THCD, Not THCD

[IsaacW]

Is wearing clothing too smart for the occasion inherently wrong?

Personally, I would say no. The US today has become a ridiculously casual place in terms of fashion. I prefer to dress nicer, especially at work. This places me in the "too smart for the occasion" situation frequently.

[Nathan]

Personally, I would say no. The US today has become a ridiculously casual place in terms of fashion. I prefer to dress nicer, especially at work. This places me in the "too smart for the occasion" situation frequently.

It's a nuance thing. Knowing which level of THCD fits which occasion is an important skill. At Tartan Tuesdays, we raise the bar a bit above what people are wearing to the pub, but then again, it's a special occasion of sorts for us.

There are times when a jumper and open collared shirt are better than a tweed and tie. The tweed and tie don't cease being THCD on those occasions. You're just not doing THCD as well as it can be done.

[IsaacW]

It's a nuance thing. Knowing which level of THCD fits which occasion is an important skill. At Tartan Tuesdays, we raise the bar a bit above what people are wearing to the pub, but then again, it's a special occasion of sorts for us.

There are times when a jumper and open collared shirt are better than a tweed and tie. The tweed and tie don't cease being THCD on those occasions. You're just not doing THCD as well as it can be done.

And the biggest and easiest to define is when to appropriately wear evening wear and formal wear. Casual to smart day wear is the areas of grey.

[Nathan]

Wearing a tartan not from your last name received from your father - NOT THCD

Not exactly so in my opinion. While a tartan from your father is MOST traditional, there have always been other options for those who do not inherit a clan tartan directly from their father. Certainly this is the most popular convention but I should also note that most people can't identify your tartan at a glance so if you're in a Regional or organization tartan, the look remains THCD.

Wearing a lowland "clan" tartan, NOT THCD.

Lowland families weren't called clans and didn't wear kilts. That said, they now do wear kilts as national dress and have registered family tartans. I think a lowlander wearing his family name tartan is certainly traditional given the modern context of the kilt as Scots National Dress.

Wearing a kilt in Scotland if you aren't from Scotland, NOT THCD.

Also not true. Wearing it while shopping on the High street or touring around is probably not conventional but wearing it to the Clan gathering with your fellow clans folk would certainly be traditional. Also, wearing THCD at a less appropriate time doesn't stop it from being THCD.

Wearing a kilt outside Scotland's if you are from Scotland, pushing stereotypes and NOT THCD.

Also not true if the context is correct. (St. Andrew's Ball, Highland Games, Burns dinner)

Wearing a kilt in Scotland by a person from the highlands makes the wearer look like a tourist and this, NOT THCD.

Now you're just showing your cynicism. While wearing a kilt might make one look like a tourist, a Highlander wearing Highland attire in the Highlands is certainly wearing THCD whether they are mistaken for a tourist or not.

I have come to the conclusion that wearing kilts is possible, but wearing THCD is not. Since THCD is some sort of Platonic ideal that doesn't seem to exist in the world, I don't worry about achieving it. Don't get me wrong, I respect whatever it is and I do follow well kept customs, I just don't pretend to live up to this ideal.

I don't agree with this statement. It's clothing not a platonic ideal. There are three separate, albeit connected issues.

1) What constitutes THCD?
and
2) When should one wear THCD ?
and
3) If one chooses to wear THCD, which level is appropriate?

[Jock Scot]

One of the most helpful comments that I have come across, if one interested enough to pursue the traditional kilt route, is: "just because I can, does not mean that I should". Added to that, an open mind and an ever increasing idea of what traditional attire actually entails is extremely helpful in achieving an understanding of what is required and it is entirely voluntary!

[cizinec]

Nathan,

I apologize. I was being a bit snarky. I should have added a /sarc. I agree with almost everything you said.

There is a range of choices that make up what almost everyone (on this site at least) would recognize as THCD.

The struggle I have had is understanding hard rules and flexible rules. That was the point of my sarcasm. If one were to try to follow every hard rule listed by someone, virtually no one could wear THCD. It would exist only in some romantic aether. If they could, it would be more like a costume than dress.

The "rules" shouldn't be there to limit what one wears. They should help one to look sharp and not like an overdressed idiot or slob. IMO, the sharpest looking photos I have seen here were posted as examples of THCD.

While I do my best to emulate THCD, I do not claim to achieve it to everyone's standards.

[Liam]

Let's be clear...THCD is a concept developed here at XMarks. There are no written rules. Those of you who want black and white need not apply. The issue that often gets debated here is whether something is "traditional". Traditions like culture evolve with time and with place. What might be considered Traditional in one part of a country, including The Highlands of Scotland, varies from community to community and often also varies with the financial where with all of the individuals within the community. And THCD is not a concept restricted to what those in the Highlands wear. If you think it is reread the first line of my post.

[Dileasgubas]

I would like to comment on this outfit - I think that it is fantastic! You've got a great looking kilt, paired with a nice linen vest made for wear with a kilt, and what looks like a linen shirt. A great outfit for warmer climes. The hose, while perhaps a bit ostentatious to some, add contrast and show some personal flair. I think that you have built a practical outfit suitable for the climate in your local area, and added some nice touches that make the outfit yours. To my eye, there are lot of things done very well here: nice individual pieces that go well together, proper fit, use of colour, appropriateness for the climate, and overall simplicity. It works for me. Congrats!

I can get on board with most of those; the only one I'm still out on is hair.
I think the formality of a sporran should come down to the cantle more than anything; I know that sounds like I beleive in "semi-dress" sporrans, but hear me out; the hair sporran I made really can't be dressed up beyond tweed (not just because it's brown). It's not TOO far off the tracks as old school sporrans go, so where's that leave it? They went out of style, but I don't think all hair sporrans are the same as a silver cantle'd white bandsman sporran.

I wear this one more than my "normal" day sporran, mosty because the pouch is bigger, but also because I like the extra "Swish" and "swagger" up front as well as behind!

[Nathan]

Let's be clear...THCD is a concept developed here at XMarks. There are no written rules. Those of you who want black and white need not apply. The issue that often gets debated here is whether something is "traditional". Traditions like culture evolve with time and with place. What might be considered Traditional in one part of a country, including The Highlands of Scotland, varies from community to community and often also varies with the financial where with all of the individuals within the community. And THCD is not a concept restricted to what those in the Highlands wear. If you think it is reread the first line of my post.

THCD is an acronym developed here at xmarksthescot to describe a real cultural practice in Scotland. The concept of what would or would not be considered traditional to a Highlander existed well before the internet, let alone xmts. Traditional Highland Civilian Dress is descriptive nomenclature, but just like the dinosaurs existed before the palaeontologists called them dinosaurs, THCD existed before xmarkers called it THCD.

[Chaps]

I do love reading these types of discussions regarding what constitutes THCD; however, in Southern California I rarely see anything that even comes close apart from pipe bands which I believe were excluded earlier. I have been to Highland games, Burns night, and Tartan Days. I rarely see anything that even comes close to THCD. It is much more common to see a hodge podge of Sportkilts and poor fitting acrylic kilts and little thought to distinctions between day wear and formal wear. I guess geography plays a large role in this. For my part I try to follow the THCD guidelines in spirit though with a Welsh surname the closest I can come by the letter of the law is to wear my ancient clergy tartan. Still, I find the guidelines helpful despite my ancestry and fondness for flat caps (though I do own a balmoral).