How do you deal with a pocket watch when kilted?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I wear a wrist watch. Is this a big no-no?

Actually, the wrist watch has been around for more than 150 years. The first really big use of wrist watches happened in 1880 when Kaiser Wilhelm I ordered 2000 of them to be issued to officers in the Germany Navy. Prior to the first World War wrist watches were not terribly popular with men, although extremely popular with women. In 1911 Cartier created it's first wrist watch (the Santos) which caught on with gentlemen (of means) due to its association with the dashing aviator, Santos Dumont. During the 1914-18 war tens of thousands of wrist watches (nick-named "trench watches") were issued to the troops of all the belligerent nations. By 1920 the popularity of the wrist watch was assured, with sales of wrist watches outstripping pocket watches 50 to 1 before the end of the decade.

So, is the wrist watch a big "no-no" with the kilt? I hardly think so.

[AstroBen]

I wear a wrist watch. Is this a big no-no?

I should think not.

[O'Callaghan]

When gentlemen wore pocket watches, they invariably wore waistcoats. Otherwise where would they put their watch? When wristwatches caught on, that was the beginning of the end for waistcoats. I think it's quite acceptable to wear a waistcoat without a jacket, although at one time it may not have been.

Perhaps waistcoats might come back as a fashionable way to wear a mobile phone?

A word of caution to our American friends. Yes, we know you call your waistcoat a vest, but did you know that in the British Isles a vest is what you might call an undershirt? If you said that you wore your vest outside your shirt people might think that you dress like some sort of comic book superhero, or that you are simply a bit eccentric.

[piperdbh]

A word of caution to our American friends. Yes, we know you call your waistcoat a vest, but did you know that in the British Isles a vest is what you might call an undershirt? If you said that you wore your vest outside your shirt people might think that you dress like some sort of comic book superhero, or that you are simply a bit eccentric.

Why are watches called watches, and not "wrist clocks" or "pocket clocks"?

Since the original question has been answered (and quite peaceably, at that), I'll respond to my cousin here and say that the garment which is called a vest in the UK is, in some parts of the US (and I hate this name and please don't think I made it up), called a "wife-beater". I wish that name had never been created, and I try to discourage anyone I hear using it from repeating it, but for the edification of our members in various locations, I'm presenting it here for general education.

[Cygnus]

...
In 1911 Cartier created it's first wrist watch (the Santos) which caught on with gentlemen (of means) due to its association with the dashing aviator, Santos Dumont.

Ah, that brings back memories of the couple of years I lived in Brazil. As Santos Dumont was a dual French/Brazilian citizen, the "fact" that he invented both the wrist watch and airplane is a matter of pride for many Brazilians. Mere mention of the Wright brothers can spawn hours of conversation or debate. It is interesting to talk and read about, though Dumont most certainly didn't invent the wrist watch (and most probably didn't invent the airplane, though it says as much in many Brazilian textbooks).

Why are watches called watches, and not "wrist clocks" or "pocket clocks"?

They are called wrist clocks and pocket clocks, just not in English!

The actual origins of calling portable time pieces "watches" is uncertain, though I've heard it said that once watches became more accurate, smaller, and more affordable, they quickly found military use - as MacMillan of Rathdown kindly pointed out. These timepieces made watches (the time that a soldier spent watching for the potential threats) much easier to divide and keep track of, though soldiers on watch tended to pay closer attention to their time-pieces than the actual task at hand, earning them the name.

As I said, I don't know the real reason behind the name, but this story I've been told certainly makes sense!

[AstroBen]

Why are watches called watches, and not "wrist clocks" or "pocket clocks"?

Since they don't have bells that chime every hour, you have to watch them

And, yes, I've heard the term "wife-beater," though I think the term refers to blokes who believe that type of shirt can be worn by itself without a shirt (the kind with buttons). I've always known them as A-shirts, because of the shape like T-shirts are named.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Since they don't have bells that chime every hour, you have to watch them

Not far from the truth... clocks, the predecessors of watches, were comprised of three parts:
The case, the movement, and the "face" on which were marked the hours. In the 15th thru 17th centuries the face was called "the watch". When the first portable time pieces became available they were clocks, but without any sort of case in the then accepted sense. In short, a gentleman's timepiece comprised only the "watch". The name stuck, and today most time pieces worn, or carried, on the person are referred to as watches*.

(*watch, originally meaning to awaken, or wake up)

And, yes, I've heard the term "wife-beater," though I think the term refers to blokes who believe that type of shirt can be worn by itself without a shirt (the kind with buttons). I've always known them as A-shirts, because of the shape like T-shirts are named.

Actually I believe the term "tee shirt" is derived from the US military around the time of the first World War when the army issued each soldier with a light weight "Shirt, Training" to be worn during calisthenics. The popularity of this versatile garment quickly caught on in the civilian world where it was called the T-shirt or "tee shirt". The term A-shirt is shortened from "athletic shirt".

[Cygnus]

Not far from the truth... clocks, the predecessors of watches, were comprised of three parts:
The case, the movement, and the "face" on which were marked the hours. In the 15th thru 17th centuries the face was called "the watch". When the first portable time pieces became available they were clocks, but without any sort of case in the then accepted sense. In short, a gentleman's timepiece comprised only the "watch". The name stuck, and today most time pieces worn, or carried, on the person are referred to as watches*.

(*watch, originally meaning to awaken, or wake up)

Good to know!

It's surprising the sorts of things I've learned on this forum.

[Kornkob]

A word of caution to our American friends. Yes, we know you call your waistcoat a vest, but did you know that in the British Isles a vest is what you might call an undershirt? If you said that you wore your vest outside your shirt people might think that you dress like some sort of comic book superhero, or that you are simply a bit eccentric.

One could go back and forth all day long with examples of regional variations of English terminology and the confusion it can cause.

[macwilkin]

When gentlemen wore pocket watches, they invariably wore waistcoats. Otherwise where would they put their watch?

Some put their pocket watches in the left breast pocket, with the chain bar pushed through the lapel buttonhole.

T.