Buying a Kilt :D

[hot_rod29]

The gents on the forum have excellent advice, especially for stretching your money. As a younger guy here's my take on casual fashion. Pick a golf shirt, or a t-shirt (generally large logo's make the best statement) and a set of high top hiking boots. Couple that with a nice wide belt and you can take or leave the sporran. It's a great outfit for the bars and the girls (of all ages) love to try and see if you're going "regimental," so expect to get pinched at least. For a younger guy, if you are not balding early wearing a hat makes you look like you are trying too hard or are a dork. Trust me I used to love hats too but finally gave them up and am better off for it. It's an easy look that lets you go lots of different ways and doesn't cost much. But dear lord stay away from the jacobite shirt unless you're going to Renfest and then it's up to the statement you want to make.

[Colin MacBean]

Strong opinion for a guy with 2 posts

I'm fine with being a dork I'll keep my fancy hat

I'm staying away from the jacobite shirts for now though... Compromise

[hot_rod29]

Hey, if you like the loose shirt look don't let anyone talk you out of it... the guys here know a lot about kilt fashion and traditional clothes and colors and won't steer you wrong. But each man's taste is something that he has to develop. I don't have a lot of experience with the dressier ways to wear a kilt but I have been wearing one off and on for about 7 years.

As a young man I assume that you are interested in women; making your kilt obviously a part of your everyday wear shows that you have self confidence and aren't making a special effort. People pick up on that and they will frequently approach you. That means you're half way to making new friends or meeting the cute girl two tables over... that or everyone is chuckling cause you just got mauled by a "cougar."

Strong opinion for a guy with 2 posts

my job doesn't really allow for people with weak opinions.

[Colin MacBean]

Well I'm a big fan of the Jackets and waistcoats and I do not think the jacobite shirts match very well with them. In my opinion they look good by themselves with nothing over top.

I am interested in women, but I try to live responsibly. I'm not old enough to get married so for now I'm happy being friends with them

Thanks for the advice man I was just poking fun

[hot_rod29]

The advice is free and I'm more than happy to give it. And I totally agree with the jacket and waistcoat look, but don't be too fast to write off the jacobite shirt. Just like any other article of clothing it has a time and place if it is something you like. It's great for festivals or the games and I have actually seen some guys wear them with a leather vest and it can look good. It's just not something that gets worn as everyday wear without getting you labeled as that weird guy. It takes balls to wear a kilt, I just like to see people get that credit and not get dismissed for their other fashion choices.

But seriously, if you wear the kilt to a bar check your 6. Other men here will back me up, girls will get handsie, especially the ladies out for a few drinks with their girlfriends.

PS: for a good looking jacket check out the 1822 thread and follow the link that he posted

[lethearen]

But seriously, if you wear the kilt to a bar check your 6. Other men here will back me up, girls will get handsie, especially the ladies out for a few drinks with their girlfriends.

Not just the ladies :P

[jeremy j starche]

Not just the ladies :P

I've chased both men and women out of my kilt.

I've even caught younglings trying to peek, but they were never invasive.

Then there was the unfortunate episode of a curious German Shepherd ...

[jForrester]

i've chased both men and women out of my kilt.

I've even caught younglings trying to peek, but they were never invasive.

Then there was the unfortunate episode of a curious german shepherd ...

lol! :^)

[Mike_Oettle]

Hi, Colin – at this stage you might well have completed your outfit, or at least acquired headgear, but I thought I would put in my two cents’ worth on this score.
Elim (Lethearen) wrote: “Oh, and make sure you don't forget the headwear. Get a flat cap. Definitely a flat cap.”
I disagree strongly. The proper headgear to wear is a bonnet. I agree with Xman that the glengarry is rather military.
But where he says the balmoral is preferable over all others (and especially the tam o’shanter), I disagree.
The balmoral is a very stylish bonnet, and I like the look of it. But in my regiment it was worn by officers. Men in the ranks wore tammies, and I am very fond of my now worn-out old khaki tammie.
I have ordered a new one (I had notification today that it had been posted), but it is a poor man’s tammie, since it is in tartan (easily obtainable) and in 11oz cloth. I would much rather have a single-colour tammie in 16oz. But I will have to bide my time for that.
And while I getting quite jonesey about my tammie being in the post, I do think that tartan hats are not quite proper. At any rate the model on Scotweb wearing a Gordon Dress tammie looks a bit of a twit.
At least mine will be in Black Watch, which is a sober sett in blue, green and black.
There are many styles and colours to be had.
I have seen a good many pictures of glengarries, balmorals and tammies with dicing, but my feeling is that it is a military style. On the other hand, my army tammie has no dicing.
As for plain colours, there is a whole range of choices: black, blue (several shades), green (several shades), brown or tan.
You might in the long run want to have two bonnets. But get one that goes with the rest of your outfit. It will do no harm to get one that matches your eyes, too – girls notice that.
The final thing to be said about the bonnet is that it is generally a warm item of headgear. I have worn my army tammie in winter for many years, but seldom if ever in summer.
You might get a lightweight one that won’t make your head too hot in warm weather, but when it’s hot you will want to avoid a bonnet altogether.
Depending on the occasion, you could go bare-headed, or wear a hat of some kind. I have an old bush hat that is handy for keeping the sun off my pate, and I might wear it with a kilt in a very informal outfit.
There is a group here on XMTS that favours the old colonial pith helmet. While my grandfather had a rather stylish one that was issued to him when he was a magistrate here in South Africa, I personally feel that it doesn’t go all that well with a kilt.
That said, you will find a good many pictures of kilted troops in South Africa (Boer War) and in India wearing those things.
Regards,
Mike

[wildrover]

Did you order your kilt yet? Go do that, if you haven't already...it'll take a while to make and be delivered. For your updated first post...personally I think John Hart's advice is still probably the best, and most succinct, for your situation. The only caution I would advise is to avoid all the clan-emblem accessories...it makes one look like a try-hard...a carbon copy "Highlander".

If you want a sgian, get one. If you want a functional one, don't limit yourself to what's sold as being "Scottish"...just get a nice, small, fixed-blade knife and get a thin leather sheath for it. Don't feel any need to get one.

Scottish hat - This is the other sore point ;) I really like hats, but am wondering what hats are considered formal/military/casual etc.
The hats I know of so far are the Glengarry, Balmoral bonnet and the Tam. As with all the previous selections the more advice the better

I'm standing with Rod on this one, sorry. To put it very bluntly, do you want a hat because it's functional, or because you think it's a necessary part of the outfit? Because you don't want to be this guy.


Consider why you want a hat. You have hair, that's good enough, and to put it bluntly, girls like guys who don't need to hide under a hat, like the epic fail in the above picture. A "Scottish hat" is not a necessary item, unless you are in a band that wears Glengarries, or your head is cold, or the sun is in your eyes. Dress it up too much, and it'll look like a costume, and you don't want that.

No swords either. Repeat after me: "Someday I want a girlfriend. Someday I want a girlfriend. Someday..." etc...because for all that marriage seems to be happening older and older these days, you never know when you'll meet that special person, and it'd be a damn shame if she turned up her nose because you looked like you just escaped from a LARP convention.

No fake accents, either...same thing.



"Check your 6"...I've never heard it put that way before ...but so true. You'll know when you're doing it right, because likely you'll be the only one kilted at a formal night, and you'll get felt up more than a Chippendale at a bachelorette party. Do it wrong, and you'll be the weird guy in the corner.

FWIW, think carefully before wearing your kilt to a costume party. If you do it, you're going to have all those people thinking you're in costume every time you wear your kilt. Get a gorilla suit instead, they're less expensive and a lot more fun.

If you treat it like a costume, it will only ever be a costume. If you treat it like clothing...it will be clothing to you, and to the people around you.

If I have strong opinions, it's likely because I've been there before...with hats, bandannas, and this one kilt I own...

Be careful that you're not buying kit out of some preconceived idea of what a man in a kilt should look like. The "ten looks one kilt" thread(s) are good starting points...but they are not definitive, and you could do far worse than to look at Riverkilt's photos, or CmCgk...ok, I can't spell his username, but you'll see it in the "Contemporary" folder...that guy's photos...for ideas as far as how to wear your kilt. It is far more versatile than the "ten looks" thread seems to suggest, as there is a HUGE gray area between the conservative dress in the "ten looks" thread and the goth/punk/fetish nonsense sold in the mall.

-Sean