Need Help: USAF Mess Dress with Kilt

[davidlpope]

Ringo,

Here is a link to a great article written by our own Todd Wilkinson:
http://www.scottishtartans.org/USAF.htm

Here is a link to the USAFR pipe band, showing the USAFR tartan. if your father wants to purchase a kilt that is connected in some manner to his military service, that's what I'd suggest.
http://www.usafreserveband.af.mil/ph...galleryID=1274

That being said, I'm not sure that the USAF uniform regs allow for the kilt to be worn with mess dress. As a retired member of the USAFR, I suspect that he is still subject to those orders. I'd encourage him to wear regular civilian Highland clothing appropriate for the occasion. He shouldn't be as worried about showing you up as taking away attention from the bride...

I'm sure, however, you'll get plenty of feedback here to encourage your father to "just do whatever he wants."

Best of luck.

[AFS1970]

I don't think any branch of the US military expressly allows the kilt, although there are tartans for them all. Mess dress seems the most logical to adapt if for no other reasons than it fits the occasion and the short cut of the dinner jacket probably works the best with the kilt. I would think that where there is a tartan wither designed for or in use by a branch, that would be a better choice than a family tartan or that of another regiment/service.

[seanachie]

I am mad at myself because I deleted a PM that had some good info in it related to this tartan. I myself am an AF vet and I wound up with (fortunately) a lower priced kilt marketed as the AF tartan that was not, a small difference but actually made it another tartan (the Thurso) The links above are good info. Because I am going from memory please do not hang me if I am in error but I believe that Barb Tewskbury, a kilt maker on this forum, advised that she can make sew an AF tartan kilt but that the tartan is available from one mill and not in heavy weight cloth. I like the suggestion above to skip the mess dress. Speaking for myself, I wore the uniform with pride and I would feel awkward, even if no one were ever to know, that I was not wearing it properly.