. Wear what you like, I say! However, I do not care for the paisely waistcoat either - too loud for my tastes, and that is saying something, because I do like a certain degree of 'loudness' in my Highland attire.

Slainte,

[piperdbh]

Who can identify the gentlemen (and ladies) in these pictures? Anybody know all these folks?

[macwilkin]

The Marquis has been wearing that particular waistcoat for a good while now...I have the wonderful coffee table book, Keepers of the Kingdom: the Ancient Offices of Britain, and Huntly was wearing that same waistcoat, hose and flashes in his photo in the book, which was published in the late 1990s, if memory serves me correctly.

T.

[Thomas H]

I think the Cheifs look Great ,and if I had the chance to meet them I would not worry about there socks .I would just stand in ow of them.
I would have like to be there to see that.

[Alan H]

I am still not convinced. Why choose white hose when there are so many other smart looking, colourful hose available? Naturally, this is my own opinion and by no means am I attempting to insult the Scottish gentlemen wearing white hose in the photos. Wear what you like, I say! However, I do not care for the paisely waistcoat either - too loud for my tastes, and that is saying something, because I do like a certain degree of 'loudness' in my Highland attire.

Slainte,

Maybe it's because they LIKE white hose. I am wearing white hose today. Right now. I have on the Drop Dead Gorgeous hand-knit woolen hose made for me by Ms. String, who very occasionally posts on the forum nowadays. I LOVE these socks..... and they are white, and if you tried to purchase such hose from a retail outfit they would cost a couple of hundred dollars.

That are natural wool color..."off-white" and they are just plain wonderful.

Maybe it's because they have 2-3 kilts......though of course Jock Scot has told us that REAL Scottish Highland Gentlemen only have one or possibly two and ALWAYS in the same tartan because if a Real Scottish Gentleman were seen in more than one tartan, well....tongues would wag. Quietly. Behind the Scenes, of course. That mans integrity and budgetary values would be brought into question. Though of course, nobody would actually SAY anything. But everyone would just kind of "know" that he was a bit "off".

Probably rather like that Chief in his paisley vest. It's just NOT DONE.......or is it?

Anyway, maybe the guys have two kilts in different tartans and white goes with both of them. Maybe in fact in the Highlands, nobody really gives a rip what color your socks are, and guys just buy bluidy socks and don't worry about it.

WHO KNOWS WHY THEY DECIDED TO WEAR WHITE SOX? Does it matter? Isn't the Ultimate Authority of what is Correct and Proper the reference point of the Scottish Highland Gentleman? The point is that in that lineup we see a row of Real, Live, Scottish Highland Gentleman all Dressed to the Nines in "Daywear" and damnitall, but if there aren't some guys wearing the blasphemed White Sox.

You may hate them. That's fine. You may think they look awful. That's totally your prerogative. You may recommend to others that they might look better in colored hose. You bet! Anybody here is welcome to absolutely abhor the look of white socks if they don't like them. YOU BET! Two thumbs up for personal opinion!

But to condemn white hose outright as WRONG, and IMPROPER and INCORRECT because Scottish Gentleman in the Highlands simply don't wear them, is just plain wrong....and this series of pictures proves it.

Not to mention the stark fact that a ten minute search on google will bring up literally hundreds of other pictures of Scottish Gentleman wearing white hose.