CMcG, You wonder where it comes from, this sense of how things ought to be? I wish I had Jock's early experience of living around kilted gentlemen, but I haven't. I believe we bring with us to the kilt wearing world the same sensibilities we have otherwise. For me, that is a grounding in traditional clothing coming from observation and a couple of stints in the clothing business. You can learn a lot by looking, though it seems to me you mostly reinforce what you already know and like- until you see that knowledge and taste fall short or go amiss.

Where we really begin to grow, though, is when we can look at something popular and say " I can do better than that."

I started with Thompson's book, too, and I still look at it from time to time. I wonder what he would say about the changes in the marketplace in the past five or ten years.

I would be more worried about the PC if it were really bad, instead of just ubiquitous. When made well, it is a nice garment and nothing to be ashamed of. If you look at Saxon formal wear styles from the last 50 years or so, there are worse things to be dressed up in, far far worse. In truth, I can think of occasions where a "full dress Argyll" is probably far less acceptable.

For most of us, the internet came into our lives after we were adults. It is a wonderful tool, but it is just the icing on the cake of other experience. After a while, you learn to filter it, like everything else.

I have something else up my sleeve that I am eager to show, but not just yet...