so this is what we've come to? (Prince Charlie)

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Hahaha! Precisely, Scott. My fully-fashioned Argyll style hose from Kenneth Short Hosiery were around $350. And of course, I'll have them for the rest of my life.

I think it's all a matter of perspective -- back when kilts were about £50 or there abouts I think I paid something like £35 for my argyle hose... While the four kilts I bought no longer fit, the hose do.

The nice thing about Highland evening attire is that provided once chooses carefully, the outlay can be very modest. Setting aside the cost of the kilt, it is possible to be as well turned out as the next man for less than the cost of a high-end doublet.

[creagdhubh]

I think it's all a matter of perspective -- back when kilts were about £50 or there abouts I think I paid something like £35 for my argyle hose... While the four kilts I bought no longer fit, the hose do.

The nice thing about Highland evening attire is that provided once chooses carefully, the outlay can be very modest. Setting aside the cost of the kilt, it is possible to be as well turned out as the next man for less than the cost of a high-end doublet.

Good point.

[MacCathmhaoil]

I'll agree with Kyle that his investment in a pair of quality hose will probably see him through his lifetime. If the product is well made, of good materials and is well cared for, it will last and will look good doing it! You can order the J Higgins hose for $60 and as long as you look after them they will last. When you consider I paid $100. for a pair of diced hose ten years ago and they are still in excellent condition, amortized over ten or fifteen years it gets a lot more justifiable.

[tky58]

McMurdo, I have never seen shoes like those. Please, tell us more about them. What is the style called, where did you get them? (see #188 pg 19)

[Downunder Kilt]

McMurdo, I have never seen shoes like those. Please, tell us more about them. What is the style called, where did you get them? (see #188 pg 19)

They are called bar and buckle brogues (or Mary-Janes) and are available through some
of our advertisers Scotweb http://www.scotweb.co.uk/products/buckle-kilt-brogues/
Keltoi http://www.gaelicclothing.com/buckledbrogues.htm

There are of course other vendors as well. Just do a search on the web for "bar and buckle brogues"

[McMurdo]

McMurdo, I have never seen shoes like those. Please, tell us more about them. What is the style called, where did you get them? (see #188 pg 19)

As Downunder Kilt said they are Bar and Buckle or Mary Janes. I purchased mine from ebay some years ago. They are generally used for White Tie but can also be used for Black Tie as well.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

As Downunder Kilt said they are Bar and Buckle or Mary Janes. I purchased mine from ebay some years ago. They are generally used for White Tie but can also be used for Black Tie as well.

My general rule of thumb regarding shoes with formal Highland attire is that highly polished oxfords (not wingtips or brogues) should be worn with solid colour hose, while patent leather shoes (with either laces, bows, or buckles) should be worn with diced, tartan, or argyle hose.

[OC Richard]

In the Army it's long been ordinary brogues (not ghillies) with plain hose for various modes of working dress, and buckled brogues and diced/tartan hose for Levee Dress, Mess Dress, and forms of Full Dress when spats aren't worn.

In the 1920s, when our modes of civilian Highland Dress were codified/systematized, it was the same: ordinary brogues and plain hose for outdoor/day dress, buckled brogues and diced/tartan hose for Evening Dress. This dichotomy is illustrated and written about repeatedly in vintage Highland Dress catalogues and guides to Highland Dress.

In the Anderson 1936 catalogue they offer these shoes for Evening, but also mention buckled court shoes in the article on Evening Dress



Here's the entire catalogue scanned. The articles on Evening Dress, Court Dress, and Wedding Dress are interesting

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...talogue-74888/

BTW I bought a pair of bespoke full tartan hose a couple years back and they cost $200, money well spent in my opinion.

The Higgins tube-like non-shaped diced hose stretch out and distort the pattern if you have big calves (like me).

[Farmer Jones]

This is without doubt one of the most useful threads I have read in quite a while. By weighing the opinions expressed, and reading all of the links, I think I have learned more in the past few hours than all the time previously. I like the good humour interspersed with the opinions and information, and wish there was some sort of giggle button I could click on each time I laughed out loud at the jokes. One thing I have learned about myself, while reading this, is that I am old fashioned. But then I wear Harris Tweed most of the time (even now as I type).

[Starhunter451]

I would wear the balmoral. I was used to wearing a beret when in the Army. That was before everyone got one.

Reminds me of Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamen. That character should not have had one.