over doing the bling?

[davedove]

After reading all the points of view, it seems to me a lot of it comes down to environment and experience.

Environment - If the only event a person attends is the yearly Burns Supper and everyone else there puts on all the bling, odds are that you will do the bling too. If you attend a number of events where others follow the less is more approach, that is what you will tend to do.

Experience comes down to two different things, what you learn from others and what you have had to deal with yourself. Without resources such as this forum, most of us in the US would be at a complete loss as to the "proper" level of dress. For many, the only exposure we've had is what we've seen in the media, and we all know what a pitfall that can be. For personal experience, even if we "blinged it out" at first, we quickly come to realize just what a bother some of the stuff can be. Personally, I like the look of a fly plaid, but it can be a real bother to wear (it seems like I am constantly sitting on it if I don't pay attention). After a while, we tend to simplify to basics, with perhaps one signature item, like maybe a pair of heirloom cufflinks.

Of course, here in the States, once you've donned the kilt, you're already pretty well blinged out.

[macwilkin]

After reading all the points of view, it seems to me a lot of it comes down to environment and experience.

Environment - If the only event a person attends is the yearly Burns Supper and everyone else there puts on all the bling, odds are that you will do the bling too. If you attend a number of events where others follow the less is more approach, that is what you will tend to do.

Experience comes down to two different things, what you learn from others and what you have had to deal with yourself. Without resources such as this forum, most of us in the US would be at a complete loss as to the "proper" level of dress. For many, the only exposure we've had is what we've seen in the media, and we all know what a pitfall that can be. For personal experience, even if we "blinged it out" at first, we quickly come to realize just what a bother some of the stuff can be. Personally, I like the look of a fly plaid, but it can be a real bother to wear (it seems like I am constantly sitting on it if I don't pay attention). After a while, we tend to simplify to basics, with perhaps one signature item, like maybe a pair of heirloom cufflinks.

Of course, here in the States, once you've donned the kilt, you're already pretty well blinged out.

And just to add to Dave's point regarding Burns Suppers: Among the overseas/diaspora Scots and their descendants, Burns Night tends to be a more formal "do" then what you would find among the Burns clubs of the Lowlands, where a kilt is usually only seen on the piper. For many societies (and not just American ones) Burns Night is THE event of the year, and tends to be more in terms of dress.

T.