Even in the Hebrides

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I wonder what the point is you are trying to prove? I'm not meaning to say as an accusation. Just an observation. If all you want to do is to demonstrate that native Scots who wear the kilt in Scotland sometimes wear white and/or ecru hose and make fashion faux pas such as wearing a waist belt and a waistcoat at the same time, I don't think that point was in question. One can find plenty of evidence of this simply by doing a Google search, browsing the web pages of Highland dress suppliers, or walking down the streets of Edinburgh.

I don't think I have ever heard it said that wearing ecru hose is "something Americans do" that "is never done in Scotland." People who don't like ecru hose generally hold that opinion for aesthetic reasons. They just don't like the way they look as much as other colors. And I know plenty of people with that opinion within and without Scotland.

Wearing a waist belt (or dirk belt) with a waistcoat is something that has become more and more common over time, and I chalk it up to the decline in knowledge of formal dress in general among most people. But if you go back and look at older examples I doubt you will find this done very often, if at all. I don't think being in Scotland or Canada, or Boston, or Australia would have anything to do with it.

Scotland is the home of Highland Dress, yes. And those of us outside of Scotland look to her still to inform us as to the genuine traditions of kilt wearing. But there is still a lot of room for personal tastes and preferences, and we have to realize that just because one person -- or a lot of people -- in Scotland wear their kilt a certain way that does not necessarily mean that we will want to do the same.

No doubt there are plenty of people in Scotland who wear ecru hose and waist belts with their waistcoats. And I don't doubt there are plenty of people in Scotland who would never do either of those things. And there are plenty of people in North America who hold both of those opinions, as well. After all, we get the same Highland Dress catalogs, we look at the same web sites, etc. This is one case where I just don't think geography has much to do with it.