Looks and why they work.

[CMcG]

Major point of fashion that has been true regardless of trends:

Your belt, shoes, and sporran should match. Brown with brown - Black with black.

It's the most noticeable flaw when properly accessorizing your kilt. If you take time to match these items, it will pull the rest of your outfit together with a unifying theme. Please do so.

Let's qualify this a bit, because matching leathers is a not universally true sartorial point.

In traditional Highland civilian dress, for example, mixing of leathers is quite common. Furthermore, part of a rebel modern kilt look is a "devil may care" attitude, which ironically can also include not bothering to match stuff.

Kilt wearing that adheres to a more contemporary North American aesthetic might look more unified with matching leathers... and colour coordinated everything else while you're at it

[Zardoz]

Major point of fashion that has been true regardless of trends:

Your belt, shoes, and sporran should match. Brown with brown - Black with black.

It's the most noticeable flaw when properly accessorizing your kilt. If you take time to match these items, it will pull the rest of your outfit together with a unifying theme. Please do so.

While I personally follow this rule of thumb, I think you'll find some folks feel that a little mis-match; like a brown sporran with black shoes for daywear, is OK. I'm sure they're right, but it makes a little fuse blow in my head
I eliminate the issue in my wardrobe by having only black leathers, and not feeling bad that I can color coordinate.

[AKScott]

Major point of fashion that has been true regardless of trends:

Your belt, shoes, and sporran should match. Brown with brown - Black with black.

It's the most noticeable flaw when properly accessorizing your kilt. If you take time to match these items, it will pull the rest of your outfit together with a unifying theme. Please do so.

I respectfully disagree.

I recall my mom laying down the matching leather law for my second day of kindergarten. I had met a very cute girl the previous day and appeared at breakfast for day 2 in my favorite slacks, with my favorite shirt and my favorite tie. That would be plaid slacks, a vertically striped shirt and a paisley tie.

While it is difficult to go far wrong with matching leathers, it also shuts out many combinations that can work.

WRT the wizard's recent challenge that we provide pictures rather than mere doctrine, I submit the following. I should point out in advance today is my day off and I am still on my first cup of coffee. I cropped my face out as I still look a bit of a fright this morning. I see the yellow stripe on my front apron is off center and my garter ties are usually better length balanced than this. Likewise I see that I really do need to move my sporran strap buckle around back - I am waiting for my tank ( due any day now) to arrive before I finalize strap construction.

[kiltedwolfman]

Not to tear this thread away from it's orginal intent but I have often wondered where the idea of brown for day and black for evening wear came from? I personally prefer to wear what I like regardless of time. If it's 20:30 hours and I feel like sprting brown all over then you betcha I'm sporting brown. That being said I almost always wear black as it happens to be one of my favourite shades, and can go with practically anything.

[Faol]

I have about a half-dozen kilts of the Stillwater and Sportskilt varieties. I even have a couple of older Utilikilts (back when they only cost $175). I spend a lot of time in the woods, and I just had not been able to wear any acrylic, PV or wool kilts due to their ability to catch on everything and come unraveled.

After perusing Utilikilts again, I looked around a bit. I found a lady in California that was willing to make custom kilts for me in patterns I could deal with. I have medium weight camo patterned material, and absolutely love them. I hope to have her make one a month for me, and I will be getting rid of all but two of the other kilts. Frankly, I just do not like to dress up anymore.

[Dale Seago]

I found a lady in California that was willing to make custom kilts for me in patterns I could deal with. I have medium weight camo patterned material, and absolutely love them. I hope to have her make one a month for me, and I will be getting rid of all but two of the other kilts.

We've had some good examples posted of looks that "work" in various more-or-less social environments. This is a wonderful example of something that "works" in a "non-urban asocial (or 'minimally social') environment".

[Faol]

We've had some good examples posted of looks that "work" in various more-or-less social environments. This is a wonderful example of something that "works" in a "non-urban asocial (or 'minimally social') environment".

I dress the same in "urban social environments" as well, but thanks for the condescending tone. It reminds me of why I moved from the Bay area years ago.

[Dale Seago]

I dress the same in "urban social environments" as well,

And a lucky bastich you are for being able to!

. . .but thanks for the condescending tone. It reminds me of why I moved from the Bay area years ago.

Condescending?

I'm truly sorry if it came across that way, I'm not sure how or why that was.

Don't want to go on a rant here that would get me in trouble; but I'll say this for the record, hopefully only once, and solely for the sake of clarification:

I regard the ability to own and carry personal weapons of whatever sort one desires as a defining ("not sufficient but necessary") characteristic of a free human being. In the past I have been very socially and politically active, both openly and covertly, in accord with this view. People I have regarded as personal friends for many years include the likes of Don B. Kates Jr., an attorney who was highly instrumental in getting both of the major anti-self defense laws foisted on San Francisco (the first by someone who is now a US Senator) overturned as violative of the California Constitution. Just so's you know.



EDIT: I can only conclude it was something about this part:

"non-urban asocial (or 'minimally social') environment".

Please note that I said "asocial", not "antisocial". That was in reference to the facts that your photos show no other people, and the surroundings imply a very low immediate population density. That's all I was getting at, and I apologize for the misunderstanding and apparent offense.

[Joshua]

Faol, Dale's on your side brother...


Back to the thread... this is my interpretation of "Florida Casually Kilted" without looking like I'm going to at the games all day... I generally avoid kilt belts as they suck all the comfort out of wearing a kilt... I think a less-loud tartan works better for this... I wouldn't wear Great Scot or McLeod Dress with a simple plain polo...

[Faol]

And a lucky bastich you are for being able to!



Condescending?

I'm truly sorry if it came across that way, I'm not sure how or why that was.

Don't want to go on a rant here that would get me in trouble; but I'll say this for the record, hopefully only once, and solely for the sake of clarification:

I regard the ability to own and carry personal weapons of whatever sort one desires as a defining ("not sufficient but necessary") characteristic of a free human being. In the past I have been very socially and politically active, both openly and covertly, in accord with this view. People I have regarded as personal friends for many years include the likes of Don B. Kates Jr., an attorney who was highly instrumental in getting both of the major anti-self defense laws foisted on San Francisco (the first by someone who is now a US Senator) overturned as violative of the California Constitution. Just so's you know.

Thank you, and my sincerest apologies. I absolutely interpreted that incorrectly, as I tend to be overly sensitive on certain subjects. Again, please accept my apologies.