My two cents worth: The first pair of hose I bought from J. Higgins were off-white wool made in Scotland and too small to fit over my 16-inch calves. I exchanged them for a pair of snow white and a pair of lovat blue acrylic hose to go with my Bermuda Blue kilt. For very formal occasions, I wear the white hose with a solid green flash, and for not-so-formal events I wear the lovat blue with a tartan flash. Now, I have a pair of white Lochcarron wool hose from a local British imports store that I wear with a solid green flash with my Munster kilt and my Black Watch kilt. I keep the acrylic hose for working the local Games and more casual events though the soles have pilled up and the inner cuff seams appear the worse for wear. I recommend the Lochcarron instead because they're thinner and tougher while still a good fit for almost the same price. To my eye, oatmeal and off-white just don't go with a predominately blue or green kilt. If I were Scottish and not Irish, I would add a pair of navy and green diced Argyle hose to my wardrobe for formal occasions for tradition's sake but more for the look which really seems to work (see photos of the Black Watch pipers). Instead, since I'm Irish, I'm contemplating a pair of white W. Brewin kilt hose with a shamrock embroidered on the turndown cuff along with a pair of lovat green hose (set off with a navy flash). Solid black, navy, and red hose remind me of over-the-calf dress socks more appropriate for wearing with Bermuda shorts, but not a kilt. They always look like thin nylon support hose and the red flashes are like red arrows pointing this out. The hose with the diced cuffs and the popcorn cuffs look ridiculous. Last but not least: I don't spend more than $50 bucks on a pair of socks unless I'm slated for a Himalayan expedition. See my pics in the gallery for white woolen hose and green flashes with dark green dancing ghillies or lovat blue acrylic hose with tartan flashes and black velcro strap sneakers (I plead bad feet).
I'd suggest any solid colour for formal and informal wear, avoiding the 'rental shop' white unless you are non-military pipe band members.
As for black hose ("I have come across X Marks posts that speak very harshly of black hose") I see black hose worn regularly on our estates by workers who would never dream of traipsing through the muck and glaur or walking the hills at work with white socks!
Traditionally estate workers who were reuired to wear the kilt would wear dark solid colours, with spats or puttees to keep the socks clean and the brogues from getting stones and mud over the cuffs and into the shoe.
When required to look 'presentable' if the maister should appear, the puttees/spats would be whipped off and a quick dicht of the shoes would be fine. Incidently, older workers found plain leather semi boots to be much more easily cleaned than traditional brogues as they had no 'holes' to catch the muck.
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