Looks and why they work.

**AKScott** · 7th April 11, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by Shuteye

Hey, AKScott ..... My wife was looking through this thread and really likes your fedora look. Something tells me I may be looking for one for next winter's wear

We both agree that all you need on this outfit is a belt to set it all off. One in honey leather might look really cool with the boots, sporan and fedora.

I test drove that same outfit with a 2" brown leather belt I got at Home-Depot for $12. That belt has a few years of patina on it. My fiance liked it even better with the belt. It muddies up hiking in bear country with respect to rule eleven, but I'll figure something out. Thanks for the tip ;-) The hat is my third Scala. This one, though I found it local. (the imbedded link posted here is no longer active and we removed at the request of the business linked to) They are impervious to rain up to extended downpours, and hand crushable. My two retired ones were both permanently creased by mechanical means. When it gets wet, I have a way to rest it on its headband so neither the crown nor brim dry in a misshapen way. Maybe be a little warm for your area. I am used to seeing these in olive and forest green as well as a couple khaki variants.

**AKScott** · 8th April 11, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by Gryphon noir

There are a lot of good ideas here.

The thing I struggle with the most is what sort of headgear works best in a coastal rainforest climate?

The trouble I think is water tight to stay dry but also breathable to stay cool.

An umbrella works great because you can still get plenty of air circulation around your noggin so you don't overheat.

My crushable wool felt fedora is watertight enough, but it is hot under there.

Side vents = wet head.

Goretex, really, is just some kind of cloth with beads of urethane on it. With bigger spaces between the beads, the fabric is less watertight but more breathable. With smaller spaces between the beads the fabric becomes more watertight but less breathable. In the right weather any goretex will become a sodden sponge.

To me the variables are ambient temperature and individual temperature extreme tolerance, exposure time, and appearance level.

A bumbershoot is probably the best choice for someone with low temp extreme tolerance walking one city block from parking space to bank office.

A flyfisherman planning to be in drizzle for three hours will have different priorities.

I will say if you try a hat, plan on a raincoat, and recognize you will ocasionally get a brim full of water down the back of your neck. Unless you have a hat like Steve's.

**Shuteye** · 9th April 11, 09:10 AM

And this is the look that my wife likes best.....[/QUOTE]

***. I'm with your wife, dude!

**BruceBC** · 9th April 11, 11:39 PM

Sorel boots, snowshoes, almost 9 yards of 16 oz Marino wool, a woolly jumper and my trusty fleece hat. The essential backpack with survival gear in case the you-know-what hits the fan, and a desire to make it to the peak. Kilts say "outdoors" .. 16 feet of snow on the ground rounds out the look. The modern courier du bois esthetics

**Madadh** · 10th April 11, 03:15 AM

My Wife liked the way this looked for a recent day at work

**English Bloke** · 10th April 11, 03:24 AM

"I wear my Kilt as clothing and just throw stuff on as I've always done".

I'd like to think that were the case but I am aware the subconsciously there is a voice in my head saying "No John... don't be daft." and I know I also have a tendancy to match leathers although I am trying to fight it. I've seen people wearing contrasting leathers and I think it looks great.

Speaking of what other folks do, I've noticed from photo's on the forum that North Americans tend to wear their kilts higher than your average Brit. I'm a bit of a mid knee man meeself and socks just below the knee. To wear my Kilt higher makes it, in my opinion too short. (No critisism here, just saying what works for me).

About this long actually:

That's as per him on the left, not her in the middle.

I noticed too while up in Dumfries recently that younger scots (there were several out and about for the Scotland Brazil game) tend to wear their kilts even lower to the bottom of the knee (ie. kneecap completely covered).

They were all dressed casually mind so I don't know if this is a trend with all forms of Kilted dress. It does seem to be the modern Scottish way though.

Thoughts on Kilt length anyone?

That's the "Red Hackle" tartan in the photo by the way... Nice isn't it?

**longhuntr74** · 10th April 11, 07:27 AM

Speaking of what other folks do, I've noticed from photo's on the forum that North Americans tend to wear their kilts higher than your average Brit. I'm a bit of a mid knee man meeself and socks just below the knee. To wear my Kilt higher makes it, in my opinion too short. (No critisism here, just saying what works for me).

I noticed too while up in Dumfries recently that younger scots (there were several out and about for the Scotland Brazil game) tend to wear their kilts even lower to the bottom of the knee (ie. kneecap completely covered).

John...I don't know where you base your observations from, but I've observed quite the opposite here in the US. Many guys wear their kilts too long (as has been discussed on multiple threads here about band kilts, etc). I chalk it up to either insecurity about showing a little bit of leg/knee or, more often than not, buying an off the rack kilt that doesn't fit the hips properly and sags down or is too long to start with. Many band members that I've seen have horrible low saggy kilts due to this phenomenon as well.

I won't criticize your preference for mid-knee...perfectly acceptable in my opinion. Below the kneecap is not, though...at least not from my foxhole. I, myself, aim to have my kilts fall at the top of the kneecap. As I understand it, that is the general goal...and if you look at many OLD prints/drawings, it appears that some of the earliest kilts were 2-4" higher than that. I think that's a bit excessive, but I honestly hope we aren't seeing a trend towards "kilt saggerz" that are showing their boxer shorts at the top and have the kilt selvedge at mid-calf level....

**Chirs** · 10th April 11, 08:16 AM

I have also noticed a trend (on the rare occasions where I see a kilted man) toward a longer kilt, well below the knee. I hadn't thought about it much, mostly attributing it to the trend in pants: wearing them well below the hips.