Aboyne Highland Games Photos - Various

[Macman]

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.

LMHO! Made my morning! This is why you deserve to be on the Honour Roll, Alan!

The pictures are very enlightening, Kyle. For me, it gives an opportunity to see a wide variety of traditional highland dress in a games setting and decide for myself what I like and what I'm not so fond of. There are also some things (e.g. tone-on-tone flashes and hose) that I wouldn't have considered wearing before that now I might. And so I grow.

[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.

[creagdhubh]

LMHO! Made my morning! This is why you deserve to be on the Honour Roll, Alan!

The pictures are very enlightening, Kyle. For me, it gives an opportunity to see a wide variety of traditional highland dress in a games setting and decide for myself what I like and what I'm not so fond of. There are also some things (e.g. tone-on-tone flashes and hose) that I wouldn't have considered wearing before that now I might. And so I grow.

Well put!

[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.

[JSFMACLJR]

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.

Do you want to complain that they're still wrong, just that the guys who are wearing them are posers, they're just "pretending" to be Scottish men in the Highlands? They're not "really" Scottish Gentlemen? Do you want to suggest that the men wearing them don't really know what's "correct" and everyone is just tolerating them because that's just how it's done in the Highlands. Nobody would ever be overtly rude...but behind the scenes everybody just "knows" they are posers, and the little comments just make the rounds, later?

bleechh.

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. So much for worrying about whether your vest is the "proper style of waistcoat".

Sporrans range from completely plain, possibly military surplus to gorgeous tooled leather day sporrans, to fur "dress" sporrans to a long hair sporran and even a few full-mask sporrans. So much for stressing over exactly which sporran is "proper" with "daywear".

Several of the gentlemen aren't wearing belts at all. Some are wearing shiny chromed buckles on their belts. Some are wearing more subdued belts. So much for worrying yourself into a lather over whether you are wearing the "correct" belt.

Get over it.

I see glengarrys and balmorals. I actually searched around for a flat cap, but in fact didn't see one, so I guess that dead horse can rest in peace for now.

Here we have a picture from 2007, with eagle feathers everywhere, which I'm sure will warm the hearts of many, but what do you know????? More WHITE SOCKS.



So....If you don't like white socks, that's fine. You're welcome to say that you don't like them.
If you think that colored socks look better, that's fine. You're welcome to express your opinion about what you think looks good or does not look good.

But if you are going to claim that white socks are just plain WRONG or INCORRECT or NOT PROPER because of course, proper Scottish Gentlemen simply don't wear them (only those tacky low-class people who rent their kilts wear them) , then you are WRONG, and this whole photograph series illustrates *Exactly* that point.

Me, being blunt, again.

Alan, I guess the old saying, "location, location, location" means everything here. You comment on the dress worn at the Aboyne Games. Things are a bit different, though, in other parts of the Highlands. Take this pic of the Stewards at the Argyllshire Gathering:


And another:


And here are a couple from Lochearnhead:





You will note a relative lack of white hose here. As at Aboyne, one sees REAL Highlanders wearing their dress in the way they like. Right? Wrong? They know the conventions and dress as they see fit.

I really do think location plays a major role in it all.

[Alan H]

The pictures are very enlightening, Kyle. For me, it gives an opportunity to see a wide variety of traditional highland dress in a games setting and decide for myself what I like and what I'm not so fond of. There are also some things (e.g. tone-on-tone flashes and hose) that I wouldn't have considered wearing before that now I might. And so I grow.

I completely agree. I hate the Marquis' vest. But you know, if the man wants to wear his vest, then he flippin' well can wear his vest! I'll be happy to shake his hand, admire his eagle feather, call him "Sir" and have a beer with him.

The same goes for the slip on shoes, the elastic/tied garters, the windowpane tweed jackets, the fine array of sporrans.

What I thoroughly enjoyed about this series of pictures is the range of stuff that guys are wearing. Some of it I like. Some of it, I like a bit less. They all look grand, they all are having a wonderful day at the Games. The lesson?

Use some common sense. If you really like something, then wear it. If the Marquis can wear his outrageous vest, then you can wear your...whatever. Then put your clothes on in the morning and go out and enjoy your day.

....and quit stressing out and laying down the law about what is "proper" and "correct" and so on.

[macwilkin]

Post deleted.

[Lime]

I actually searched around for a flat cap

If you search a little harder you will find a baseball cap... which proves categorically that it is correct Highland attire; I, for one, will definitely be wearing one to the next white tie affair I'm invited to!

[Tobus]

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.

To be fair, has anyone actually ever made that claim? Usually what I see is people saying that it's really not traditional, and that white hose weren't seen up until a decade or two ago, and started with the kilt-hire shops. Further conclusions as to their being 'proper' or not may be drawn from that.