Matching Flashes with Hose Colour

[Presidential33]

I just received my first kilt a few days ago. Now that I know I will love wearing a kilt I now need to order the accessories.

Thanks to many members here, I have been advised that for my Black Watch tartan it is best to buy hose that are Lovat Blue, Lovat Green, Navy Blue and Bottle Green (maybe oatmeal too).

My first question is, for the Black Watch tartan which green is best, Lovat Green or Bottle Green?

My second and most important question is what colour flashes does one put with these colour hose.

For example, can I put gold flashes with navy blue hose?
Green Flashes with Lovat Blue Hose?
Should I be putting red in there, like with the Bottle Green hose?

In other words, what is the best combination for hose and flashes.

I have the Black Watch Tartan flashes, but with what colour hose do they go best? The oatmeal with tartan flashes would be my guess?

[Lyle1]

The best combinations are those that YOU like. Personally, I think that all of the combinations that you mentioned would look good, and they would give you options to suit your mood or the other clothes that you are wearing.

[xman]

... can I put gold flashes with navy blue hose?

Ooooooo nice!

Green Flashes with Lovat Blue Hose?

I do.

Should I be putting red in there, like with the Bottle Green hose?

I do that too.

I have the Black Watch Tartan flashes, but with what colour hose do they go best? The oatmeal with tartan flashes would be my guess?

That would be nice too I think. You have some nice instincts. Trust them.

[Tobus]

In other words, what is the best combination for hose and flashes.

You can do almost any combination you want. There's no "right" or "wrong" combination, unless the colors just look garish together. All your combinations sound perfectly reasonable and normal and proper.

If it were me, I'd go with traditional garter ties instead of flashes, as I consider it a more traditional and utilitarian look. And like many here, I would also avoid tartan flashes, as they are not traditional at all and can seem a bit amateurish to some.

Usually, the color of hose should go well with the tartan, and the flashes/garters should provide a bit of decorative color. I like to pick hose in a medium color tone that doesn't match any particular color in my tartan exactly, but that goes with the general hue, and then wear garter ties that accentuate a minor color in the tartan. For example, in this photo I'm wearing a dark green/olive pair of hand-knitted cable hose, which doesn't match any color in my tartan but seems to generally complement the overall tones. Then I'm wearing red garter ties which really accentuate the thin red stripe of the tartan.



But then again, sometimes I like a more subdued look with my garter ties. These are the same hose (which look more greenish in this light), this time with charcoal garter ties:




Honestly, it's pretty hard to go wrong with any of the standard hose/flashes/garter color combinations, unless you're just picking extremely loud colors that clash. Best advice is to buy a wide range of colors for your hose and garters, and then mix/match depending on your mood!

[piperdbh]

Count your hose, then count your flashes/garters, then multiply those two numbers, and you've got that many potential combinations, all of which would work perfectly well.

[HeathBar]

The only pair of flashes I have are a pair of red ones that I purchased at Grandfather Mountain 10 years ago. They have paired just fine with the different colors of hose I've owned since then. I currently own lovat blue, lovat green, and bottle green. Since I purchased the lovat colors, I typically wear those during the day and reserve the bottle green for evening functions. Last year I purchased a pair of diced castellated hose. I wear a pair of red garter ties with them. So if you could only buy one color of garters or flashes, I would go with red.

[Graham A. Robieson]

Greetings,

It's all good...for me I wear Bottle Green Hose with Bottle Green Flashes with my kilt, if you want symbolic colours to the Black Watch Regiment (of which is now 3rd Battlion Royal Regiment of Scotland) you could wear Black Hose with Red Flashes, Red for the Red Hackle plus I had 2 cousins in the Black Watch before the amalgamation etc.

Here is a link:

http://www.royalregimentofscotland.org.uk/

All the best,


Graham

[Mipi]

I regard flashes as a sort of accent. They must fit into combination with rest of the outfit, yet give some extra "flash" to it.

[MacMillans son]

You have received a lot of good feedback here, and I for one appreciate your desire to "Do it right" .

What has helped me the most was to get direct feedback, or most often indirect feedback by reading other peoples threads, then looking at the photo threads here. There are a number of them that have great examples of all aspects of highland attire, from jackets to socks, and every accessory in between. You will be able to see those things that appeal to you, and those that don't. At first, trust your gut, after all you are the one who has to be comfortable wearing what ever it is you choose. You will likely start off as most, at least on this side of the Atlantic, with those color and pattern combinations that are a bit more obvious and conservative (lovingly referred to here as "Matchy Matchy" ). But with practice, and encouragement from folks here, will develop a style all your own, while hopefully maintaining some adherence to traditional highland practices.

So relax, have fun with it, this isn't a fashion contest. Just like with your non-kilt attire, you may try things that may or may not look all that great, or that may fall outside the "Traditional Highland Civilian Dress" parameters. If so, the folks here will gently bump you back in line with constructive feedback, and off you go.

Have at it,

Brooke

[robbiethepiper]

Personal taste and opinion are all that really matters. I prefer complementary hues e.g. blue and green finding contasts e.g.blue and yellow a bit loud......