Does being a kiltie make you a "clothes horse"?

[GoodGirlGonePlaid]

I have ONE brown belt, but have engaged in the atrocious extravagance of having two black belts. One is beat up casual, one is nicer. The choice takes maybe four seconds.

This is blasphemy, to us wimins.

[Alan H]

This is blasphemy, to us wimins.

Ah, but these are KILT belts.

for blue jeans, I have two belts. Both black. One has a celtic, pewter buckle. One has my most treasured physical possession....my SSS Singlehanded TransPac belt buckle. I also have black and brown dress belts for pants but they have disappeared into the never-explored region at the back of the drawer, because it's been about 6 years since I got dressed up in pants with a crease down the front, and that's the only time I would wear such a belt.

I really should dump those pants, BTW. If I haven't worn something for 4+ years, it's time for whatever-it-is to go away. I know this is also blasphemy for them clothes-horsey wimmins.

[Spartan Tartan]

This is blasphemy, to us wimins.

I will add the following for comic value...although I do standby to be ridiculed.

For kilts, I have 1 belt. I usually do NOT wear it. For p@nts, I have about 20 different belts. Each has a purpose and can cover the gambit of any imaginable situation. Add to that I have over 60 belt buckles (not my location IS made public).

Now, I might only have 2 pair of jeans and I would choose the pair "on the right" since I reach with my right arm...but I could honestly spend all day choosing a belt/buckle combination. There...clothes horse, perhaps not. Belt...another story.

[GoodGirlGonePlaid]

Add to that I have over 60 belt buckles

*green with buckle envy*

[Lyle1]

"Clothes Horse" has such a negative connotation; you make it sound as if there is something wrong with dressing well or at least with some thought as to what you are wearing. I don't obsess over what I am going to wear, but I do put some thought into it; after all, I have to look at what I'm wearing until I take it off.

I bought my first kilt about two years ago, and I started buying the necessary accouterments even before the kilt maker started working on my kilt, so maybe that makes me a clothes horse!

Since we're counting, I have about 18 belts, casual and dress; I know because after three years of living in this house, I finally put up some racks to hang them. I wear them all, so I don't think I have too many. My wife thinks I have too many ties, but I like ties so, I don't care what she thinks, though I don't let her see me buying new ones!

[Alan H]

"Clothes Horse" has such a negative connotation; you make it sound as if there is something wrong with dressing well or at least with some thought as to what you are wearing. I don't obsess over what I am going to wear, but I do put some thought into it; after all, I have to look at what I'm wearing until I take it off.

"some thought"....no problem. I expend "some thought" as well. You know, like maybe 90 seconds. I do occasionally find myself standing by the closet with two articles of clothing, one in each hand. I somtimes discover that I have been dithering over which one to wear for 2, 3 possibly even 4 minutes. This usually happens when I'm short of sleep, have had too much or not enough coffee, of I just talked to my 95 year old stepmother on the telephone.

I have, on occasion asked Mrs. H what she is wearing to an event, and then spent another 90 seconds making the necessary decisions to not walk out of the door wearing something outlandishly out of sync with what she straps on. You know, like wearing a black tie outfit when she's got on blue jeans and flats.

No problem at all with expending "Some thought".

Hey, this is all mostly tongue in cheek. As has been pointed out to me, this is a kilt forum, for guys to talk about wearing kilts. As such, it's going to attract guys who like to talk about clothes. So it's only natural for guys to write about their clothes. I grok that.

I also grok that I'm way, way out on the edge of this particular bell curve, in this particular community. Over on the athletes board, NASGA, I'm the one who's the clothes horse because I own more than two kilts, have been known to publicly check my pleats after leaving the stall in the mens bathroom...not to mention that I actually MAKE kilts and know the meaning of the word "fell". Over there, "fell" is what you did after tripping over the trig board.

[CopperNGold]

I was confused by this too, though the first thing I thought was "monosodium glutamate"... Hopefully AlanH can enlighten us.

And I've always thought that fashion is what is being advertised in shop windows and strutted out on runways, while style is an individual's manner of expressing themselves through clothes, grooming, etc.

That may just be me getting too semantic.

I think you're right, Cygnus. No matter how much time (or not) you spend on putting your clothes on in the morning, that is your 'style" and it represents you to the world, even if it's jeans and a tee-shirt. Everybody has a personal style, whether they want to or not.

I don't think manliness has anything to do with taking time to put together a well-coordinated outfit or want to carefully expand your wardrobe. Well-dressed and well-groomed men are very appealing!

A clotheshorse works the trends and often spends too much on the costly mistakes of a fashion victim. A man (or woman) of style carefully picks his clothes and accessories to last, buying timeless pieces. But even timeless pieces can use a little added touch of trendy, that can be tossed when that trend goes out of style the next year.

[CDNSushi]

With apologies to Alan, my morning routine is a bit different.

A) Wake up 30 minutes before my alarm goes off.

B) Lie in bed, wondering what I'm going to wear.

C) Fall back asleep until the alarm goes off.

D) Realize I still don't know what I'm going to wear.

E) Think about what kind of "look" I'm going for today. Elegant? Edgy? Biz-casual? Unusual? Hipster-ironic? Simple? Complex? Light/Dark themes? Visualize each possible outfit in my head. Mentally, try on different top & bottom combinations. Don't forget to visualize the style and color of socks or legwear. Think about which colors and textures will go well together and which won't. Ensure I won't be wearing too much of one thing (e.g. head-to-toe corduroy)...

F) Visualize the location of each item in my closet. Make sure everything is where I need it to be in my mental inventory.

G) Get up, assemble all the items, lay them out on the bed or living room couch (depending on whether I'll be disturbing the wife or not).

H) Hit the shower, towel off, and put on the outfit I've laid out.

I) Go.

*(Other personal grooming tasks are implicitly included but not mentioned here. E.g. shaving, tooth brushing, hair styling, moisturizing, etc... etc...)

[CopperNGold]

This is blasphemy, to us wimins.

So true, GGGP, so true! Where is my pink pashmina!

[Alan H]

With apologies to Alan, my morning routine is a bit different.

A) Wake up 30 minutes before my alarm goes off.

B) Lie in bed, wondering what I'm going to wear.

C) Fall back asleep until the alarm goes off.

D) Realize I still don't know what I'm going to wear.

E) Think about what kind of "look" I'm going for today. Elegant? Edgy? Biz-casual? Unusual? Hipster-ironic? Simple? Complex? Light/Dark themes? Visualize each possible outfit in my head. Mentally, try on different top & bottom combinations. Don't forget to visualize the style and color of socks or legwear. Think about which colors and textures will go well together and which won't. Ensure I won't be wearing too much of one thing (e.g. head-to-toe corduroy)...

F) Visualize the location of each item in my closet. Make sure everything is where I need it to be in my mental inventory.

G) Get up, assemble all the items, lay them out on the bed or living room couch (depending on whether I'll be disturbing the wife or not).

H) Hit the shower, towel off, and put on the outfit I've laid out.

I) Go.

*(Other personal grooming tasks are implicitly included but not mentioned here. E.g. shaving, tooth brushing, hair styling, moisturizing, etc... etc...)

OMG.

*SHUDDERS*