Civilian Spats

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

The sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Sir Harry is wearing a Black Watch kilt. This was in memory of his only son who was killed in France during the Great War. Sir Harry became the Bob Hope of WWI travelling throughout the
European theater entertaining HM troops, often in his son's kilt. When not on stage he was considered one of Britain's best dressed men-- in or out of a kilt. He was also the first Scottish comedian to be successful south of Glasgow, turning down his "Scotch brogue" when performing in London-- to packed houses, as he did on his tours in Canada and the United States. I believe he was buried wearing his son's kilt. Sir Harry was not only a knight, he was a gentleman.

[Nervous Jock]

One difference between the military spats and the ankle spats (besides length) is that the non-military ones cover less of the shoe.

More for info than anything else the British Army also had short spats, these tended to have chains rather than straps across the sole of the shoe and were referrede to as "Chained spats", as with many other forms of dress recently they have gone by the by.

[macwilkin]

The sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed that Sir Harry is wearing a Black Watch kilt. This was in memory of his only son who was killed in France during the Great War. Sir Harry became the Bob Hope of WWI travelling throughout the
European theater entertaining HM troops, often in his son's kilt. When not on stage he was considered one of Britain's best dressed men-- in or out of a kilt. He was also the first Scottish comedian to be successful south of Glasgow, turning down his "Scotch brogue" when performing in London-- to packed houses, as he did on his tours in Canada and the United States. I believe he was buried wearing his son's kilt. Sir Harry was not only a knight, he was a gentleman.

His son, Captain John Lauder, was with the 8th Argylls. He was killed in December, 1916. I have a copy of Lauder's second book, A Minstrel in France, which talks about his efforts during the War.

Regards,

Todd

[Nick]

I found this of them on-line:

[macwilkin]

I found this of them on-line:

That's the frontpiece from the aforementioned A Minstrel in France.

T.

[Chef]

When not on stage he was considered one of Britain's best dressed men-- in or out of a kilt. He was also the first Scottish comedian to be successful south of Glasgow, turning down his "Scotch brogue" when performing in London-- to packed houses, as he did on his tours in Canada and the United States. I believe he was buried wearing his son's kilt. Sir Harry was not only a knight, he was a gentleman.

Yes the idea of civilian spats is old-fashioned but if one is looking to revive an old style he could do much worse than to emulate Sir Harry's style.

I'm fascinated by the responses in this thread. As pointed out, by someone who PM'd me, it is ironic how the opinions of those on Xmarks about spats are so similar to those we hear from non-kilt wearers about our kilts. However it was very interesting to see the responses and from them I have distilled what I think is worth trying. This doesn't mean I think it will work, just what I think I would try.

First, military spats are out. Whether you liked the idea or not it was pretty much agreed that the ones pipers wear will not work. They are too tall and they cover to much shoe. They are definitely for versions of military style dress only. Granted even the older civilian style of spats will resemble the military ones, but what part of the formal kilt kit doesn't. So similar but different.

Standard hose tops won't work. Since the marl occasionally shows above military spats a civilian version wouldn't work with currently available hose tops. However it shouldn't be difficult to get hose tops made that would work. Obviously if someone liked the idea of spats purely for looks they could always wear full hose. having a civilian version of hose tops would just be a plus.

Are they practical? Well it could be argued that they are more practical than other parts of the kit. I mean, do we really want to debate whether ghillies or kilt belts are more practical than spats? Particularly with kilts, I think the use of spats could be shown to have a practical use. Unfortunately current ankle spats won't do. Since they are purely decorative under trousers, they are too low to provided much, if any protection. They just need to show below the cuff of the trouser leg.

Will I try these? Well if I can find a source for spats similar to Sir Harry's I probably will. I have an enquiry into a spat company to see whether they can be made like this. If I can get them, I will give it a shot and then we can judge. If not it was an interesting exercise.

[James MacMillan]

Like I said in a post above - I'm reserving judgement, till I can see somebody or me in a mirror. The cheapest spats I've see hover in the $60 range, so it's a little high for an experiment. If I could find a $20 set, I might give it a try.

[Chef]

Just an update. I heard back from spatterdash.com. They said the requirements should be possible but the designer will contact me after the holidays.

[PiobBear]

Me in spats

[Chef]

Looks very sharp, but I think the general consensus is correct, they wouldn't work well for civilian dress. However it is a great picture to show the designer at spatterdash for comparison. With your permission of course.