New Member in need of advice/items.

[Pleater]

Good socks - or hose - or hosen as my grandmother would have called them - are perhaps underrated as part of the look.
If you can persuaded someone to make them for you - or even set to work for yourself, it will save you a pretty penny over the years and greatly add to the look of your kilt.

Anne the Pleater (and knitter of hose)

[Tomo]

In terms of hose - HoC are very good and recommended by many - but you can get hand-knit, custom fit for the the same price - that way you can choose whatever colours you like.

I particularly like the diced-cuff style that Prince Charles (the Duke of Rothesay) often wears and have had 2 pairs made (and likely to get more in the future) from Anne Stewart Knitwear - http://www.annestewartknitwear.com/kilt_hose.html

MacGregor and MacDuff also have some kilt hose listed on their ebay shop with a couple of slightly unusual colours (brown and a mid-blue - it's darker than lovat and lighter than navy).

[Boomer]

Myself and a couple of others have used a local fellow here that does custom hose for a very reasonable cost. I have a pair of sky blue he'mo knit it usually only takes him 2-3 weeks to complete em. I think the fellow is part sewing machine

[ktk1961]

Myself and a couple of others have used a local fellow here that does custom hose for a very reasonable cost. I have a pair of sky blue he'mo knit it usually only takes him 2-3 weeks to complete em. I think the fellow is part sewing machine

I'd be interested in reading out to him about a pair of custom diced hose. Can you share details on how I can reach him ...?

Thanks!

[Boomer]

I'd be interested in reading out to him about a pair of custom diced hose. Can you share details on how I can reach him ...?

Thanks!

The fellows name is Phillip Wright. He has an add on facebook marketplace
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...essenger_share

The hose I'm wearing in my avatar are by him if you want a visual quality check. Look up he'mo kilt hose on etsy. He charges half that If you mention you are from a kilting group, he'll know it was likely me that gave the reference

[MichiganKyle]

Welcome to the forum!

I would echo what others have said here: the hose and sporran are the most critical. I have a bunch of issues with allergies and can't regularly wear wool anymore. If you can, go for it - wool hose will likely wear less than synthetics. But if you want to avoid wool, check out this thread I put together on the subject: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-review-96885/

Sporran - OCR's thread is great for this. Get one with enough internal space and you won't miss pockets. But if you don't want to go used, there are lots of good options for new sporrans for reasonable prices.

Now, the more optional things. Belt and buckle. As has been said, on a properly fitting kilt, the belt is essentially decorative. I like to wear one to add a visual break between the kilt and shirt, but to each his own. If it's a functional item, you're doing it wrong.

Now, I'm going to go a little against conventional wisdom here and say that I do find a kilt pin to be useful, particularly with casual kilts. It does tend to keep the front apron from flapping around in the wind, and I do get comments on my kilt pins as a decorative item. But I'd say that's likely only true of a casual kilt. I don't wear a kilt pin with my semi-trad because it just doesn't need it - there's more fabric on the right edge of the front apron, and it adds enough weight and structure to hold things in place without a kilt pin. A kilt pin is pretty much always considered optional. But I personally find them useful for my casuals.

Flashes: again, I find these to be quite useful. Indeed nearly essential if you wear cotton hose instead of wool. Cotton hose just don't tend to stay up well without them. And I find that my calves do stay warmer in the winter with the flashes essentially sealing the tops of the hose. But...to each his own.