Some pictures (finally) and observations

[Troy]

Troy,


A question for you: if you wear the Cornish National casually (and I hope you do), do you have difficulty in co-ordinating shirts, hose, etc. with it? Because of the black content in the tartan, brown leather accessories just do not work. Beige shirts and hose, which I normally advocate for almost any tartan, do not hack it either. I find myself keeping this kilt for more formal occasions where black and white are more fitting.

When going casual, I usually opt for a plain black or plain white T-shirt, or black long-sleeved jersey top. I've also got a few 'beer' T-shirts, such as 'Guinness' & 'James Squire' which seem to work well.

I wore a black polo shirt to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service this year, and I think it looked neat enough without being too dressy. A black dress shirt does a similar job also. In fact, I wore the kilt with a black shirt, off-white hose, sgian dubh, and black suede brothel creepers to my mate's son's christening and it seemed to work a treat.

I have a very dark charcoal coloured Aran that I think looks great for winter wear also.

My casual footwear is usually black Doc Martens and scrunched-down hose.

I pretty much agree that black and/or white are the best colour options - I wouldn't dream of brown footwear or sporran - but I'm sure it would be possible to co-ordinate with some of the other colours in the tartan.

Cheers,

Troy

[cessna152towser]

Great pictures, nice kilt, nice ladies.

[Troy]

That looks fantastic!

I was also thinking about the question Hamish introduces. What would one wear with this on a casual basis? Outside of a fan gathering/game, where I would tend towards the ridiculous (or at least ridiculous to the uninitiated...lots of black and gold), the only thing I can think of wearing for a casual basis would be a "natural" Arran sweater and off white hose to match.

I also agree that a brown sporran just won't cut it.

I think a 'natural' Aran would look sensational. A black jersy or shirt with a bit of yellow (gold) detail might be OK - I'm not sure what your team shirts look like, but you could probably find something.

Black hose would do just as well as off-white.

I think we all agree that a brown sporran would be a complete mistake.

Cheers,

Troy

[Kilted_John]

Point taken re: smile - for some reason I've always had a bit of a problem forcing a smile for the camera, really have no idea why!

Thanks for the tip re: sporran - will remember buckle up an extra hole next time.

Cheers,

Troy

Troy,

Looks good.

With respect to the lack of smile, I have the same problem. Been that way since I was six years old. Probably because I noticed that there was a camera in use and the smile kinda wiped off my face. And, ever since I was 9, I usually preferred to be on the other end of said camera. In other words, looking through the viewfinder.

That said, it almost looked like you were a little overwhelmed by the attention you were getting from the ladies...

-J

[Retro Red]

?... a silly question - I'm not familliar with the style of necktie you have. Is it a bowtie tucked under the collar, or is it a different style altogether...?

That style of tie is called a Continental. As Troy mentioned, it became somewhat fashionable in the late-50s/early 60s, & is considered an acceptable substitue for a bowtie with a tuxedo (of course, you'd need to wear a laydown collared tuxedo shirt with the Continental rather than the more common wing-tip collar tuxedo shirt). It's also sometimes referred to as the Crossbow tie. I'm not sure of the origin of the tie, but it has long been popular with the western-wear crowd (as well as Arizona's official state tie, the bola tie). Personally, I've always considered it a classy looking tie.

Here's a couple of photos to help increase your familiarity with it -

[Hamish]

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Maybe Hamish, or one of the other more mature gentlemen on the forum, could enlighten us as to what this type of neckwear is called???

Regards,

Troy

Well! I don't recall being called a "more mature" gentleman before - makes me feel quite elderly!! Seriously though, I have never seen this type of neckwear before, Troy!

On seeing your photos, my first thought was that it had an 'American' look to it and, on reading Retro Red's response I see I was right. I stand to be corrected, but I don't think this style reached the United Kingdom!!

(PS: Thank you for the suggestions for creating the casual look with the Cornish National. I am with you, but I have never felt that black or white are very casual 'colours' and was hoping that you might have come up with something else! Still, I don't HAVE to wear it casually - I do have others!!!)

[McClef]

I haven't seen that neckwear style over here either Hamish.

[GMan]

Very nice pics indeed! Looks like you were not the only one enjoying that nice looking Kilt!

[Troy]

Troy,

That said, it almost looked like you were a little overwhelmed by the attention you were getting from the ladies...

-J

I have to admit that I was a little overwhelmed by the attention I was getting from these ladies. A nice problem to have for a single chap, but I had to make sure Mrs. Troy didn't think I was having too much of a good time without her

[Troy]

Well! I don't recall being called a "more mature" gentleman before - makes me feel quite elderly!!

Naturally, by "more mature" I meant "fully developed, wise, and knowledgeable" which, as I believe everybody on this forum would agree, is certainly what you are (particularly in matters sartorial).