Checkered Kilt Hose Etiquette?

**Phil** · 24th December 07, 06:58 AM

This firm based in Ireland makes tartan and diced hose. I have not dealt with them but they have been on the go for a number of years and I believe they are reputable. The prices look about average so no real bargains there though.
http://www.kilkeelknitwear.com/new_page_26.htm

Kenneth Short I have dealt with and can recommend them. My hose (picture below) are theirs and I can vouch for the quality.

**fluter** · 24th December 07, 07:53 AM

Phil, those hose are very bonny, indeed! (applause and cheers) Nice to see you about the forum again.

Matt, thanks for the additional info.

Originally Posted by James MacMillan

Matt, I beg to differ, Frugal 1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. ...
a frugal person would never spend a lot of money on something he could do without.

Jay, by your own definition, I will differ. While I've been known to pinch a penny (I'll show you my 28-year old truck some day), your definition 1 says nothing to being miserly.

To me, it rather suggests the thoughtful direction of one's resources where they will do the most good. Economy is NOT meanness, OK?

Back to my truck, I spent a bit more than some would have budgeted when I purchased it. However that was 1979 and it's still my daily driver. Is that frugal enough for you? BTW major repairs have been less than half the purchase price, and a small fraction of replacement cost.

I will cheerfully spend $48 on a pair of plain Lewis kilt hose (I have 3 pairs, and my budget projections include more). They will last for years, and every time I put them on you can almost hear my feet give a sigh of bliss. My daily socks are thick, luxurious Merino wool---some folks would throw up their hands at the price, but I consider it both canny and frugal to buy them in packs of 2 or 3 pairs when the price is "right." And their cost is about the same as some of the cotton hose at Sock Dreams; which, as noted elsewhere, I'd not put on if I had to wear them all day. Your feet may vary.

**macwilkin** · 24th December 07, 08:07 AM

Originally Posted by James MacMillan

Matt, I beg to differ, Frugal 1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. See Synonyms at sparing.
2. Costing little; inexpensive: a frugal lunch.

Buying expensive things can never be called frugal. Wise? maybe. Smart? maybe. Regardless of the quality, a frugal person would never spend a lot of money on something he could do without.

Sorry, but my sainted Iowa-Scottish grandmother would strongly agree with Matt's take on frugality, and so would I.

There's frugal, and then there's just plain cheap.

T.

**Phil** · 24th December 07, 01:27 AM

Originally Posted by M. A. C. Newsome

These days solid colored hose are quite commonly seen with evening wear, which would have been anathema 100 years ago. So here we see fashion is changing, and the rules of etiquette along with it. I would suggest that fashion may allow for diced or Argyle hose to be worn more casually than perhaps was allowed in the past.

To be quite frank, being in the business I am in, I get to see quite a lot of plain colored solid knit hose, so I tend to applaud those who strike out and wear something different!

I couldn't agree more, Matt. Every formal event I go to nowadays is full of men in PC's with white hose and it is so obvious most of them have hired the outfit. I can see the point of plain hose from a cost perspective and maybe that is why tartan hose have been kept for formal occasions. We Scots are supposed to be canny with the bawbees after all! As a teenager every formal event was a black tie occasion but then things changed, people couldn't be bothered and lounge suits became acceptable. Then, horror of horrors, tee shirts and jeans but all this time the women kept going to the hairdressers, slapping on the make-up and wearing their best frocks so what did that say about their menfolk? But then what goes around usually comes around and men are starting to get back to formal dressing again and it seems only right to follow some kind of etiquette so everyone is comfortable. What could be worse than turning up at some social event looking like a pantomime dame?

**Bugbear** · 23rd December 07, 10:09 PM

I might as well put a twist on this diced hose topic. Have any of you ever seen tweed hose?

**MacMillan of Rathdown** · 24th December 07, 08:05 AM

Phil is absolutely right in his observations about "proper dress" for the occasion. It is entirely up to the wearer if he wants to look as if he owns his clothes, rented them for the occasion, or found them in a dust bin and is taking the mickey out of everyone else.

C'mon guys-- it's all about respecting traditions, even if you may not totally agree with them.

Like Mark Twain said: "Clothes do make the man. The proof of this is that naked people have little or no effect on the course of human events."

**MacMillan of Rathdown** · 24th December 07, 08:13 AM

A MODEST PROPOSAL... things cost a wee bit too much? Try this. Take that empty shortbread tin and every time you put on your kilt, toss in a buck. If you are going "out" in your kilt, make it two bucks. If you are headed to "an event" in your kilt, toss in a fiver. This frugal practice makes some of those "expensive" items at lot more obtainable.

**macwilkin** · 24th December 07, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown

A MODEST PROPOSAL... things cost a wee bit too much? Try this. Take that empty shortbread tin and every time you put on your kilt, toss in a buck. If you are going "out" in your kilt, make it two bucks. If you are headed to "an event" in your kilt, toss in a fiver. This frugal practice makes some of those "expensive" items at lot more obtainable.

Well said that man!

T.