Thoughts on hose color etc.

[McMurdo]

(Though he will either be in Londonderry or Cork tartan, neither of which really scream for white hose)

That does not stop some people from wearing them.

I think he should wear whatever colour hose he likes period end, they can match but they don't have to.

[Alan H]

This is true. I do shoot fireballs. I think that gives me liscense to wear whatever socks I want to.

but people dont care what color socks girls wear. Girls have freedoms like that. I just want to make sure my poor Mister Meghan wont be the laughingstock of the party with his too-long kilt and his white hose. Im only kidding. His kilt will be flawless and his hose will look great, white or not.

(Though he will either be in Londonderry or Cork tartan, neither of which really scream for white hose)

He won't be the laughingstock of the party if he wears white kilt hose. Of the 30 or so "more advanced" (read: OLD) gentleman that I know from the San Francisco Caledonian Club, the vast majority of them wear white socks quite regularly. Certainly there may be one or two or three people in the crowd who really don't like white kilt socks. The rest won't care and won't notice. I suppose that it's vaguely possible that those two-three men might gather in the corner to exchange nasty remarks about the other 20+ in attendance at the party. However, they will be so busy laughing and being snide about EVERYONE that they won't single your man out for any special abuse, and the remaining 20+ will probably ply him with whisky and get him drunk so that you have to drive the car home.

So please, party responsibly, and remember, whisky is probably Haram, except for topical application to flesh wounds. **wink**

The remaining lads who don't particularly care for white socks have a sense of perspective about it all, and will happily greet you and yours, whether they personally choose to wear different colored hose, or not.

[Alan H]

However, Meghan, if you're paranoid about someone thinking poorly about your man in white kilt hose, then go buy him some black kilt hose.

Just understand that I, personally, happen to HATE black kilt hose.

[madmacs]

Look Meghan....you're the chick who spat out everclear and set it on fire, right? Right? And who, BTW, didn't provide video of this epic event... *AHEM*

I was going to ask why... Then I saw everclear... Explains much I suspect...

[Alan H]

This is fun.

[Jack Daw]

What are your thoughts about hose color?

Youre plannin an afternoon in town. Youre wearing a Black Watch kilt. What color hose would you be wear?

What tabs/flashes will you be wearing?

When wearing my Black Watch, I've worn red-and-white diced hose with red flashes and khaki (from What Price Glory) with red or green flashes, and solid red hose.

[OC Richard]

Here are a few of the "looks" I've seen over the years which have helped mould my ideas of what looks good with Black Watch (or BW-like) kilts...

Originally the Black Watch tartan was known as the "Government tartan" and was worn by all Highland regiments. Red and white diced hose were worn by all these regiments (red & black hose, and red & green hose, came into the army much later, in the 19th century)



While not Black Watch, the colours are very similar, and you can see Angus MacKay wearing black and red diced hose, showing that such things were being done also in civilian dress:



and here are Red & White diced hose still being worn with Government kilts in the 1850s:



and both red & white and red & black diced hose being worn with Government kilts recently in the Army



But not only in the Army! From a 1940 Paisley catalogue, red & white diced hose in this youth's costume (showing that it's not just BW/Govt kilts which are suited for such hose)



So, if I were to own and wear a Black Watch kilt, especially if I were to wear it with formal dress, I would most probably get a pair of red & white or red & black diced full hose, though scarlet & yellow tartan hose would be very tempting...

[AFS1970]

While the white hose controversy is likely something that will never go away, I think that they need to be used sparingly. I actually think that the Black Watch is probably one of the few tartans that could make white hose look good, mostly because it is such a dark color. The white hose would be in stark contrast to the kilt. I would think then that flashes would be needed to tone down the hose, I can think of black, dark blue or dark green being the best choices.

As for the diced hose, I realize that when in uniform these are somewhat of a unit identifier and not selected for any fashion related reason, but in civilian dress fashion is a factor. I am not sure red really goes with all those dark colors of the tartan, unless also being accompanied by the red coat. Since red coats are rarely if ever seen in civilian wear, the red would stick out like a sore thumb (or in this case a sore toe).

Now as an aside, I have to wonder about the mindset that white hose are bad and should never be worn, however covering colored hose with white spats, not that is a smart look. I have white spats left over from my color guard days, I never wear them anymore, but one never knows when one might need them again. I find it hard to believe that white spats are any better or worse than white hose as far as fashion goes, considering that all spats are non-functional at this point in our history.