Flash alternatives

[English Bloke]

... anything involving beads, braided/embossed leather, or other cloth alternatives? ...

Ahhh, I see where you're comin' from. You might find some yardage in this... I was on Ely station a while back waiting for a change of trains. It was dark o'clock and a bit brisk out. There was a Bloke on the opposite platform in a black denim kilt (box pleats, cargo pockets, snaps et al...)

He was also wearing a black jacket-n-t shirt, a black, wide brimmed, roo hat, black chunky boots and black hose pulled up, not scrunched down. Pretty black all over really. To drop in the contrast, he also had what appeared to be 5mm (I'm guessing, it was clearly visable from across the way) red ribbon interlaced up the side of his hose in a criss-cross pattern. Looked cool as a cucumber I have to say and that wasn't entirely due to the fact it was winter time and I was also feeling pretty chilly meeself.

Probably not something I'd try with my own hose but then again I'm not in my twenties. It did look impressive though, on a young Fella.

[piperdbh]

You mean something like this?


This shot is with the cuff up, not yet folded over. It shows how I tied the two ribbons. Here's with the cuff down:


These are made from 3/8" ribbon with beads on the ends. I got the beads at a bead store (imagine that!) and the ribbon at a fabric store.

[wildrover]

If it's tasteful, it'll look great. Give it a good functional reason for existence, and it'll look even better. The flashes that are worn with elastic garters are simulations of the ends of the garter ties that piperdbh and english bloke posted. They'll be even better if you have a good explanation for why you did them, as in, something beyond "thought it would look good".

-Sean

[Friday]

You said:

If you didn't want to wear flashes

.

The underlying reason for flashes is to help hold up your hose after a long day or night of wearing. If like me you do not like a lot of or any elastic in you hose something at the top of the hose to help hold them up is nice.

From my weak understanding of historical clothing there have been quite a few different ways to hold the hose up. From pieces of tartan tied around the leg, to garter ties, to elastic flashes.

If you are not in the military or a pipe band you can add any type of bling to the top of your hose you like. They are your legs, your hose and your style. Go for it. With one little item, if it is a traditional formal affair try and honor the traditions a little.

[ThistleDown]

You said:

.

The underlying reason for flashes is to help hold up your hose after a long day or night of wearing. If like me you do not like a lot of or any elastic in you hose something at the top of the hose to help hold them up is nice.

From my weak understanding of historical clothing there have been quite a few different ways to hold the hose up. From pieces of tartan tied around the leg, to garter ties, to elastic flashes.

If you are not in the military or a pipe band you can add any type of bling to the top of your hose you like. They are your legs, your hose and your style. Go for it. With one little item, if it is a traditional formal affair try and honor the traditions a little.

So well said. "Traditional" is an attitude, not a set of rules. The elastic garter is newly-come to Highland hose and doesn't IMHO have a more established place than velcro or little metal clips or a gordian knot. All of those are fashion. Add little dangling things or make them out of braided leather, that's personal style. It's the fact that your hose are held up that's the functional, traditional part.

Rex