Kilt hose?

[Andrew Green]

Hey guys... yeah, I've been asking a lot of questions lately, and have even gone a little fanatic... but that's ok, right?
Anyways, onto the questions:
Concerning kilt hose, do you find it necessary? Certainly, it would look proper though. Black, white, or some other colour? I am partial to black, but was wondering if there is any circumstances that it would either be appropriate for, or inappropriate for? Flashes to go with the hose, yes, no? I'm typically a bit lazy, and often, I don't even tuck my shirt in... t-shirt, socks, boots, and kilt = comfy. But for times that I would like to get a little fancier, I would like to be sure that I am not committing some crime against nature and all.

[Big Dave]

You don't have to wear flashes with hose, you don't even have to wear hose, it's all up to you. If your trying to look super fancy, than that'll cost you. The only 'rule' (I follow) is wear your kilt proud.

[Southern Breeze]

What you wear or not is up to you. Take the time to go through the pics that have been posted. You'll get an idea of what goes with what.

Keep asking, if we can't find an answer we'll make one up.

[Andrew Green]

Ha ha ha!

[pdcorlis]

I suppose it depends to some degree on what kind of kilt you're wearing - tartan or contemporary - but I'd like to echo SB's suggestion. Got to the photos section - look at the kilt photos and read the comments in the thread - there's some real wisdom there.

[Pour1Malt]

there arr many many options oot there-

keep lookin a' piccies roon this site....


my threid Awfy lota kilts! has many different hose lueks...

[Freelander Sporrano]

I'd steer clear of black hose ..They make your legs look thinner.I'm no fan of pure white hose either. I personally like oatmeal or Lovet green or blue/green or find a colour from your tartan

Wear them pushed down with boots and pulled up with shoes wear flashes with them if you have them...Thats all there is to it

[Moose McLennan]

To me at least, regular socks don't look right with a kilt. So if I'm not barefoot or wearing sandals, hose are a must, and also the first most important accessory for a kilt. You can push or fold them down for looks and/or ventilation (incidentally, I've taken to folding mine down when walking so they won't catch on undergrowth, and if they do, folded hose are 'in side out' so any snags are on the inside).

Black is smart, modern and IMHO rarely ever out of place. Some have commented that the may lend the wearer a 'bottom heavy' appearance together with a dark kilt. You might need well developed calves if you wear them high, as they can have a 'slimming' effect on the legs.

I've become a bit of a freak with hose, with off-white, black, lovat blue, navy, lovat green and oatmeal in the sock-drawer to date. I like to match with whatever I'm wearing on the top-half. Off-white get little use but seem (along with black nowadays) standard for formal events. Oatmeal goes with anything.

Most will state that pure white hose (if you ever even find them) are worn only by pipers. I would imagine they might look a bit odd, like football socks, on anyone else.

Although I own flashes I rarely wear them, and all of my hose seem to stay up fine without garters.

Hose are fun and need not be expensive (do a search on W. Brewin hose if you haven't found them already) and make a big difference to your outfit.

M.

[Cawdorian]

I have three pair of kilt hose, they are cream, navy blue and oatmeal, the oatmeal hose are fast becoming my favorite.

One of the color matching ideas that seems to work is to match the hose to your shirt (when dressed casually) and the flashes to one of the less dominant colors in your kilt. One thing for certain you will accumulate quite a collection of kilt hose in various colors.

Never fear, Hamish will keep all of us on our toes and make sure we get our colors coordinatied correctly.

[davedove]

One of the color matching ideas that seems to work is to match the hose to your shirt (when dressed casually) and the flashes to one of the less dominant colors in your kilt.

To further expand the color matching, match the color of your hose to the predominant upper garment. So, like was stated, match the hose to the shirt for casual wear. It also looks pretty good to match the hose to the jacket when one is worn. For instance, I like to wear black hose to match my formal black jacket, and charcoal hose to match my charcoal jacket. I also have a charcoal sweater, so I match charcoal hose with that.

This isn't an absolute rule. For instance, the oatmeal hose that have been mentioned are very versatile and match with many colors, especially the earthier or weathered colors.