I think this place has developed entirely too much angst...

[HarborSpringsPiper]

Very bad form it may be Jock but you can't say it's not common in modern Britain. I'm fed up of seeing peoples undercrackers. Sometimes I think I'll despair if I see another pair of Calvin Klein's tweaked higher up the waist than the half arsed pants the individual is wearing, just to brandish the brand. What a d*** sloppy fashion that is. Not that they don't have a perfect right to wear them that way of course.

I'm never sure if I should be reassured or dismayed that people truly are the same the world over, especially when it entails the lowest common denominator.

[CMcG]

Very bad form it may be Jock but you can't say it's not common in modern Britain. I'm fed up of seeing peoples undercrackers. Sometimes I think I'll despair if I see another pair of Calvin Klein's tweaked higher up the waist than the half arsed pants the individual is wearing, just to brandish the brand. What a d*** sloppy fashion that is. Not that they don't have a perfect right to wear them that way of course.

Your comment just triggered a terrible phantasmagoria of the kilted equivalent of this style...

[Panache]

Not really about kilts, but men's fashion in general

Looking around at the people under the age of 50 in my neighborhood (all the Moms and Dads, children, high school kids, and young adults) I have noticed something. The Ladies' wardrobes show a range of formality based on what activity they may be doing. They understand the difference between formal and casual and dress to impress within the context of the event or activity they are doing. They also know when looks don't matter and wear clothing that can get dirty. In other words they dress appropriately or the situation.

However it seems that the vast majority of Gentlemen have exactly two modes dress

(1) Their own brand of casual (jeans or Dockers, t-shirt or polo)

(2) And an uncomfortable more formal look required by a job or having to attend a particular event like a wedding.

The later often look like costumes because they are not worn with confidence and I for one find this sad.

I am far more than what I wear, but what I wear is a reflection and projection of what I am.

Somewhere along the way I think most fellows lost (or never learned) that there are all these different ways to dress that expressed who they were and were right for the occasion.

Maybe this is because Society is a lot more about the “ME” instead of the “US” than it used to be. People don't see the need to bother to meet the expectations of others because that interferes with their "ME" time.

I don't know for sure.

I’m glad that on XMTS there are people trying to pass on the traditions of dressing right so this art isn’t completely lost to a generation raised on the idea that “as long as the right name brand is displayed prominently it is good”

Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

[Bigkahuna]

At the risk of hijacking this thread ( just sit quietly and nobody will get hurt) has anyone else ever run into a non-kilted outsider trying to attribute special meaning to things that ARE just a matter of taste or style or fashion? Almost every time I wear a kilt around "civilians" some friend will ask "What is the significance of X?" when it has all of the deep significance of which side I choose to part my hair on.

Examples:
sock color
hat or no hat
jacket color

I am sure there are other examples. It usually happens when several men in kilts are present, such as a Kirkin' or a Tartan Ball, but unfamiliar bystanders are present, too. The reason I raise it here is that so many discussions seem to center on things that DO matter ( to somebody), but some things don't, really. My friends assume I am hiding some conspiracy when I say "No, I just like red socks."

What's that about the Red Socks?????????...............................GO YANKEES!!!!

[Tobus]

I'm never sure if I should be reassured or dismayed that people truly are the same the world over, especially when it entails the lowest common denominator.

If nothing else, it's a sure sign that bad fashion spreads like a weed. Perhaps all the more reason to encourage good kilt wearing?

[Panache]

Now, why would you go an lob a grenade into the aquarium like that and then go wander off?

Rex,


Alan is a very good fellow and I am proud to call him friend.

However he has this bee in his bonnet about the term "fashion" (a word that he hates) and the concept of rules/conventions in attire. Since XMTS is a kilt site and we do talk about Fashion and the rules and conventions of highland attire it sometimes gets to him and he has to blow off steam.

I don't think Alan understands that when the experts here weigh in, that they are going to state the exact "letter of the law" and recommend the very best choice. Once that opinion is given then it is up to the individual to process that advice and see how they can (or can't) make it work for them.

I strongly suspect that Sandford, Todd, and MoR all own and wear t-shirts, sneakers, and maybe even a ballcap. But when they talk about highland attire they are trying to present the rules as the know them to help others understand them.

I like that there is room for all here on XMTS, including my friend Alan and me!




Cheers

Jamie :ootd:

[HarborSpringsPiper]

Somewhere along the way I think most fellows lost (or never learned) that there are all these different ways to dress that expressed who they were and were right for the occasion.

Maybe this is because Society is a lot more about the “ME” instead of the “US” than it used to be. People don't see the need to bother to meet the expectations of others because that interferes with their "ME" time.

I don't know for sure.

I don't think I know either, but I have thought for a long time that it has just become such a casual society, much of this has been lost on most men. Just take a look at pictures of people in the stands of a baseball game in the mid-1960s and most of the men were wearing coats, ties and hats. Come to think of it, I remember my dad doing that.

It does seem to remain more important to more women but that might be a bit of a generalization too.

[Macman]

Alan, I'd like to thank you for tossing the hand grenade . . ., oops , I mean, for starting this thread. It contains many of the best posts I've read in a while. There is room for all of us in this forum, even if some of us (from all points of the kilt-wearing compass) feel like tearing our hair out every once every now and then.

[rab _]

I think it is important to at least consider the history of highland dress when wearing a kilt. Undoubtedly the kilt developed as a practical garment, and was worn by the common highland man with little thought of fashion. After the highland act was repealed, the opinion toward highland dress was surely affected. The kilt was effectively reinvented, along with a set of new rules on it's proper use, and to some extent a new group of wearers. I can't help but have the opinion that those who worry about the correct protocol have nothing to fear; if it was important you would already know the answer! Those that move in circles where dressing correctly truly matters undoubtedly know the rules and how to follow them.

[Alan H]

I've read this thread just now, Rex, but decline to comment further on the grounds that I will piss off at least a third of the entire site. Suffice it to say that Panache is reasonably accurate with his analysis, though I well understand that nobody on this forum or anywhere else, no matter what title they may have, or may pretend to have, can tell me....or anybody else...what they will wear. Everyone where is entitled to express their opinion regarding "kilts" as long as it's done with a reasonable degree of civility and respect for others.

I think it best if I retire to the Athletics forum, with occasional forays into the DIY.