Newbie question - I am doing this right?

[Army]

I'm very new to the world of kilts (wore a rental at my wedding, but that's been about it) and was hoping for some feedback on my first kilt outfit. I purchased the vast majority of the items from USA Kilts, with the exception of the hose and flashes which are from the Scottish Tartan Museum.



I'm not sure what happened with the colour in these, especially the second photo, but you get the idea... The kilt is an Armstrong Ancient tartan, the vest and jacket are Highland Green and the hose and tie are lovat blue. Any feed back would be appreciated.Thanks

[Jock Scot]

Well done laddie.

You may wish to consider, if you want to venture further into the traditional look, looking into getting a tattersall shirt and a regimental/university/old school style tie. There does seem to be a marked reluctance of the non Scot kilt-wearer to venture into non matching colours of shirts, ties, hose and even jackets. Should you consider going down this route, you will find far more options are available to you without too much angst, as many non Scots here on this website who have ventured down this apparently terrifying route and have survived, will confirm. Oh, and just to be a wee tad controversial and mischievous you might consider another style of tie knot.

[Army]

Thanks for the suggestions Jock Scot. I don't have any regimental/university ties, but I do have a couple rugby club ties that might work. What kind of tie knot were you thinking of?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I think you look great! Jock's advise is all very good, and should give you a bit more variety. You can also try wearing your kilt with a sweater vest (pullover) and your Argyle jacket, or just a full sweater for a more casual look. Really, treat your kilt like a pair of smart trousers and accessorize with it accordingly and you'll do just fine.

[Tobus]

Are you doing it right? Well, yes. Yes you are, as far as I can tell. I don't see anything that would be considered 'wrong'. In fact, you look very well put together, especially for a self-proclaimed newbie! Jock's advice, as well as Matt's, are simply style suggestions, and I have a few of my own to add.

Firstly, I'm one of those who Jock Scot has gently guided into the territory of wearing tattersal shirts, striped ties, and other non-matchy patterns that are difficult for us Americans to wrap our minds around. I'm absolutely a lost cause now; I can't go back to wearing plain shirts and plain ties, especially not together. The patterns lend a depth or complexity to the look that's just wonderful as well as traditional.

Another style suggestion - again, reiterating that there's absolutely nothing 'wrong' with what you're currently wearing - would be to find some shoes that are less 'chunky'. Both the shoes you're wearing have very thick soles and fat, rounded toes. But if you look closely at photos of native Scots wearing traditional Highland dress, as well as historical photos and portraits, you'll see that they tend to wear thinner shoes that don't accentuate the feet. It's a proportion thing (I seem to be stuck lately on fine-tuning things with respect to overall proportions). Shoes which look narrower and longer, with thinner soles, really bring the rest of the outfit into proportion, regardless of your actual body proportions.

If it were me, I'd also bring the tops of the hose down just a smidge, using the typical "three finger" rule below the kneecap, or trying to keep it just over the widest part of the calf and no higher. This is also a proportion thing. It makes a big difference in the overall look. It appears that your hose are House of Cheviot, though the resolution isn't good enough to tell which style. And I know they tend to run long, with a big seam, making it difficult to shorten them at the top.

And speaking of hose, it would also look smashing if you were to ditch the flashes in favour of traditional woollen self-tie garters. Again, just a style thing. Nothing wrong with flashes, and actually most Scots do wear flashes rather than garters. But the garters just seem to have a better look, with some complexity to the fringed ends instead of the clean aerodynamic look of flashes.

I agree with Jock's comment on the tie knot too. Again - proportions! The knot you've chosen (which can also be a function of the width of the tie and the fact that you're tying it short for wearing with a kilt) looks very wide, and can have large effects on the overall proportions of your upper body, neck, shoulders, etc. Maybe a narrower tie, or a different knot that has a narrower profile might change the proportions. Experiment and find what you like best, keeping proportions in mind.

Overall, though, you still look great as-is. Better than 95% of the rest of the crowd you'll see, anyway!

[BCAC]

Well said, Tobus.

[Joshua]

Thanks for the suggestions Jock Scot. I don't have any regimental/university ties, but I do have a couple rugby club ties that might work. What kind of tie knot were you thinking of?

I'm gonna assume Jock is suggesting a four-in-hand, and I would concur, although a half-windsor would also work. Those of us with shorter, or thicker necks don't get away with wide knots so the thinner a knot you can make, the better.

My other suggestion, is just a common misconception if you are wearing or not wearing a belt with the vest (I can't tell from your picture). When wearing a vest, the belt isn't really necessary and frankly, kilt belts are less comfortable than no kilt belt, if you've went through the trouble of wearing full kit - every bit of comfort you can afford is a good thing.

[Zardoz]

Looking great, I agree on the tie knot thing, if that's one of those wool ties like many kilt vendors sell they are pretty thick and hard to get into a 'compact' knot, unless done four-in-hand style. I hardly ever wear the ones I have for that reason.
I'd also suggest trying a sporran strap instead of the hangers, but the hangers work better for many folks, go with what's comfy and looks good to you.
And don't be ashamed that you know how to color coordinate! Yeah, those are 'safe' choices, but there's plenty of time to experiment and find your personal style once you get more comfortable.

Great overall though, I wish my early efforts with trad daywear looked as good!

[Army]

Thanks again for the comments. I'm going to have to try that four-in-hand knot, the only one I've ever tied is a full Windsor....but then I've never had a wool tie before either.

[CMcG]

You may wish to consider, if you want to venture further into the traditional look, looking into getting a tattersall shirt and a regimental/university/old school style tie. There does seem to be a marked reluctance of the non Scot kilt-wearer to venture into non matching colours of shirts, ties, hose and even jackets. Should you consider going down this route, you will find far more options are available to you without too much angst, as many non Scots here on this website who have ventured down this apparently terrifying route and have survived, will confirm.

I am a proud survivor of the Highlanderification Programme* and will happily confirm that it opens up a lot of sartorial doors. One trick that I like to use when mixing patterns is to have them of various sizes (big tartan i.e. the kilt, small check i.e. tattersall shirt, medium stripe i.e. repp tie). This breaks them up against each other better, rather than looking they were a failed attempt to match things that don't match. I also usually avoid repeating the same pattern, though there are some exceptions to that like a tartan waistcoat for certain special occasions (Tartan Day, formal evening wear, etc).

My only warning is that, should you go down this route, you may find it spilling over into your non-kilted attire too

*patent pending