Too Traditional?

[auld argonian]

One of the things that looks really strange to me is someone showing up at a Highland Games in 90 (fahrenheit) degree weather dressed to the nines in a tweed jacket and vest and a wool hat. Now I know that's the proper attire but lord have mercy....and I'm not saying scroonch the socks and wear a t-shirt...I get the impression that the wearer feels that they have to show up in everything that they carefully acquired just to prove that they know the ins and outs of the Traditional Highland Dress. Now I have been in situations where the "uniform of the day" was something that was either too warm or too cold for the weather on the day given and most healthy people can survive being in that situation for a few hours but when it's not some kind of mandatory situation, I gotta tell you, sometimes it looks like a guy wearing white tie and tails to a beach party.

Glad to see that someone (STM Gift Shop) is getting the message and offering lighter weight jackets...seeing that so much of the consumption of kilt supplies seems to be centered in the USA, where we generally have a warmer climate than the UK, I am surprised that lighter weight jackets haven't become a staple offering from all the suppliers...that would seem to be where the money is to be made.

Personally, I just try to look like a guy from 2012 wearing a kilt...there are obvious conventions to be observed but I figger you can observe them in a reasonably contemporary way and not look like you're rocking the boat. Obviously those that favor the hard core trad style are gonna carry on regardless but I'll still feel as if they're somehow competing to prove that they "get it"....as Letterman sez: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is an exhibition not a competition...please, no wagering."

Best

AA

[Jock Scot]

Personal flair and common sense are pretty traditional too. The Duke's pink hose are his usual style when wearing the kilt and it works for him and many more. Personal flair.

My cromach is nearly always lurking in my car, but it stays there when I am in town, going out for dinner, or when I don't need it. Common sense.

One does not need to be dressed in tweed, tattersall shirt, club tie, balmoral, matching or un-matching leathers,black brogues, sgian dhu in the hose-top, flashes, cromach,lairds plaid to be traditionally dressed and the trick is suiting one's kilt attire to the event. All, or just some on the list, are quite suitable for almost any event one cares to think of. Well OK, swimming and parachuting apart! That is Common sense and is also traditional!

One thing that is absolutely not traditional(historical perhaps), or even sensible, for almost all kilted occasions, apart from certain pipe band attire and some ultra formal events is a dirk and I actually fail to see why anyone would need to carry one unless they are heading for the backwoods(or Burns night) and frankly there are far better knife designs than a dirk for backwoods duties.

Ahem, paragraph 3 is appropriate and the last short sentence in that paragraph is particularly so.

[Jack Daw]

Error in posting.

[Jack Daw]

Why do you allow yourself to get annoyed? Just ignore them.

I have been, but it's still annoying because it's coming unabated from an inner-circle friend.

[David Thorpe]

I have been, but it's still annoying because it's coming unabated from an inner-circle friend.

I submit that it comes from an acquaintance and not a real friend. A friend would respect your tastes and reasons for doing what you do, even if he disagreed.

[creagdhubh]

Gents,

Thank you for the kind comments, as well as the constructive crticism in regards to my Highland day attire - it is much appreciated! This thread has been very interesting to follow. Here's another photo from the day.



Slainte,

[artificer]

One of the things that looks really strange to me is someone showing up at a Highland Games in 90 (fahrenheit) degree weather dressed to the nines in a tweed jacket and vest and a wool hat. Now I know that's the proper attire but lord have mercy....and I'm not saying scroonch the socks and wear a t-shirt...I get the impression that the wearer feels that they have to show up in everything that they carefully acquired just to prove that they know the ins and outs of the Traditional Highland Dress. Now I have been in situations where the "uniform of the day" was something that was either too warm or too cold for the weather on the day given and most healthy people can survive being in that situation for a few hours but when it's not some kind of mandatory situation, I gotta tell you, sometimes it looks like a guy wearing white tie and tails to a beach party.

Glad to see that someone (STM Gift Shop) is getting the message and offering lighter weight jackets...seeing that so much of the consumption of kilt supplies seems to be centered in the USA, where we generally have a warmer climate than the UK, I am surprised that lighter weight jackets haven't become a staple offering from all the suppliers...that would seem to be where the money is to be made.

Personally, I just try to look like a guy from 2012 wearing a kilt...there are obvious conventions to be observed but I figger you can observe them in a reasonably contemporary way and not look like you're rocking the boat. Obviously those that favor the hard core trad style are gonna carry on regardless but I'll still feel as if they're somehow competing to prove that they "get it"....as Letterman sez: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is an exhibition not a competition...please, no wagering."

Best

AA

Truer words rarely spoken, my old bean.

Scotland rarely experiences the WILD swings in temperature that the northern Mid-West of the US deals with. In winter it can easily be -20*F, in summer (Highland Games season, for us) it can easily push upwards of 100*f.
While I've worn the kilt at both extremes, I think it's safe to say that the REST of my apparel probably didn't meet the standards of "traditional Highland" garb.

The reason is quite simple. At -20*f with 40mph winds a tweed jacket isn't going to save me from freezing to death. I wore my thinsulate lined leather pea coat, a thick, high collared sweater (jumper), a tattersall, and an undershirt.

In the same vein, if I'm at the games and it's 95*f with no breeze at all, I'd bake in my outfit if I wore a jacket, much less a waistcoat.

If the Highland Scots had to deal with the environmental extremes we did, I guarantee you that there would be pictures of shepherds in parkas, or, alternately, the 18th C. equivalent of short sleeved polo/t-shirts.

ith:

[creagdhubh]

Kyle, looks good to me. I agree that there are a lot of folks in our modern world and society who dress poorly.

Precisely! Personally, I have always been a 'one foot in the past' sort of chap when it comes to mindset, manners and clothing.

Cheers,

[creagdhubh]

Personally, I just try to look like a guy from 2012 wearing a kilt...

And may I ask what exactly does that look like? Pretty subjective, I must say.

Cheers,

[CMcG]

...
Personally, I just try to look like a guy from 2012 wearing a kilt...

And may I ask what exactly does that look like? Pretty subjective, I must say.

Seeing as AA has yet to clarify what he means, I'll take a crack at it. Could it mean wearing a kilt in a way that is traditional, but also classic, current, and up to date?

A guy from 2012 wearing the kilt looks like the Duke of Rothesay, particularly when it comes to day wear. I've never seen him looking too traditional and I would say his style is definitely on the more classic side of Highland dress; he is the epitome of personal flair without flamboyance.

Here he is making public appearances. Note that there is nothing superfluous or historical about his attire. The chiefs around him also look fantastic (clan chiefs in general tend to have awesome THCD), but I think Rothesay would be a better example for the Rabble to follow, especially for those of us who are not entitled to wear multiple eagle feathers:



And here is is "off-duty." Traditional but relaxed, this would be a good look for Xmarkers attending more casual daytime events. Note that he's putting his cromach to good use: