What do you wear for events?

[Redcurlyhead]

I'm new here. In more ways than one. Recently moved to CentralFlorida and there are several events celebrating our Scottish/Celtic heritage.

I am an admitted free spirit and girlie girl. I love the idea of doing period dress (corseted bodice, big skirt, chemise) with a scarf pinned onto my shoulder.

Is this okay or a little too over board? My bodice is a "generic" blue/green/black bit my scarf is my hubby's tartan.

He will wear his kilt (Scottish National tartan) and a t-shirt. He is looking for ways to tie in his McAlister tartan, without the purchase of a kilt. It's not in the budget right now.

So ladies, all feedback is appreciated. Positive and negative. Thanks!

[Angela Kaye Bodine]

Redcurlyhead, Hi ! & Welcome ! ALL here are very nice, and good advice too.. That is so cool you do that .Never change your style its yours...I would love to go to a Renaissance fair and wear cool stuff like that. Wear a corset too, ..When I go to Celtic Festivals I wear any one of my kilts, sporran too.. Depending on weather will wear form fitting Tee figure flattering of course, or a long sleeve figure flattering shirt of a kind. Clogs, or a pair of my Doc Martens boots.. Maybe one day I will have the guts to wear a corset with them to a Celtics Festival..There is a big Celtic Festival September near me, in PA..Will be going to that again...There are sites u may find for your husband to help him find what he looking for, or someone may help here.. I'm hoping my husband and our boys will wear kilts..Alan has Irish in him..Maybe in time.. Welcome again..Good to have ya..Angie

[Celtic Mom]

I live in Utah, and we have people that dress in all different ways for our Scottish Festivals that we have here. There are many that wear a bodice/chemise/skirt like you are describing, some wear more of a Steampunk type clothing, we even had someone in a full body white unicorn outfit! I typically wear capris and a knit top, because that is what is comfortable to me. Many festivals have photo galleries, you could check to see if the festival you are going to attend has one and see what people wear.

[Redcurlyhead]

Thank you ladies. I feel quite welcome here. I'm excited to dive into our local community events. They are everywhere here.

[argyle24]

For an event such as a Burns dinner or similar, I'm often performing and will have my kilt on at some point in the evening. When I am am a guest or before/after performing at events like this, I tend to select pieces that are dressier but incorporate tartan.

I have a vintage Thompson pleated maxi skirt w/ the tartan on the bias that I wear with a fitted black top. I also have a black & white Erskine strapless dress that has made appearances. I look for pieces that have silhouettes I know are flattering, but are done in tartan - and I buy them when I find them, as opposed to going to look for something specific just ahead of an event.

From a costumer's standpoint, there are corsets that look very polished, and others that are more 'costumey' - depending on where it falls, the outfit you have described may be more than suitable for a dressier affair. It's always important to feel comfortable in what you're wearing and I also stand by the school of thought that it's better to be overdressed than under.

In general, think of what you would choose to wear to the event if it were not Scottish in nature - and let that guide your choice of apparel. Then add in pieces that are done in tartan or tartan accessories to give your ensemble some character!

[tulloch]

Welcome from the highlands of central Massachusetts.

[Richrail]

Here's a couple of pictures what my wife and I wear.

[Redcurlyhead]

Thank you Rickrail! My outfit typically looks much like your wife's from the first picture. Except I wear a scarf rosette instead of the arisaid. I'm working my way up to one of those.

[Richrail]

Thank you Rickrail! My outfit typically looks much like your wife's from the first picture. Except I wear a scarf rosette instead of the arisaid. I'm working my way up to one of those.

For the arisaid I purchased 2.5 yards of 110z. fabric from USAkilts.

[scots3rdgen]

I ordered from The Scottish Weaver dot com for the first time. I didn't realize until afterwards it was coming from Scotland. I don't know what exactly to expect in the way of duties and handling. There are probably no duties on the fabric, but I can't figure out if there will be extra on handling. So I'm nervous. I'm making an 18th c. gown. I'm trying to decide whether to make it up as the Isabella MacTavish Fraser gown or use a gown Anglaise pattern or my favorite, Simplicity Pirates OC costume pattern. It's a big plaid to match. I hope to wear it to a local colonial faire in the summer and a colonial dinner dance event in the fall, and mostly to have something lovely on the dress form to look at. I will post here how the order came through for anyone who might be contemplating ordering dress fabric.