Hose color help

[Hamish]

I have two kilts
one in the tartan that is on my Avatar and the other in Blackwatch,Modern

What color hose should I wear with my X-Marks T-Shirt with either of them?
I don't have a pair in navy blue but I do have them in Black,oatmeal,cream and Lovett blue

Is cream or oatmeal the way to go If you don't match your shirt?
or do match your kilt if you can't match the shirt?

Hi Joe,

Since I am still awaiting my X Marks T-shirt, I cannot tell exactly the shade of blue it might be, but I guess standard Navy Blue is about right.

In my opinion, cream hose should be avoided with both your kilts, especially when worn casually with T-shirts. Navy, which you do not have anyway, and black will present a solid, dark block, especially with the Black Watch tartan, when worn with the T-shirt, but you may have no alternative as the Lovat Blue will NOT be right!. Your avatar tartan would, as Bob suggests, look really good with either Oatmeal or Lovat Blue.

Ideally, one should as far as possible try to match shirt and hose colouring, but that is obviously not always possible since we tend to select our shirt next in line after deciding on the kilt we want to wear, and there are a lot more shirt colourings than there are hose - unfortunately! Black Watch tartan, being so very dark, is notoriously difficult to lighten up casually, especially if you are wanting to wear a Navy T-shirt, but I still think you can get away with Oatmeal in this instance.

Personally, I do not wear such dark tartans - plains yes, but not tartans - and so I am unable to speak from experience here, but I hope my thoughts will have helped - even if only slightly!

[Joe Gondek]

Thank you for you advice , Maybe we need X-marks shirts in a variety of colors. It would sure make hose selection easier.


Hamish with all your knowledge and experience why haven't you written a Kilt wearers guide book I know that everyone on this board would buy one

[Scott Gilmore]

.... My only concern with navy or black hose is looking too "bottom heavy" if that makes any sense.

I agree with all you say here, Phil, and "bottom heavy" is just how I would describe Scott's office ensemble. I am not being rude here, Scott, it is just exactly what I immediately thought on seeing your photo.

Thank you both for the input. Considering the esteemed source of those observations, I may just have to reconsider. Until now I've been comfortable wearing dark hose under just the right circumstances, but my lovat greens may get more play going forward.

Good advice in this thread. Thanks all.

Regards,
Scott Gilmore