traditional vs. classic

[CMcG]

It seems then that supply and demand in regards to sales and rentals of Highland wear have had a flattening effect on options. Part of this too probably has to do with what Riverkilt wrote about a lack of sewing being done at home. People rely increasingly on retailers, and less frequently on tailors, for things they don't have the time or knowledge to make themselves.

I imagine the situation also has something to do with information though; the unfortunate newbie who wishes to be kilted, but hasn't discovered resources like Xmarks, doesn't know that there are other options than a PC and white hose...

Before Xmarks, I learned a bit from my dad, who learned a few things from playing in a pipe band as a youth. I also gleaned small pieces of advice from an aunt with a more cultivated relationship to Scottish heritage than the rest of the Canadianized family. From the internet, I found much more information from sources like Matt Newsome and eventually XMTS but I've also had to parse through the advertisements from retailers and rentals. I then got my hands on Thompson's book and looked at lots of pictures online because I don't have much of a family, association, piping, or local tradition and no military background to draw on... I'm still learning and trying to sort through such a great variety of positions and approaches!

This brings me back to curiosity about where other members of the rabble, especially the aficionados of Highland apparel and style, know their stuff from? Inherited tradition or cultivated sense of classic?