A Photo and a Story...

[Riverkilt]

Wow! Sharp kilt,

The styling reminds me of Steve's Freedom Kilts.

Ron

[Hamish]

Hi Hamish

Would you mind giving me some help here with hose and shoes? I think I know what to do with a traditional kilt - but I'm clueless when it comes to contemporary kilts. I bow to your fashion sense and experience!

Hi Phil,

I was about to reply late last night but it was well beyond my bedtime and thought it best to leave it until this morning. So, here goes..........

Firstly, I am surprised that you find it necessary to ask for advice of this sort - you always appear to have the art of colour co-ordination well within your grasp! Colour is colour, whether we are thinking of traditional or of contemporary kilts.

The light blue of that denim can be a tricky colour to co-ordinate well, whether we are thinking of hose or shirts. As we can see, black works well, as would navy (don't try any other blues!), browns and beige/oatmeal/stone. Forget greens and I'd be very wary of reds.

Denim is a casual fabric and, to my mind, cannot be dressed-up - so I would not even try!

Whether the shirt you select is a T-shirt, a Polo shirt or any casual shirt (with the light blue denim it's probably wisest to avoid any strong patterns or colour mixes, in spite of it being a plain kilt), you would do well to try to match the shirt colour with your hose. That, I know, is not always possible, and if it's not a perfect match then select beige/oatmeal/stone for the hose as they 'go' with virtually anything.

'Casual', immediately says to me folded down hose and boots or, in the hottest of weathers and especially on the coast, bare feet and sandals. Shoes are smart or semi-formal (even fully formal) and require pulled-up hose to keep the overall visual balance - nothing looks worse with a kilt, in my eyes, than folded down hose with shoes or, perhaps worse, ordinary trouser socks and shoes! Men dressed casually in kilts do sometimes appear to be 'top-heavy' in that they are clothed only from the neck to the knee. This is in contrast to trouser-wearers who are clothed from the neck almost to the ground. The kilt-wearer, therefore, needs to be visually 'anchored' to the ground and this effect he achieves by wearing dark and heavy-looking footwear - folded/rolled down hose and boots. By boots, I do not mean huge and elaborate 'fashion' boots, but walking boots and workwear boots, such as those by CAT, are ideal.

Sorry, Phil, but I am rather rambling on here - I just wish I had photos of good and poor outfits to post, so that what I am trying to say could so easily be seen. (I suspect I see a photographic project on my horizon!!) Another governing factor, of course, is the ambient weather - what is practical for me in the United Kingdom might not be so in your part of the USA. I can wear hose and boots all year round but maybe you couldn't.

In a nutshell, what I am suggesting to you is: keep to the colours I have mentioned; try to match the hose colour to that of your shirt - or opt for the neutral beige/oatmeal/stone hose; think boots and folded down hose - oh, and I almost forgot: try to match the colour of your belt (black or brown) to your footwear (black or brown).

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what looks right and what does not. I learned only by looking at my appearance in a full-length mirror every time I changed my kilts or accessories, deciding what was wrong and experimenting to correct things. Many faux-pas are glaringly obvious, to others if not ourselves, whilst many more need working on.

I hope that has helped rather than confused! Phew! Maybe I should have done this last night - it might have been shorter and more to the point! ;)

[pdcorlis]

Fantastic advice Hamish - thank you for the help! I have some nice brown "suede" ankle high leather hiking boots that I think will "work" with oatmeal hose. I think the idea of navy shirt and hose sounds great and as you point out, casual is casual so its rolled down hose for me!

Thanks Again!

[Pour1Malt]

Phil-

the ainy problem ai saw wi yur shoes/socks was that they didnae

match either the kilt arr the shirt.... with a black shirt-

ai'd wear black shoes/boots an either black arr blue socks.... sorted!


the shirt kilt combo is a guid wan!

[pdcorlis]

Thanks P1M

Yup - I wanted to show off the kilt, belt, and shirt from Richard but I don't really own any black casual shoes... I was hoping the wee bit of black on these grey hikers would do the trick - nope... Guess its time to go shopping again :rolleyes:

[Union Richard]

Hi Phil

Great story indeed :-) the Kilt looks great and i am happy you like it.
For me the words of Hamish are correct with colour matching i would agree 100%, when you look at his Gallery you won't find any of his kilts looking out of place with the rest of his gear, he does match everything very well.

We will have to make him a fashion advisor :-)

How was the Belt Phil with your traditional Kilts?

Best regards

Richard

[pdcorlis]

Hi Richard

The belt works just fine with my traditional kilts. The belt size and buckle design seem to fit the look of a traditional when I'm "dressed down" a bit.

Thanks Again for the great kilt!