DO you have a favourite level of traditional dress?

[CMcG]

My favourite level of THCD is formal or full formal evening wear because of the general epic-ness that it can reach when the situation calls for maximum sartorial impact. That being said, I've never actually attended an event where I have chosen to go with all the bells and whistles...

This outfit, for example, would be even more awesome if I was wearing buckle brogues and was headed off to an event requiring me to address a haggis, which would give me an excuse to wear a dirk However, I'm not much of one for plaids of any kind.


More often than not, I find myself wearing smart/informal daywear. It seems to be the most flexible level of dress, at least for the types of events I attend:



I'm most comfortable in casual attire:

[MacEanruig]

Nothing fancy.

[Panache]

Smart Daywear!



Cheers

Jamie

( Camel not required….. ith: )

[The Q]

Smart Daywear!



Cheers

Jamie

( Camel not required….. ith: )

I don't Know, Camel Stewart Tartan is quite nice!

[Nathan]

Great answers and great pics! Keep 'em coming!!

I love my smart day wear for sure!



But if I had to choose a favourite, I'd have to say this formal evening ensemble for more formal black tie/white tie level events.

[Liam]

[QUOTE=Nathan;1286357]Great answers and great pics! Keep 'em coming!!

I love my smart day wear for sure!



But if I had to choose a favourite, I'd have to say this formal evening ensemble for more formal black tie/white tie level events.

[/QUOT

Nathan...your "accessory" overshadows you again!
Cheers....

[MacEanruig]

Nathan, that beautiful lass compliments you rather nicely.

[OC Richard]

ball caps and t-shirts might better fit the contemporary category

That brings up the issue of how to define "traditional" Highland Dress. Certainly I will never be seen in anything other than a traditional kilt, and the argument could be made that the Dress is defined by the kilt rather than by the accessories.

I think you're correct, though: "traditional Highland Dress" is whole made up of various parts, and perhaps it only takes a single changed part to make the whole non-traditional. (An example would be one I provided in a different thread, showing how merely switching out a typical Day Dress sporran for a historical sporran makes my otherwise traditional Day Dress non-traditional.)

[Alan H]

No I think some tend to overthink all this and it might help those outwith these shores to think of Formal-----Smart -----Casual as we tend to do in the UK and then leave the degree of Smart(for example) to personal choice and judgement. In passing, just because we might choose to dress casually does not mean that we have to dress like a tramp!

So heres me in my traditional version of casual for that particular day. A hot day when I called in, on the way back from the airport, to see some sort of international games. Did I need a cromach? Yes I did! My back and hip were killing me. Did I need to wear a bonnet? Yes I did, I needed it to display my dandelion. Would I have normally worn a bonnet on such an occasion? It would depend on the weather and the need of a dandelion.

Ok, you see that disreputable looking fellow on the left with the pipe? His garb? Well, it's entirely traditional.

Proof?

Look at this video, from the 1930's

https://youtu.be/wj1CYe3r1qU

And this one, the Cowal Highland Games in 1930

https://youtu.be/-ErGYU7Pj7U

I note with some pleasure that the lads in that second video who are throwing the caber are dressed identically to our disreputable friend, in the picture, above...and also myself, at most Games which I attend. OK, well, except for the sunglasses. Those are contemporary sunglasses.

However, while I think my observation is valid, I'll also pitch a picture in here which I think is entirely traditional....it just doesn't have a jacket and tie in it. I'm bemused by you fellows who consider that "daywear" means you have to have a jacket and tie and vest on. If I put on a jacket, aside from one to keep myself warm, it's four-five times a year and I'm dressing to look seriously respectable. So I'll leave you all to figure out which label to put on my picture, here.

This is me, at work a last year, displaying my wonderful new (at that time) Capercaillie kilt. However, I look like that, more or less, a lot.

[Alan H]

I guess my point is that the way I see it, "traditional" is not synonymous with "clean" , "nice", or "dressy".

"Traditional" means " the way things have been done for a long time"... and people have been both dressed nicely, and also gotten sweaty and dirty in kilts for a very long time.

EDIT:

I actually just spent about 30 minutes looking through archives of old Scottish city street scenes and farming photographs/video's from the 1940 and 1950's and 1960's and interestingly enough...not a kilt to be seen. So IN FACT, I could be wrong about that supposition that people have gotten dirty and worked hard in kilts, for a very long time. It might have been a LONG time ago, that people did that - "LONG" being outside our range of what's "traditional" here on the forum, and what's "historic".