Quote Originally Posted by davidlpope View Post
Kenneth, good point. My concern is that many changes in style have more to do with marketing by retailers than an actual evolution by society. By way of example, two friends of mine, both college graduates and Marine officers, one a graduate of a well-respected western law school, were leaving the Marine Corps and interviewing for civilian jobs. They came to me with questions about interview attire, etc. I was amazed by how little they knew concerning men's business attire. Their entire knowledge base was what the salesman at Brooks Brothers had shared with them during a visit to the shop. They had dinner at the house and I took about an hour and discussed some basic pointers about a man's conservative business wardrobe and they left very appreciative and well-prepared for interviews.

My point is this: these are very sharp, very bright guys, but there was no mechanism in their 25+ years of life to transmit this info to them. As a result, they were at the mercy of the salesman at the shop. Since they had gone to BB, they were luckier than most. I can attest that the local saleswoman at the small neighborhood Belk store is much, much less knowledgeable, and generally recommends whatever the store has in stock.

The same happens with many highland attire retailers- hence gads and gads of white hose, fly plaids, ruche ties, tartan flashes, and pirate shirts foisted on the unsuspecting consumer because they think "this is what I'm supposed to wear when I dress up in Scottish duds". Most novice kiltwearers simply rely on what "the guy at the shop told them." Some highland suppliers (thankfully, not the folks who are wise enought to advertise on Xmarks...) are simply ignorant concerning the products they sell to the public.

That's one of the reasons that Xmarks provides such a great service to the kilt-wearing world...
Wonderfully put, David.