pipe band uniform change.

[highland mafia]

Hi all
Been a long time since I've posted here. But I need some kilt advice from you lot. I have been made president of our local Pipe Band. It is a very large organization we have over 70 members and 3 bands within the one. Grades 5,4,3. For several years our uniform has been a white shirt, black tie, black waistcoat, Maclean of Duart kilt

http://www.lochcarron.com/reiver/maclean_of_duart.html

And....Wait for it.....White hose! So one of my first orders of buisness has been to make some changes to the uniform. And with some gentle pushing I have finally managed to convince to rest of the board that it is time. We are obviously keeping the tartan. But changing the shirt and the dreaded hose. I was thinking of going to a light blue shirt and a darker shade of blue for the hose. keeping the black tie, waistcoat etc. I'm curious what you all think or suggest. What colours do you think will work with the Maclean of Duart tartan?

[rsvpiper]

How about a light grey shirt and lovat or grey hose, As for the Tie how about your state or town if it have a recognized tie that is.. juss my 2p

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

The whole purpose of a band uniform is to "stand out" on the parade ground. That being the case, you may wish take your cues from the Maclean arms... Since the livery colours are red and white, I'd suggest the following:

White shirt
RED waistcoat
White hose with RED tops
or
RED & WHITE diced hose

Far too many bands these days show up in the now ubiquitous white shirts, black waistcoat, etc. If you want to change, change more than your socks!

(Incidentally your band can order custom waistcoats from: www.customuniformcompany.com)

[Jordan]

The red waistcoat might be a good idea, I'm kind of thinking blue though.

My local pipe band wear green jackets and waistcoats with their gordon kilts and it does look good

[SlackerDrummer]

With 70 or more members, cost is going to be a factor when you start talking about changing to diced hose and switching out the vests. Ever since SFU switched to blue shirts, it seems like everyone else started to follow suit. Blue shirts are as commonplace today as white shirts. I'd stick with white shirts and then go with light blue hose instead of gray. Find a striped necktie that pulls some of the colors from the kilt. You can probably order them wholesale with those quantities. If you want to make more changes than that, you can change the different grade bands and do it incrementally, but you can make those changes to everyone without breaking the bank.

[Barb T]

As a member of a pipe band that plays and competes at least once every weekend from the beginning of May until the end of September, my viewpoint is that the critical thing is cost and washability. If it can't be machine washed (and dried!), and if it costs so much that band members can't easily buy two pair, give it a miss.

[piperdbh]

I'd like to see yellow hose with black cuffs.

[rtc872]

MoR, your ideal outfit would be a great sight but with bands (and more importantly committees) even making one small change is an uphill battle.

Mr Mafia, Congratulations on being made president! I would say the changing shirts idea isn't a bad one but most people have white and have already bought white so to have that changed can be a hassle. White is a good base to begin with so that is something that doesn't absolutely need to change.

As cost is a factor, talk to some vendors and see what you can do about hose. Just a hint, Dunadd no longer lists plain hose but can still supply them so include them in your hunt.

From there I would suggest changing ties rather than shirts. You will be surprised at how much little things change an outfit. As the shirt is the canvas it shrinks into the background anyway. So make the hose and tie pop and you will be a smart looking band.

Lastly I cannot fault your option of colour. In fact it sounds like a god send compared to white, which constantly gets dirty.

Good luck

[highland mafia]

Yes! The issue with white is keeping it clean.. Dusty sports fields every weekend is a nightmare for white. On top of the fact that white hose are well...White. I just picked up 3 different samples of blue hose today. I'll take them into band practice tonight and see what the other board members think. I gotta say I like the idea of different ties. Didn't think about that at all. Changing waistcoats or jackets just isn't possible. We just had 35 jackets and waistcoats made last fall for a fairly huge amount of money so black has to stay. Thanks for all your thoughts! Cheers to my Saul tuning friend Barb!!

[EagleJCS]

A couple of years ago, the Louisville Pipe Band was looking into changing the uniform. The issue we ran into with the idea of blue shirts is that everyone has a different idea of 'blue'. Is it 'French Blue', or the oxford-cloth blue, or 'Royal Blue', or something else? Even with the same type/style of shirt, there can be different dye lots, so the blue isn't necessarily uniform. Plus, the colors can be different going from long sleeve to short sleeve shirts. Also, some women refuse to wear mens' shirts (a bit odd, since they're wearing a kilt, but :shrug: ...), so ordering a bunch of shirts from the same source was out. Our band doesn't supply the shirt as part of the uniform - everyone buys their own. Some members also didn't want to be getting on the "let's change the uniform because the top bands are" bandwagon.

So, we stuck with white shirts and went with a new, custom-made band tie, black with gold letters and band logo. I wasn't privy to the order, so I don't know where we got them from. We also changed the sporran from plain black & three tassels to one of the semi-dress things with a chrome cantle and studs on the front and 'flat tassels'. Some folks have since lost the post that was screwed on top of the cantle (it came loose fairly easily).