Flat Caps. No no and thrice no! Suitable hats when wearing your kilt. Discuss

[Jack Daw]

Well, if you are the type of person who wears the kilt exclusively, then traditional wear shouldn't apply; otherwise, you can noly wear the balmoral or, to a lesser extent, the glengarry. Not much choice.

You're excluding the caubeen, among other caps and hats, b/c it doesn't have a tourie. Frankly, I wished the tourie was never invented. It annoys me for me to wear one. For this reason, I have a caubeen and wear the glengarry only when I pipe.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Maybe, and I'm speculating now, the problem is that the flat cap is thought to be more of an English piece of headgear which is why it jars so much when worn with a kilt.

If this was about bowlers rather than flat caps I'd agree... In my opinion flat caps (until 'ball caps swept o'r the land like a might plague) were the head gear of the working class. True, us toffs wore them shooting, bicycling, and motoring, but we took them off the moment sweaty pursuits were ended. So did working class blokes and jocks.

A Scot would no more wear a flat cap with his kilt than he would toss on a donkey jacket on his way to the Aboyne Games. It wasn't that he was embarrassed to be a working class Scot-- he wasn't, nothing shameful about an honest day's work-- it was showing the world that he knew and respected the traditions and social conventions as well as the next man. And it was this attitude that gained him the respect of the "next man" be that next man a duke or a dustman.

[davedove]

Quite: What do you do when a friend from, say TN, accompanies you to the Cowal Games and is planning to wear a flat cap with his otherwise well turned out gear?

Now don't you know that we Americans will wear what we want and we will know that we are right in wearing it?

If anyone doesn't understand that, we will speak more slowly and loudly until they do.

[Jock Scot]

As a resident of the state of Tennessee I would wear my black balmoral (no dicing) if attending games in Scotland. I would wear it if attending games in the USA or Canada for that matter. But I do own a made in Scotland, Harris Tweed, flat cap, that I do wear with the kilt in a casual manner. Usually when I'm attending the meetings of our Scottish Society. When at a Scottish Games, I am usually manning a tent for my clan society or the Scottish Society. So I dress with more of a "uniform" style. That's means my s/s officer shirt with the embroidered clan badge, the balmoral, and usually tan hose. I would not wear the flat cap in this situation. I have worn a wide brimmed straw hat due to sun and heat. But since I now have the balmoral, I wear that instead.

If I were to attend a games as a guest and not in any official capacity, I would wear the best daywear outfit that the weather permitted and it would include the balmoral.

But just for mucking about, I'd go with the flat cap. It's what I wear nearly every day anyways. So as not to cause an international controversy, when I do get the opportunity to visit Scotland, I will not wear the flat cap with the kilt. I'd probably just go without.

I wear my balmoral,not my better one I grant you, for mucking about. Ploughing,harvesting,fishing,BBQ's,walking the hills,calving cows to name a few. I can well see the wisdom of wearing a suitable hat in your hot climbs where neither the balmoral, or, flat cap would be of much use.

[ForresterModern]

Fond of hats and caps here, of all manner, partly because of regularly cold weather and partly becasue when it isn't cold the sun beats he** out of my balding pate. so few days out of the year when I don't at least doff a chapeau of some sort for some period of time. I like flat caps with kilts and have several solid and tartan to match my kilts, as well as several solid balmorals in various colors, a few tammies in tartan or matching colors, and even a standard diced glengarry and one tartan glengarry (it was on special clearance and matched the kilt I waswearing that day---have not worn it since). I guess I think the looks of any and all are pretty good with the kilt (except maybe the tartan glengarry, which should probably be reserved for special pipe bands or something like that). I also wear then with other casual and sometimes dress wear, as long as the occasion and cap are approptiate looks in my own mind. Wife generally agrees wit hmy choices. I also have an Irish Caubeen in customary bottle green that I throw on occasionally with just about any kind of outerwear in cold weather.

I like and wear hats and caps often, and I think in appropriate situations and with appropriate garb, including the kilt. Other than the occasional negative comment about wearing them in pictures posted here, comments mostly from the native scots, I have recieved nothing but compliments from others here and in my daily life. But in a way I am a bit like Jamie, I dress with a bit of style and flair in general, and so the little bit of added color and style a cap brings along only helps carry off the whole look.

[irishrob]

I have several Harris tweed caps and wear them regularly.(the guys around here call them snap brim hats, even though none of mine have snaps!) Two of which match the tweed fabric of my two modified kilt jackets. My wife and others of the feminine ilk have commented quite positively on my sartorial coordination and look on more than one ocassion. My take is that if I like it and "the girls" like it...it must be fine. But then again, I live in the desert in the unsophisticated Washington State!

Rob

[RockyR]

Rocky, when all said and done whether we wear a flat cap with the kilt, or not, as the case may be, is hardly an earth shatteringly important matter. Perhaps the traditionalists you come across are too polite to comment,not bothered,or, don't want a black eye! Sorry ,only joking. Outside this website most of us would never dream of openly laughing, or, commenting on any one's style of dress. However that does not mean that I and others do not have a point of view.

This great website encourages friendly discussion and allows for honestly held opinions to be aired, robustly put sometimes maybe, these points of view may also not be voiced out load in public for reasons of tact and diplomacy. Providing these firmly held views are voiced courteously, we all get an opportunity to learn of other points of view. I suppose it can be a surprise to learn that what I/we thought was a non issue suddenly becomes one.

Understood and agreed... I wasn't 'offended' or 'hurt' by anyone else's opinion, just a little surprised as I hadn't heard it before.

The main point of my post was to show the other side of the coin. There was no malice or argument in my mind when typing it... I hope it came across the same way. That's the 1 problem when typing things... you can't show inflection on your voice to convey certain things the way you can when speaking.

The following is meant as an observation and NOT a criticism:

Many times on Forums, once a thread starts to go 1 direction (either 'traditional thought' or 'contemporary - casual thought'), people tend to only voice the same opinion and then the thread becomes a 1 sided discussion. People with a dissenting voice might not want to be the 'lone voice of opposition', so they don't speak up. I'm guilty of this as well on occasion. For this thread, I thought I'd present the 'firm' other side of the discussion (not 'argument') on which I fall.

Friendly discourse is appreciated by all. At the end of the day, if we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable, then this is a better place for the discussion.

BTW... I never hit anyone for giving me a criticism of my outfit. (...yet )

(TONGUE FIRMLY IN CHEEK FOR THAT LAST BIT)

[Panache]

...My most recently acquired piece of head wear is a shire hat, made by Christies of London. I purchased this on a recent trip to Charleston, SC. It's made from Harris Tweed and I have a sport coat in the same pattern, as well as a kilt jacket & vest in a pattern so similar as to practically be the same. I absolutely love this hat and have worn it often since buying it. However, not with the kilt.


I couldn't tell you why I don't wear this with my kilt other than the fact that I don't think the style would look right. If anyone has contrary opinions I'd love to hear them...

Matt,

I like that hat very much. I have one in a similar style and found it wonderfully comfortable and practical. I accept that it is not a traditional hat for Highland attire but I think it does work with a kilt.

Why?

Well first off tweeds and tartan go together like bread and butter.

Second, the "bucket" hat in tweed shares a similar look to deerstalkers which are traditional head wear

Third, I think that Jock Scot himself once mentioned that authentic Highland attire shouldn't look like it has been planned to death. Things don't have to perfectly coordinate, in fact they can look a bit like a costume if they do.
It is a practical and comfortable hat and when you are heading out the door you grab it (and your favorite walking stick).

Here are some pictures with "The Hat" and for the life of me I can't see that this bit of head wear looks ridiculous or bad with my attire .








Give it a try and take a picture of your outfit and see for yourself.

ith:Cheers

Jamie

[Jock Scot]

Rocky, thank you for you reply and be assured that no offence was taken and none was intended. These threads do give us all an opportunity to see another point of view ,as in this case and with a wee bit of luck we all can be a tad wiser.Let's hope so.

[Good Egg]

I tend to agree with you it does not look too bad - personally I would not be offended by a deer stalker either (I'm not 'offended by a flat cap, but you no what I mean: they're just wrong with a kilt)

BUT wouldn't you look better in a bonnet?