Kilt attire add-ons. Are they necessary?

[RGM1]

I request under apron pockets for all my custom kilts. Works for cell phones.

[TheVintageLibertine]

A guy was going to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and in the process of working on his acceptance speech he reached out to an existing member for advice.

"Write your speech. Then cut it in half."

Oh if only all speech-givers followed that advice!

The trouble with Highland Dress is that there are so many accessories! A "fully accessorised" gent could look in the mirror and remove one, or two, or a half-dozen, and still be overdressed.

So...just how many traditional accessories might a gent wear? And how few?

Oddly the biggest contrasts both come from Victorian times.

I'll try to list all the accessories.

The gent on the left:

Jabot & cuff ruffles
Dirk belt with dirk
Sword belt with sword
Powder horn
Two Highland pistols
Sgian
Plaid & brooch
Flashes
Buckles on shoes

The gent on the right, listing things which are often seen today that he's not wearing:

No cap badge
No kilt pin
No garter flashes
No sgian
No belt peeking out from under waistcoat

Someone above commented that he normally only wears his kilt on special occasions, like attending Burns Suppers or Highland Games, and so tends to go all out. I, too, fall into that category. I wonder if the Victorian gentleman on the left does as well? Or perhaps, since he was having his portrait taken in evening regalia, he decided to wear everything under the sun?

For me, if I’m getting dressed for a the annual Burns Supper I attend (which is a black tie event), I wear 1) kilt (obviously) with kilt pin, 2) PC coatee with waistcoat, 3) tuxedo shirt with studs and black bow tie, 4) formal sporran with fancy chain, 5) diced hose with grosgrain flashes, and 6) buckle brogues. Things I omit are a plaid (because I find them annoying to wear) and SD (because they are illegal to wear in public in my state).

However, seeing the simplicity of pictures like the gentleman on the right and the “one kilt ten outfits” thread on this forum inspired me to keep it simple when it comes to daytime dress, for example if I go to a Highland Games or similar musical event. For such occasions, the only accessories I wear are a day sporran (to hold my phone and/or wallet), plain hose (with or without flashes or ties depending on my mood), and footwear and tops appropriate to the occasion/activity.

I guess all of that is to say, the only accessories I feel to be vital are a sporran and hose

[Padraicog]

[QUOTE=TheVintageLibertine;1410031Things I omit are a plaid (because I find them annoying to wear) and SD (because they are illegal to wear in public in my state).

[/QUOTE]

But I presume being in the USA you can wear a six-gun instead
!

[OC Richard]

But I presume being in the USA you can wear a _____ instead

All of those things vary by State, so no generalisations apply.

Just looked it up, over half the States are "open carry", though I've done quite a bit of travelling in several of those States (and lived in one of them) and I've never seen a non-law-enforcement person doing so.

My impression is that people that don't live here let their imaginations run away with things.

In any case I don't wear a sgian when doing piping gigs because weapons of any sort are banned at many of the places I'm hired to play.

[OC Richard]

A modest request. Please can we leave the band attire discussions to another thread.

Yes the thread got off track there for a while, sorry!

Though I will say that the piper in question is obviously wearing his personal outfit. No band would require, or allow, their members to wear such impedimenta.

[Jock Scot]

Worry not my dear chap, I regularly get sidetracked!

In my experience there are chaps who dress in traditional kilt attire who can play the pipes if the mood takes and there are those from the pipe band world who only own pipe band attire, the two rarely mix.

[ShaunMaxwell]

… and I've never seen a non-law-enforcement person doing so..

I see it frequently here in Texas! 😀

Now back to the discussion at hand.

Cheer,

SM