Footwear

[Jewddha]

I suppose I should ask this sooner or later... Is there any 'taboo' footwear, or any big do's and/or don'ts when it comes to being kilted?

[arrogcow]

Mostly it comes down to what you feel comfortable with. I personally don't wear sneakers with a kilt, but that is because I don't like the look. I think wearing socks with sandals is dumb looking too, but that doesn't mean I don't see lots of people doing that.

Adam

[Raphael]

I don't think there is a rule on what kind of footwear to be worn when kilted. Men have worn sandals, dress shoes, boots, hikers and runners. It depends on where you are going. Although some people say that flip flop should never be worn with a kilt.

[Riverkilt]

Arrowgcow, I felt the same way about tennis shoes with kilts, which really cramps the choices in the hot weather of the canyonlands of Arizona and Utah.

Then saw Daneel's post about a great day in Edinburgh on the General Kilt Talk forum and checked his gallery to see the new TFCK.

Danged if he isn't wearing his kilt sox with tennis shoes, but sort of half way rumpled down his thigh. If you to to the TFCK website you'll see some of their pics of the same look, wearing kilt sox with low cut shoes and tennis shoes (sneakers, whatever), but the kilt sox are worn rumpled about halfway down instead of all the way down like with boots or pulled all the way up like with dress shoes.

I think the "look" is nicer with "fake" kilt sox like soccer sox, more athletic, in keeping with the tennis shoes.

Point is, now there's a way to wear sneakers with kilts and have it look half way decent...at least in my eyes, Daneel's eyes, and the folks at TFCK's eyes.

Ron

[Jimmy Carbomb]

I suppose I should ask this sooner or later... Is there any 'taboo' footwear, or any big do's and/or don'ts when it comes to being kilted?

Not that I know of.

I can only say that sandals make a kilt look more like a "ladie's garment".

Other than that, I will wear "wing tips" when dressing-up... black boots normally... over-the-calf moccasins at Renn Faires... extra-tall Chuck Taylor sneakers when I'm messing around... and work boots with UtiliKilts.

As long as it looks "right" with everything else, who's to say what's right. This ONLY applies to modern / casual / walking kilts. PLEASE don't mess with the traditionals. That can REALLY look bad.

[Jewddha]

Well well, how informative. Sometimes personal opinion can mean so much. Yes, currently it would be only a casual kilt thta I'm worrying about soon. Hopefully in the somewhat near future, I'll be able to get a real traditional one, I can't resist the look of my tartan...

[Raphael]

With your Freedom Kilt, you can eaily wear boots/dres shoes/hikers/sandals/sneakers(runner) with an appropiate shirts/socks. Just treat it like a pair of jeans.

[Nick]

I wear hiking boots about 99% of the time. I walk everywhere on campus, and have a job where I'm standing and walking all day, so I like/need some good footwear. When dressing up, I'll wear plain black dress shoes.

On a related note, has anyone ever seen, or have an opinion on, the wearing of spats with a kilt? I don't mean the tall gaiters like pipers or the regiments wear, but dress spats of the 1920s, like these. I think it would possinly look a little odd, but I haven't tried mine with my kilt yet.[/url]

[macwilkin]

Hmm...that's a good question, Nick. I've seen pictures of gents wearing them in the 1920's, the most famous being the Scottish music hall star Sir Harry Lauder, but Sir Harry has taken quite the beating lately for pushing the "stereotypical" Scotsman in dress and attitude.

See the middle picture on the top row of this page:

http://www.sirharrylauder.com/galler...ry5/page5.html

Unless you were trying to go for that 1920's - 1930's look, I don't know about mixing them with modern attire -- they are awful close to the leggings that pipe bands and soldiers wear, and might be misconstrued for that.

I'll defer to Hamish and Jimmy, but I would say no unless you were trying to "look" from the 1920's.

Cheers,

T.

[bear]

There are rigid rules as to how to properly wear a kilt as a costume. Follow those for weddings and formal occasions, if you like.

There currently a set of rules being formed for the "proper wear" of casual kilts by people on forums like this one. I think we need to be cautious about becoming a shadow fashion of traditional kilt wearing fashion. I think casual kilt wearing is too closely tied to formal kilt wearing styles.
Utilikilts started a trend away from this with their non-tartan macho style and the trend is growing.

For casual wear, my guideline is a question.
"What would I wear with shorts?"
If kilts are garments and not costumes, anything goes. The kilt look must be allowed to grow into its place in current fashions, not placed in a predetermined place and not allowed to grow. That is the way with all garments. Traditional kilts are garments as much as anything else when worn casually.
If it looks right to you, it is right.

Some people will draw a line on how a kilt is worn. They will say something like, "you can wear a kilt with boots but not sandals and socks," which is total rubbish. Jan Bruyndonckx pulls off the socks with sandals look quite well here.
http://users.telenet.be/jbruyndonckx/kilt.html
Socks and sandals have been worn together throughout history. The Vikings spring to mind. The current fashion is not to wear socks with sandals but the current fashion is also pants, pants, and more pants.
Nobody here seems to mind breaking that fashion. Why perpetuate rules that limit kilt styles?