Necktie advice

[Sionnach]

DWFII- what a great photo, you both look verra nice. I only hope I can look as good when my own daughter weds (which I hope is not for a long time.) I appreciate the great advice.

I have a tartan tie for my Modern Mitchell tartan, I would want to wear the waistcoat to achieve a little "separation" that way. Solid color seems a little more subtle and understated- which is what I want.

I do check in with my wife- and she being even more Irish than I am Scottish- she still has a little difficulty with my kiltwearing, so I think her opinion a wee bit tainted. But I'll see what she thinks tonight, as we are planning a visit to an Irish pub- I plan to dress a little and surprise her.

Todd

[Jack Daw]

Lookin' good, DWFII.

[Rex_Tremende]

You could go with a modern look with a black necktie. Look for one that has a nice sheen or a self-colored pattern woven into it for interest.

Have fun,
Rex.

[DWFII]

Lookin' good, DWFII.

Todd and Jack,

Thank you both. Naturally the bride had "colours" --a sage green and the coral. My wife (standing next to me) made the cravat out of dupioni silk. If I had been a little more knowledgeable at the time, I would have had her make me matching flashes, although I probably would never have worn them again. The point is that ties (and flashes) are accessories--they can stand on their own, in my opinion. It would have been better to coordinate the accessories but they don't have to match the colours of the tartan or anything like that.

Maybe my sense of colour and harmony is a little skewed but I think there's lots of different ways to coordinate your kilt. For instance, a bright red silk shirt with the Scotland National tartan picks up that thin red stripe from the tartan and brings it up and off the lower body--because there is red in both the kilt and the shirt, the overall effect is one of absolute harmony. And at the same time bright red flashes bring the red down below the kilt and effect is only enhanced with lovat green hose which pick up the green from the SN tartan.

That's just one example...but the basic premise is threefold: one--almost any accessory you would wear with trousers you can wear with a kilt. And, two, if you simply pick up one colour, no matter how small, from your kilt and accent it on the rest of your outfit, you can't hardly go wrong.

Three...and for complete certainty remember one old rule of thumb that I've adapted from boot and shoe design: aside from the kilt, limit yourself to no more than two colours not counting white or black. Of course, you can always find someone who will put three and four and even five colours together and look good but I just offer that rule of thumb for those who are uncertain. It's not written in stone.

[Tommy Hunt]

And, a side note DWFII...what wood is your cane/stick??? I have an identical one handed down to me from my grandfather...always wondered what the wood is.

My guess is arbutus.

[DWFII]

My guess is arbutus.

I PM'd Riverkilt, not wanting to hijack the thread, but the one I have is Diamond Willow.

[george7]

Don't tie it too tight.

[Dr Mac]

Not recalling if I read or heard it, but somewhere I gathered that when wearing a tartan kilt it's good to wear no other tartan above the waist (I'm assuming fly plaid excepted). Consequently, I would think a solid necktie is best with the tartan kilt, while a tartan necktie would be fine with a solid kilt. Just a thought.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Not recalling if I read or heard it, but somewhere I gathered that when wearing a tartan kilt it's good to wear no other tartan above the waist (I'm assuming fly plaid excepted). Consequently, I would think a solid necktie is best with the tartan kilt, while a tartan necktie would be fine with a solid kilt. Just a thought.

I believe "Scotty" Thompson said that in his book, So You're Going to Wear the Kilt. He tends to be conservative, but you can almost never go wrong that way.

[billmcc]

A silver or gray tie would go with most tartans.