Formal Hose--loads of questions

[Alan H]

I think it's best if I just hoist that brew to you all, celebrate diversity of opinion, realize that maybe the Sherrifmuir/Montrose Doublet is a different kettle of fish than a PC, and move on to other threads.

This thread is about socks, and while it's certainly fine to discuss socks, fighting over socks is pretty silly.

BTW, I think that diced hose and argyle hose look *great*. I really do. I'm not joking I DO think they look great, when coordinated with a matching kilt. I just also happen to think that bright white pipers hose also look great, and I will continue to wear them, and I get tired of the implication that somehow I'm "wrong" and doing something offensive when I do so.

But again, This thread is about socks, and fighting over socks is pretty silly. 'later gents....I'm gonna go look at the DIY thread, or something.

[JamieKerr]

I really have to roll my eyes at this entire discussion, and agree with Alan. We choose to embrace our heritage, as well as be unique by wearing a kilt rather than pants and a god awful suit. The kilt is supposed to be a symbol of freedom. We get angered by non kilties telling us how to dress, yet here we are telling other kilties what is and is not appropriate or acceptable? That doesn't fly with me, it reeks of hypocracy. For me the entire point of the kilt is largely the freedom that it represents, not adhering to some standard set forth by god knows who. I will spend $700 on my kilt, and I will spend $3-400 on a jacket. I know that when I'm gone, those items can be passed on to the next generation to be worn with pride. But $200 for socks? I draw the line there too. Besides, I also think white hose are beautiful. There is a such thing as looking too "busy"

[Highland Logan]

The kilt is supposed to be a symbol of freedom.

I thought the kilt was the symbol of Scottish national dress?

There is a such thing as looking too "busy"

Too "busy"... like tartan maybe?

Frank

[JamieKerr]

*sigh* Whatever

The point is it is not for any of us to dictate to others what is acceptable to wear. I didn't realize we were supposed to be kilt dress nazis. If I like the way something looks, I'm gonna wear it. Whether or not anyone else approves.

[Riverkilt]

I'm cracking up!!! The rabble shops for kilt hose....guess that's why kilt hose come in so many colors and patterns.

Its frightening how many pair of kilt hose I own...add ons to kilt purchases to "go with" that tartan, "finds" in vendor tents at highland games in colors that I don't have yet and might need...

Serious...I think last count I had something like 40 some pair of kilt hose...and somewhere I found black kilt hose in the $25 variety and I've even sprung for two pair of Lewis Kilt hose in black from Matt.

And, I seem to not only be a "kilt hose junkie" its exacerbated because I work long hours and like to change my kilt hose when I come home for lunch. So I buy them two pair at a time...

Then there's that traditional garter tie sub addiction...gotta have a selection of colors in them too....

A couple years back I was in Albuquerque and checked out the Pride Festival going on there. A guy had created a "kilt" by taking a lot of neckties and holding them around his waist with a belt. Very colorful.

I'm thinking I could take a lot of my old kilt hose and do the same thing...a kilt hose belted "kilt." At least it'd be warmer than the neckties.

Bottom line...its a hoot to see the assembled rabble discussing the ins and outs of kilt hose fashion...

Ron

[slohairt]

I don't mind off-white hose at all, but I've never worn or liked pure white hose. I DO think that when wearing a white tie outfit like the Montrose, one should probably get diced or Argyle hose. Yes, they are expensive, but are usually very well made. My father has a pair of saffron and bottle green diced hose (which he wears with a saffron kilt) and they look great. He got them when he was a teenager and he's now 64 years old! Will they become an heirloom, like a kilt? Probably. Though they would never fit me (he takes a size 6 and I take a size 10), they might well fit someone who comes along after me.

[Highland Logan]

*sigh* Whatever

The point is it is not for any of us to dictate to others what is acceptable to wear. I didn't realize we were supposed to be kilt dress nazis. If I like the way something looks, I'm gonna wear it. Whether or not anyone else approves.

Yes I am a traditionalist, I'm not ashamed of that. However, I did not dictate to anyone.. I simply pointed out that your interpretation was flawed. The kilt is NOT a symbol of freedom... it is the national dress of Scotland, and second, if tartan hose is too "busy", than what do you think of tartan?

This was the question which started this tread.

What are the proper hose to wear with the really formal outfits (i.e., sherrifmuir, Kenmore, regulation, or montrose doublets)? Was that a really sweeping question? Can I get away with dark green or navy kilt hose (not like the chap I saw in Alexandria Va's Scottish walk wearing regular men's dress socks)? Do I need to buy tartan hose? Where?

At first glance, it would appear that DoK is looking for information on proper traditional dress. So I guess he is looking for dictation on what to wear. You do not seem to be interested in conforming to traditional dress, so why did you bother with this tread?

Frank

[JamieKerr]

Very well. I will not post here any longer.

[Dukeof Kircaldy]

Yes I am a traditionalist, I'm not ashamed of that. However, I did not dictate to anyone.. I simply pointed out that your interpretation was flawed. The kilt is NOT a symbol of freedom... it is the national dress of Scotland, and second, if tartan hose is too "busy", than what do you think of tartan?

This was the question which started this tread.

At first glance, it would appear that DoK is looking for information on proper traditional dress. So I guess he is looking for dictation on what to wear. You do not seem to be interested in conforming to traditional dress, so why did you bother with this tread?

Frank

Logan is correct, I am looking for guidance with formal wear. Not exactly dictation, but a guideline so that I don't look like a pratt. Actually, I had an idea of what I should wear, but I would like an idea of how to do it properly.

I don't want to show up at a highland games wearing my doublet, jabot, fly plaid, et al and look like the person in the cartoon I mentioned earlier.

Remember, I used to go to Alexandria, VA's Scottish walk to watch people make fools of themselves by dressing inappropriately.

I was in jeans and wearing a Bannerman's Bar (http://www.bannermansgigs.co.uk/) t-shirt!

No, it's not about sock, it's about formal wear.

And, the kilt is not about freedom, it's the Scottish national dress.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Wow, this is getting silly.

One of my oft-repeated mantras is that the kilt is "clothing, not costume." This means that, unless you are wearing your kilt as a part of a uniform, the only "rules" you need to be concerned with are rules of good taste and fashion. Perhaps these should be better thought of as "guidelines."

Yes, Highland dress is a "free" dress, as Erskine said. That's one of my favorite Highland dress quotes. But that doesn't mean it is a "free for all." You cannot completely ignore fashion guidelines, or throw them out the window. Otherwise you could show up to your white tie affiar dressed like the gent I saw at a Highland Games once, wearing his kilt with a leather biker vest, no shirt, a horned Viking helmet, and green, furry, dinosaur-feet bedroom slippers. Really.

We all want to look good when we wear our kilt. This is why there are so many threads on this forum about what height to wear the sporran, or what shirt looks good with this tartan, or how to modify a men's blazer to wear with the kilt. All these things are done with an eye towards looking good and fitting in with Highland dress fashion.

And that's all this thread needs to be -- a fashion question about what hose look best (or are most acceptible) when worn with the ultra-formal styles of dress doublets mentioned.

Suggesting that argyle or diced hose are the most appropriate with this style of dress is just a statement of the understood norms of formal Highland dress fashion. It is not a dictation or demand or a "thou shalt not wear white hose" from on high. Just a statement of fashion, which anyone is free to follow or ignore.

I'm a bit bothered by the suggestion that by simply stating what the popular fashion norms are, one is being a hypocrit, a "kilt nazi" or infringing on others' freedoms. Anyone heard of hyperbole?

Some people wear the kilt as a symbol of fashion freedom, but that doesn't mean that everyone who wears the kilt is doing so in order to buck the fashion norm or express anything other than Scottish heritage. Let's recognize that different people wear the kilt for different reasons and this will influence how each of us approaches Highland dress fashion. Let's also recognize that there are fashion norms and guidelines in Highland dress (just as with any other mode of dress), and even if we do not choose to abide by them ourselves, respect others who choose to adhere to them more closely.

I think the original poster has had his question answered by now, so maybe this thread is nearing its end.