My "newbie self"

**OC Richard** · 3rd August 14, 04:58 AM

Looks great to me!

The kilt looks perfect, and the accessories are great, the very nice (Cheviot?) hose, tooled sporran and belt, and I really like those shoes. They look very comfortable. The sporran looks roomy, which is a big thing for me. I want plenty of room for all the gear I end up carrying around.

About the loops, I'm not a fan of those and none of my kilts have them. Ditto with the 3rd strap; the kilt hangs better without it, and it serves no useful function as far as I can see. Whenever a band issues me a kilt the first thing I do is remove that 3rd strap. And I just removed the 3rd strap for a bandmate who didn't like the way the kilt hung.

BTW putting a waistbelt through the sporran loops will eventually ruin the kilt, if the waistbelt is supporting the kilt: the back of the kilt will droop, the two loops staying high, and the back of the kilt will resemble The Golden Gate Bridge. I've seen it happen many times. I would take a photo that showed this effect, but whenever I see it, it's somebody I don't know out at a Highland Games, and it would be kinda creepy for me to sneak up and take a closeup photo of their rear end.

**mookien** · 3rd August 14, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by Dughlas mor

... my waist is about the same as my hips, so using the belt loops seems like a good option to have. I`m hoping to shrink the waist a bit, but, you know, the struggle goes on... Doug

Doug: I know what you mean. You and I are morphologically similar in that respect, so our kilts tend to slip a bit as we walk about. But, you have one advantage over me. I have to wear the shirts with the bubbles in them.

John

**Pipersson** · 3rd August 14, 08:49 AM

Nice look! Congrats!

Balmoral: I wear it with casual wear too.
Navy might be a bit formal so i am planning on a fawn or bottle green one. But till it arrives the navy one is on duty.
With a jumper it's also nicely shown in Thompson's book.

Cheers from Germany

Tom

**Dughlas mor** · 3rd August 14, 10:49 AM

Richard, thanks very much. The hose are indeed the "Lewis range" from HOC. I`ve got long legs, so I wanted something with a good turnover, they seem to be about right, and very comfortable. It`s always a struggle finding shoes for my size 16N feet, and the Romeos were a happy coincidence. My girlfriend picked them up for me because they were size 16 and on sale, a first I think. Turns out they go well with the kilt. The belt and sporran were hand made by myself. I wore the same outfit to the PNW highland games last Sunday, and everything went well. I think I was still looking pretty good in a slightly inebriated sort of way by the end of the day. [see avatar] BTW, SFU and Dowco Triumph Street, along with all the bands, were awesome.
I don`t think I`m wearing my belt so tight that it`s holding the kilt up, but I am going to experiment with not using the loops. Thanks again for the input.

Mookien, I`m afraid the "shirts with the bubbles" comment has gone right over my head.

**Dughlas mor** · 3rd August 14, 11:10 AM

Thanks, Pipersson, I`m going to be looking into a Balmoral in one of those colors myself. I think it`s a matter of temperature as to when to wear the Balmoral, but as long as the sun is out, I need something to cover my bald pate.

**mookien** · 3rd August 14, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Dughlas mor

... Mookien, I`m afraid the "shirts with the bubbles" comment has gone right over my head.

Doug: Most of my comments go over, or under, other peoples' heads.

When I turn sideways in front of a mirror and admire my profile, my shirt has a big "bubble" in the front. Fortunately, it accommodates my "beer belly".

John