Checkered Kilt Hose Etiquette?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

More commonly known as "footless hose". The fact is diced hose would be worn with spats however footless hose evolved because heels toes and soles of hose wore out a damn sight faster than the legging element. As you can't see the foot under the spat it doesn't matter what you wear so you can be much more flexible particularly when it comes to repair.

Not quite right... Hose TOPS as they were called in the army, were developed because 19th century soldiers were issued several pair of thick wool socks for wear with their army issue boots but only one pair of "ho' tops". Cost was the factor and "ho' tops" were a cheap alternative to full length hose, as well as simplifying the Quartermaster General's task of supplying socks to an entire army.

I'm not sure when spats came into general use in the kilted regiments, but on the odd times I've gone on a shoot in my kilt I've found them useful in helping to keep my legs a bit dryer, as well as keeping burrs from getting caught in my hose.

[fluter]

Phil, those hose are very bonny, indeed! (applause and cheers) Nice to see you about the forum again.

Matt, thanks for the additional info.

Matt, I beg to differ, Frugal 1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. ...
a frugal person would never spend a lot of money on something he could do without.

Jay, by your own definition, I will differ. While I've been known to pinch a penny (I'll show you my 28-year old truck some day), your definition 1 says nothing to being miserly.

To me, it rather suggests the thoughtful direction of one's resources where they will do the most good. Economy is NOT meanness, OK?

Back to my truck, I spent a bit more than some would have budgeted when I purchased it. However that was 1979 and it's still my daily driver. Is that frugal enough for you? BTW major repairs have been less than half the purchase price, and a small fraction of replacement cost.

I will cheerfully spend $48 on a pair of plain Lewis kilt hose (I have 3 pairs, and my budget projections include more). They will last for years, and every time I put them on you can almost hear my feet give a sigh of bliss. My daily socks are thick, luxurious Merino wool---some folks would throw up their hands at the price, but I consider it both canny and frugal to buy them in packs of 2 or 3 pairs when the price is "right." And their cost is about the same as some of the cotton hose at Sock Dreams; which, as noted elsewhere, I'd not put on if I had to wear them all day. Your feet may vary.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Phil is absolutely right in his observations about "proper dress" for the occasion. It is entirely up to the wearer if he wants to look as if he owns his clothes, rented them for the occasion, or found them in a dust bin and is taking the mickey out of everyone else.

C'mon guys-- it's all about respecting traditions, even if you may not totally agree with them.

Like Mark Twain said: "Clothes do make the man. The proof of this is that naked people have little or no effect on the course of human events."

[macwilkin]

Matt, I beg to differ, Frugal 1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. See Synonyms at sparing.
2. Costing little; inexpensive: a frugal lunch.

Buying expensive things can never be called frugal. Wise? maybe. Smart? maybe. Regardless of the quality, a frugal person would never spend a lot of money on something he could do without.

Sorry, but my sainted Iowa-Scottish grandmother would strongly agree with Matt's take on frugality, and so would I.

There's frugal, and then there's just plain cheap.

T.

[James MacMillan]

Another saying that comes to mind:

Use it up;
Wear it out;
Make it do;
or do without.

Sure if the poor man could buy a better pair of boots he would. Being able to afford things or not, has little to do with being frugal. In five years he has spent the same amount the the rich man has spent once. But the poor man didn't have the price of the expensive boots in the first place! What's he supposed to do? Go barefoot? Poor people are seldom, if ever called frugal.

Miserly and frugal are two different things.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

A MODEST PROPOSAL... things cost a wee bit too much? Try this. Take that empty shortbread tin and every time you put on your kilt, toss in a buck. If you are going "out" in your kilt, make it two bucks. If you are headed to "an event" in your kilt, toss in a fiver. This frugal practice makes some of those "expensive" items at lot more obtainable.

[macwilkin]

A MODEST PROPOSAL... things cost a wee bit too much? Try this. Take that empty shortbread tin and every time you put on your kilt, toss in a buck. If you are going "out" in your kilt, make it two bucks. If you are headed to "an event" in your kilt, toss in a fiver. This frugal practice makes some of those "expensive" items at lot more obtainable.

Well said that man!

T.

[fluter]

I still have socks made from the yarn I knitted up when I was a teenager - ... the yarn had Nylon, was expensive by the standards of the time, but it is still good fourty years later.

Brava, pleater! now, that's frugal.

I'm dusting off my needles and thinking about some garter ties & finishing a scarf that's been languishing in my closet. Then I want to learn (cue ominous music) socks.

But I may try to commission some tartan hose from one of the young folks who knit; thus practicing economy and supporting education, which I'd also consider frugal.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I think all too often we are tempted to confuse "frugal" with "cheap." Frugality is really about spending your money wisely. My Webster's Collegiate defines frugal as "characterized by reflecting economy in the expenditure of resources." The definition of economy Webster's gives that seems most fitting here is "efficient use of material resources." In other words, it is about being efficient. Spending $60 on a cheap pair of Argyle hose that you are going to be unhappy with, or that will wear out with only a few wearings, may indeed by "cheap" but it is not frugal -- it is not an efficient expenditure of your resources, in other words. Whereas spending $150 or $200 on a good quality product that may indeed last your lifetime if cared for, is a much more frugal expenditure.

I recently came across this quote attributed to American president William McKinley, which I am considering framing and hanging in our gift shop!
“I do not prize the word 'cheap.' It is not a badge of honor. It is a symbol of despair. Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country.”

[Daaaaang]

I recently came across this quote attributed to American president William McKinley, which I am considering framing and hanging in our gift shop!
“I do not prize the word 'cheap.' It is not a badge of honor. It is a symbol of despair. Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country.”

I hope customers don't take it the wrong way, all with it hanging in a store