Hose/Flashes with tall boots?

[The Thirsty Viking]

I occasionally wear my Son of Sandlar 9-button boots with my kilt Casually. I never get to wear the combo to faire, because i do not wear my kilt in the forge, but out in town, i get a lot of compliments on the look.

To the OP - I would actually reccomend the Son of Sandlar over the others. The construction is more solid, and the soles more geared toward walking all day. They are also less expensive, but with, IMO, better quality.

[Droid]

I occasionally wear my Son of Sandlar 9-button boots with my kilt Casually. I never get to wear the combo to faire, because i do not wear my kilt in the forge, but out in town, i get a lot of compliments on the look.

To the OP - I would actually reccomend the Son of Sandlar over the others. The construction is more solid, and the soles more geared toward walking all day. They are also less expensive, but with, IMO, better quality.

Thank you, I'll check them out. I do like the look of tall boots under a kilt, I'm just trying to figure out the right mix of things for me.

I appreciate all the feedback!

[tulloch]

Tall boots can be useful if you work in brambles and where there might be nasty natural brutes that could sting or bite you in the lower leg. If I were kilted and in those circumstances I would, I think, still want tall hose. If hose then garters 'cause otherwise those nasties would be doughnuts around my ankles and that could be an irritant themselves. Tall boots as a fashion statement might be good for some short interludes but I could not wear them every day. Short answer: if you're going to wear kilt hose then something has to hold them up. The garters would probably be inside the boots.

There was a thread here about U.S. military leggings. I would use them if I were working or hiking in the above-referenced conditions.

Above all, if it doesn't hurt anybody, do what you like!

[tripleblessed]

Something that might be relevant here. As an actor, I found that costume affected presentation; that is, if I was struggling to get the character, sometimes changing the shoes or clothing pushed me to move in a different way, and that allowed a more appropriate revealing of the character. When I found myself sliding down the road with 600lbs. of motorcycle attempting to push my ankle through the pavement, I was inordinately grateful for tall boots and the extra few seconds they bought me to get out from under to on top of it before I started losing bone.

My point is that clothing choices have many motivations, and THCD is only one of a whole spectrum of reasons. Sometimes you just want tall boots. Sometimes you just want a kilt. Sometimes you just feel like wearing your Stetson with the feathered hatband. It might all happen on the same day. I don't feel motivated to be responsible for any other person's choices, and I won't apologize for my own. I certainly don't choose with an eye to offending
anyone, any more than does the Duke of Argyll. I DO appreciate knowing
what everyone thinks, to help inform choices.

As English Bloke points out, either kilts are modern clothing, or they are
costume wear only for ceremony and only for Scots.

[Nighthawk]

In that case, why not go bare-legged (as the "Scots of old"), or perhaps hide-out/fur-in deerskin shoes? In either case (Renaissance Festival or regular kilted wear) it doesn't seem like the tall boots would really fit.

If the OP is bound and determined, though, to wear these tall boots, then I agree that wearing kilt hose and flashes would just add to the confusion.

It's funny- I read this after making my post! My friends joke about their Rennie burns, which are the sunburns the ladies get on their chests. I joke with them about my Rennie burn- which I get on my feet! If the festival is in grass, I go barefoot!

Here's an excellent example of what a Scottish Highlander of the late Renaissance (meaning early 1600's) would have looked like. The shoes are just hides roughly sewn together, and very similar to those... gaellies? Is that the vendor was calling them?

As English Bloke points out, either kilts are modern clothing, or they are
costume wear only for ceremony and only for Scots.

That's no more true of kilts than of pants. This pair of pants, for example, is no longer worn in the mainstream:



However, if you're a Revolutionary War era reenactor, they are very appropriate. Same holds true of the kilt. It was worn in a different way in the 1650's than it is today, and if you're portraying a person from that time period, then like pants, the kilt does in fact become costume. Does that all kilts are costumes? Of course not! It's all about context.

[Riverkilt]

Here's a pic of a Flagstaff Arizona police officer at the Flagstaff games a few years ago...he made an effort to wear flashes with his low boots. Might give you some idea of how it would look.

[The Thirsty Viking]

These are the Son of Sandlar boots I wear to faire and sometimes out kilting:


While not at all historically accurate, they are extremely comfortable, and amazing at traversing the very rocky and uneven terrain of my local faire. They are a widely popular boot and great to work in. They also have a very distinct "Renn Faire" look. The brass World Tree buttons also sold me a bit

[Tobus]

These are the Son of Sandlar boots I wear to faire and sometimes out kilting:


While not at all historically accurate, they are extremely comfortable, and amazing at traversing the very rocky and uneven terrain of my local faire. They are a widely popular boot and great to work in. They also have a very distinct "Renn Faire" look. The brass World Tree buttons also sold me a bit

I bought my wife a pair of Son of Sandlar boots last year at the Texas Renaissance Festival, and they are VERY well made boots. Good quality leather, excellent construction, and a distinct style. She wears them a lot even with pants (tall boots are in style with women these days).

I'm thinking about getting a pair myself. In fact, I would have gotten a pair at the Scarborough Renaissance Festival last weekend if they had had that style there.

These boots go all the way up to the knee, so tall socks or kilt hose are in order. No flashes, though, as the lacing of the boot is plenty for holding them up.

What I might do as an alternative to spending that much money on a pair of boots is make myself a pair of leather lace-up gaiters (based on my WWII US Army leggings) that achieve the same effect. I figure I can even make them with buttons/conchos for the lacing for a similar look to the Son of Sandlar boots, and just wear them over any old pair of black shoes or low boots.

Doing it this way, I can either make them tall like the boots, or make them shorter like spats, where I can still wear kilt hose and flashes/garters above them.

[Bugbear]

I just had a strange thought of reenactors in the distant future reading this thread, having excavated an old harddrive, and arguing about how to properly portray people of the early Twenty-First who are reenacting the early Seventeenth century.

[tripleblessed]

Apologies all_left off the part on the original question. Gotta stop posting while cooking supper.

If you're gonna have the tall boots, as observed, no need for flashes with the Son of Sandlar boots, as they are probably tight enough to keep hose up. If a looser boot, ties hidden as much as practical. The "Gaelles" are definitely more appropriate for the period flavor. If your character is a gentleman of the clan, more leeway, but the common kind of guy would mostly have made
his own very like the picture. And most likely have been bare-legged, if not
completely barefoot.

Nighthawk, if those pants aren't mainstream, does that mean I can't wear the three pair in my closet any more? And are you saying the kilt IS, or IS NOT mainstream? I dassn't be seen in anything not comfortably in the mainstream,
whatever would become of me? It would likely go on my PERMANENT RECORD.