Tropical Weight Linen kilt jackets

Most traditional Scottish Highland attire is perfectly suited to Scottish weather.  And why wouldn't it be?  That is where Highland dress originated, after all.

But here is the rub.  Most people of Scottish descent do not live in Scotland.  Scottish immigrants and their descendants are spread across the globe in places as far flung as the Carolinas to California, Argentina to Australia, and beyond.  Some of these places have decidedly non-Scottish climates!

What to do if you live in Florida, Texas, or some other tropical or semi-tropical location, but you still want to be well dressed in the kilt.  A heavy Harris Tweed kilt jacket may be just the thing to keep the chill away, but that is the least of your concerns.

I am pleased to announce that the Scottish Tartans Museum has introduced a new line of tropical weight LINEN KILT JACKETS

What is really impressive about this new product is not just the fact that the jackets look great, yet are light weight.  They are also available in a range of 10 different colors, and each one is made to measure, so guaranteed to fit well.  And the price is only $295 - the same or less than many off-the-peg stock kilt jackets.

Be sure to order yours this fall so you can enjoy it all next summer!

  CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Black v. Brown

When selecting accessories for Highland dress, one is always advised to match your leathers (sporran, belt & shoes). The recieved wisdom has always been brown for day wear and black for evening wear. You can also think of it as brown leather for casual wear and black leather for formal occasions. I have repeated this advise often myself, and by and large this is a good rule of thumb. Follow it and you will never go wrong.

However, like most rules of fashion, it is permissable to bend or break this one so long as the general principles are understood. I have, within the past recent months, acquired for myself a black casual kilt belt and simple black leather sporran, and have been occassionaly wearing them as part of my daily dress with great success.

Some of the kilts in my wardrobe, I concluded, would look better -- even in casual wear -- with black leatehr accessories. For instance, one of my kilts is the Mull tartan, which has a large black stripe as one of the pivots. The other two colors in the tartan (green and azure) are both rather light, so the dark black really stands out as a visual feature of this kilt. Another kilt I have is modern Armstrong. The main colors of this tartan are black, dark green, and navy blue. A red stripe is the only bright feature of this otherwise dark tartan. I also have a kilt in a dark charcoal grey Harris tweed. While brown leather looks fine with any of these kilts (especially a darker brown on the dark green of the Armstrong), I couldn't help but think how nice black leather would go with all three of these.

So now I have in my wardrobe a black leather sporran, belt, and sporran strap as seen in the picture at right (worn here with the Moffat tartan). These work great, in my opinion, for casual daily wear. And they also allow me to wear certain accessories that I wouldn't otherwise with my brown sporran and belt. For instance, I now have a pair of black garter flashes that look stunning worn on either lovat blue or green hose with my Mull kilt. I have a lovely black casual short sleeve button shirt that goes great with many of my kilts, but matches the black leather much more than the brown.

When selecting black accessories for casual wear, here are some guidelines to keep in mind. You are looking for casual wear and not formal wear. Black is the color for formal wear and so a lot of the black leather accessories being sold will be for formal wear. I would avoid what is marketed as the standard kilt belt (black leather kilt belt with a separate rectangular buckle, usually nickel plated). This is the style seen most often worn with the kilt (the top belt on this page, and the buckles shown beneath it are examples of what I am talking about). You'll find that this is the most common style of belt seen at Highland Games, worn even with very casual wear. I've seen this style of belt worn frequently with t-shirts and other ultra-casual wear. So if this is the only belt you have, you won't be out of place wearing it to the Highland Games or other Scottish festival. Still, I'd like to see this style belt reserved for more formal occasions.

For casual wear, a belt like I am wearing above (listed as a "clansman" kilt belt on our gift shop page) is more suitable. Something with a traditional buckle like this is ideal. A lot of belts sold for re-enactors, colonial era, Revolutionary War, and the like, will work for this purpose.

As far as sporrans go, something simple and plain like you see above is what to look for. Any of the ones shown on this page will work. For daily wear, you don't want fur, silver, or anything flashy. Some ornamentation is fine, but don't go over the top. The simpler sporrans shown on this page will work fine for casual wear, but keep it as simple as possible.

Some fur might be ok, so long as the rest of the sporran is simple, like this model:

Likewise, some silver decoration might be fine, so long as it does not go over the top. The below one would be acceptable, in my opinion:

This one, however, I would deem too much for casual wear:

And sporrans like the ones listed here (example below) are strictly designed with formal wear in mind.

Little things like wearing an all leather black sporran belt instead of the more usual chain also help to keep the overall look of the outfit toned down, and thus more suited for daily wear. And that is the goal in casual Highland attire. Keep it neat. Keep it simple. Keep it understated.

How to Wear the Kilt -- literally

You'll have to forgive us long-time kilt wearers. Sometimes we take certain things for granted, and just assume that everyone automatically knows how a kilt should be worn. We forget for the first time kilt wearer just how different this is from the usual mode of dress.

Then we see a picture on the internet of some poor misguided, but well intentioned soul, and we are quickly reminded that some people need a bit of help!

Seriously, though, I do occasionally get phone calls or emails from people who have just received delivery of their first kilt that go something like this: "Hi, I just got my kilt that I ordered. It looks great! It's a real work of art; excellent craftsmanship; a thing of beauty! ...so, er... how do you put the thing on?"

So I thought it might be useful to go over How to Wear the Kilt (ta-dah!). No, I don't mean the proper way to match accessories and the "correct" time of day or night to wear this jacket or that sporran. Much has been written on those topics already (too much!). I mean the physical nuts and bolts of how the kilt is worn.

This is how I get dressed in the morning.

1. Put on your shirt. Whatever shirt you are wearing, be it a button down, polo shirt, t-shirt, whatever.
2. Put on your kilt. It may seem obvious, but the pleats go in the back! (Some people do need reminding of this). The two flat aprons overlap in the front. On most kilts, there will be a leather strap at the end of the right-hand apron. This will cross over in the front and pass through a hole in the left side of the kilt and fasten to a buckle at the outer left waist. (I make my kilts a bit different: see here). The top of your kilt should come up well above the belly button. Make this as snug fitting as is comfortable. It needs to be snug enough to keep your kilt in position -- you'll stand straighter, as well!
3. Now cross the apron to your left over to the right and fasten with one or two leather straps there. It is important to keep things even. You want this outer apron to lie smooth across your belly. In a well made kilt, where the straps and buckles are placed evenly, this means that you should position the straps on both the left and right equally. In other words, if your left-side strap is on the second hole, then you need to wear your right-side strap at the second hole, as well. This applies for the straps at the waist. If your kilt has a third strap down on your right hip, take care to fasten this only as tightly as necessary to allow the apron to lie flat and smooth. People have a tendency to wear this strap too tightly and this creates a pull across the front apron. (Or you could just follow my suggestion and have this superfluous third strap removed and not worry about it!).
4. The kilt is designed to sit up high on the waist. Most civilian kilts are made with a 2" rise. This means that (on most men) the bottom of the leather straps (the upper straps, if your kilt has a lower one on the hip) will be at your natural waist line, at the top of your hip bone. The top of the kilt itself should come to just under your rib cage. On thinner men, this will be the natural place where the kilt feels comfortable. Larger men, with a waist (belly) larger than their hips tend to want to wear their kilt at the hips, below their belly. Avoid this temptation! Nothing looks worse than a man with his beer-belly protruding out over the top of his kilt. Wear your kilt high, above your belly button. Believe me, it looks a lot better and more fitted.
5. Most well-made kilts will have one of the pivot points of the tartan (the point at which the pattern mirrors itself, often a dominant stripe) at the center point of the front apron. See that that line is centered, and line up the buttons on your shirt to that line.
6. Reach down underneath the kilt and give your shirt a little tug to get it in place, and smooth the shirt out. If you need to during the day, you can repeat this little maneuver to neaten up your appearance.
7. If you are wearing a belt, now is when I would put it on. If you plan on wearing a vest or waistcoat (or a cummerbund for as part of a formal ensemble), then you will not want to wear a belt. Most kilt belts are between 2" and 3" wide, with the average being about 2.25" to 2.5". I'll do a different post later on about formal/casual styles of kilt belts. Your kilt may or may not have belt loops in the back. These belt loops are actually a relatively modern addition to the kilt. They are not necessary and many kilt makers (myself included) still do not put them on. It is the straps and buckles that will keep a properly fitted kilt up, not the belt, which is purely decoration. If your kilt is sans loops, just put the belt on at the natural waist. Some are of the opinion that the belt should come up even with the top of the kilt (so that you cannot see any kilt above the belt). J. C. Thompson advocates this in So You're Going to Wear the Kilt! I find this very impractical to maintain, however, without the belt slipping off the top of the kilt, and see no reason for it. The belt should cover the leather straps on the kilt, and it's perfectly fine if the top half inch or so of the kilt shows above the belt. If your kilt does have belt loops, go ahead and run your belt through them. So (again, Thompson being an example) say that since these belt loops are a new addition, made originally for the sporran strap (true) and therefore should not be used for the belt. So they say to wear your belt on top of the belt loops. If you want to do this, I won't argue with you. But I will say that to most who see you it just looks like you missed your loops when you put your belt on.
8. The belt should be snug fitting (but not so tight as to bunch up or crease the kilt!). A snug fitting belt will stay in place (and help the kilt stay in place on those men with no hips!). A loose fitting belt will work its way south during the day and the next thing you know your half inch of kilt showing above the belt has turned into three or four inches, and nothing looks sloppier.
9. Again, make sure everything lines up -- your belt buckle should be even with the center line of the kilt apron (and the buttons of your shirt).
10. The next thing I put on are the hose. When you put them on, pull them all the way up, over the knee. Take your garters and fasten them above the calf, below the knee. The flashes (the colored cloth ribbons) should be on the outside of your leg, positioned just slightly to the front. (Just FYI, the elastic band is a garter, the colored ribbons are the flashes, and together they are referred to as "garter flashes." They are not called "flashers" or "flashings" -- both of those things will get you arrested!). Garter flashes in place, the top of the kilt hose now folds down, hiding the garters, with the bottom few inches of the flashes showing. Don't get too hung up on how many inches the fold over of the hose needs to be. Just use your best judgment. Some kilt hose are designed to be folded over two or three times for a thicker top. Most just fold over once.
11. Next I usually add the sgian dubh. This just gets tucked into the top of my right kilt hose (because I am right handed), on the outside of the leg. Too many people wear their sgian dubh with the entire handle sticking out of the hose. This is uncomfortable, and you may loose your sgian dubh that way! All that needs to be showing is the top half or one third of the handle -- enough to grab it when you need it.
12. If you are wearing a tie, now is when I normally put it on. You will have to tie it a bit shorter than you normally do with your trousers, because the kilt has a much higher waist. If you wear the tie at the same length, it will come down too far below the waistline of the kilt. You want to tip to be just a bit below the top of the kilt, but not too much.
13. Now you are ready to put on your sporran. Adjust your sporran strap so that the top of the sporran is a few inches (not too much! I'd say no more than 3" or 4") below the belt. If your sporran moves around too much, feels like it is slipping, or feels uncomfortable in any way, you are probably wearing your sporran strap too loosely. If you want to run the strap through the belt loops in the back of your kilt, feel free. That is what they are there for. Most men won't need to do this, but again, if your waist is larger than your hips, this may help keep everything in place. Some men with larger bellies have a problem with their sporran hanging down below their gut and creating an unsightly pull in the front of the kilt. One solution to this are the handy sporran slings that are being sold now, allowing the sporran to hang from the main kilt belt. These will keep the sporran in the correct position no matter your waistline! Again, make sure your sporran is centered.
14. If you are wearing a vest or waistcoat, now is the time to put it on.
15. We are almost done! Time to put your shoes on. I don't have time to go into detail about the proper way to tie the ghillie brouge laces, other than to say there are about half a dozen "proper ways." Here is one way that works. Unless you are dressing formal, you don't really need to wear your ghillies, anyway. Just wear comfortable shoes.
16. Lastly, before you head out the door, put on any outerwear. This means jacket and/or bonnet.
17. One minor word about the bonnet. No matter if you are wearing a balmoral or a glengarry, the ribbons should be centered in the back, with the hat cocked ever-so-slightly to the right, highlighting your crest badge. On the balmoral, it is customary to wear the ribbons tied into a bow. (This is a remnant of the old broad bonnets that were sized with a draw-string). With a glengarry, the ribbons are left loose.

And that's it. You are dressed! Wow, what a long post about a relatively simple subject. With practice, it will all come as second nature and not take more than a few minutes.

Have fun!

Sit like a lady!

Summer is here, and with it "Highland Games" season. I'm traveling to a lot of Highland Games and Scottish festivals, and seeing lots of men in kilts. Most look very sharp, but I always notice quite a few otherwise fine kilts that are blemished by the fact that the pleats are extremely wrinkled!

Nothing spoils the look of a good kilt more than all those nice, neat pleats being messed up and criss-crossed with wrinkles. While good quality heavy kilt weight wool tends to wrinkle less than the lighter kilt weights, the heavy cloth can still wrinkle if you are not careful.

And the single most effective thing you can do to avoid wrinkling your kilt is this -- learn to sit like a lady!

By that I mean you need to learn the proper way to sit down while wearing a kilt. The best way to do this is to watch how ladies sit while wearing a skirt.

When you sit, you need to take your hand (or both hands) and smooth the pleats out as you sit down. Start up at your seat and sweep the pleats straight down the backs of your thighs underneath of you. This way when you sit, you are sitting on straight, flat pleats.

What many men do, not used to sitting in the kilt, is simply plop down on the chair as they are used to doing. The pleats get bunched up and wrinkled, and the weight of the gentleman sitting on them literally presses the wrinkles in (this can be especially bad if it is a humid day!).

For a while I've been considering a post making this point, thinking of the best way to photograph myself to illustrate the right way to sit. Then, lo and behold, Hamish Birknell over on X Marks the Scot, managed to get a video of himself on the internet, showing just what I am talking about!

Click here to see the video -- How to Sit in the Kilt!

I couldn't put it any better than that. Thanks, Hamish!

Ok, men. Start practicing. (And by the way, you know you wear the kilt a lot when you find yourself doing this little maneuver even when you are not kilted!).

And speaking of "sitting like a lady," also pay attention to how Hamish pushes his sporran down in front when he sits. I, myself, don't do this necessarily, but do take care not to sit with my legs spread wide open like many men are used to doing. The point is, if you sit properly and take care to preserve your modesty, you won't ever have to worry about inadvertently revealing the answer to "the question."

You know the question I mean... As I tell people who ask me, I don't care what you wear (or don't wear) under your kilt, and if you sit properly no one will ever have to know!

Why I didn't wear a kilt for Easter

Today is Easter Monday (the day after Easter Sunday for those of you without a calendar). I've noticed a lot of posts on X Marks the Scot are about people who wore their kilts to various Easter services. For example:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17259
(I happened to have made the kilt shown in the picture on this post -- it's always gratifying to see a kilt I've made "in action" and getting good use!)

And there is this one:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17257

Well, I'm writing to tell you that I did not wear a kilt for Easter.

Why not? I am certainly what you'd call a "regular kilt wearer." I wear a kilt normally four or five days a week. The nicest clothes I own are Highland outfits. I have worn kilts everywhere from the Highland Games to grocery stores. I'm certainly not shy about it. So why didn't I wear one for Easter?

Simply put, I don't wear kilts to church at all, under normal circumstances.

A little background, just so you know where I am coming from: I am a devout Roman Catholic. I say "devout" because I am not an "attends Mass only on Easter and Christmas" nominal Catholic. My family and I are in the pews every Sunday. I sing in the choir. I teach an adult ed religion class at my parish. And I have a web site devoted to Catholic Apologetics. I'm also currently earning a Masters Degree in Theology from a Catholic college & seminary. So yes, you could say I take my faith seriously. It's a huge part of my life.

So, getting back to why I don't wear a kilt to Mass... I certainly have very nice, formal kilt outfits. That's not the issue. And I'm most certainly not embarassed to be wearing the kilt in public -- heavens no! That's not it either.

I'm not worried about getting a negative reaction. In fact, quite the opposite. To put it simply, a man in a kilt is going to draw a certain amount of attention. Anyone who has worn a kilt knows what I mean. Even if all comments are positive (and they usually are), there will nonetheless be comments. "Oh, neat! Are you a bagpiper? It's so great to see a kilted man. You look so nice! My grandfather was from Scotland. Is that your family tartan? What are you wearing under there?"

This is not that big a deal under normal circumstances. A lot of men like the attention! It is great for the ego. But frankly, when I am at Mass, it is simply not about me. It is the memorial celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is the focus. And if I were to wear a kilt, whether I intended to or not, I would be competing for that focus of attention.

I hope I don't sound egotistical here. I am in no way implying that I cut such a striking figure in the kilt that people would not be able to take their eyes from me! Not by any means! But it would make me stand out, and it would distract people from the worship they are there to give. Not to mention the fact that all the attention would no doubt be a distraction for me, as well! Therefore out of respect for my fellow worshippers and myself, I choose to dress in a manner that blends in a bit more with the general norm.

I suppose one way around this would be to habitually wear the kilt every Sunday to Mass until it became a non-issue. "Ho, hum, there is Matt in his kilt again..." If people got so used to me wearing the kilt in church, it wouldn't draw any attention one way or the other. But how long would I have to wear the kilt to church before this happened? And why would I want to go through that great effort? What would I really stand to gain?

This is certainly not about asserting my "right" to wear a kilt. I'm not out to prove a point here. Frankly, my regular wearing of the kilt has never been about proving a point. I have the right to wear a kilt, and I have the right to choose not to wear one. And I also have the duty to prudently choose when and when Highland attire is appropriate.

I am reminded of an article I read in a Catholic journal some time back, about the necessity of dressing appropriately during Mass. The author was male, and the specific issue was the problem of women who come to Mass wearing low cut blouses and short skirts. The author was speaking on behalf of many men (and women) who find such dress distracting. To those who say that women have a right to dress how they choose, he asks what the reaction would be if he were to wear a helmet with a full rack of deer antlers to Mass. He has a "right" to wear any kind of hat he wants, right? But wouldn't such a spectacle be distracting to many people at Mass? Certainly. So out of respect for others, so as not to distract them from their proper focus, he refrains from wearing deer antlers.

And likewise, under most circumstances, I refrain from wearing the kilt.

I say, "under most circumstances." Like most things, there are exceptions. For instance, I was certainly kilted at my wedding! And both my sons wore a wee kilt at their baptism. So, what makes the difference?

Well, if I don't wear a kilt most Sundays because I don't want the attention to be on myself, that certainly does not apply at a wedding. At a wedding, the attention is guaranteed to be on the couple, no matter what they wear. My bride was in a glorious white gown, and I wore my finest, as well -- a kilt. What else!?

Likewise at my boys' baptisms, the focus was going to be centered on them, and so we wanted to dress them especially nice -- and making little tartan kilts for them has become a fun family tradition.

I even wore my kilt to my brother-in-law's wedding, as a guest. I sat in the back of the church, and hardly a soul noticed (again, because all the attention was up front on the happy couple). And my brother-in-law was especially honored that I would wear my kilt to celebrate his wedding.

Special occasions like the above are exceptions. I cannot speak for other sects, but for me as a Catholic, Sunday Mass is no less special. It is a great mystery of the Church that the sacrifice that Christ made at Calvary is brought forward in time, for us to participate in today, enacted upon the altar at Mass. But it is a human weakness that we don't recognize this like we should. We need help -- which is why our churches are filled with beautiful things like stained glass, crucifixes, statues and the like, meant to lift our hearts and souls to heaven. I don't want to be a distraction from that.

This doesn't mean that wearing the kilt is negative in any way, or not "dignified" enough for church. I think my reputation as a kilt wearer is solid enough that people will not confuse my message here.

I'm simply saying that -- as much as I love the kilt -- it is perfectly fine to choose not to wear it under some circumstances. And you shouldn't feel that you are any less dedicated to wearing the kilt for doing so.

Rethinking the 19th century

People often (and rightly so) attribute most of the "bells and whistles" of modern formal Scottish attire to the nineteenth century. Silver buttons, military gauntlet cuffs, fancy fur sporrans with silver cantles and the like are seen to be examples of Victorian finery. When we think of a finely dressed Scotsman from the nineteenth century, we tend to imagine something like this 1829 portrait of King George IV (from the Wikipedia web site).

Dressed head to toe in bright red tartan, with belts, sashes, pistols, dirks, and fur-tasselled sporran, there is not much here that we can easily apply to day-to-day modern wear of the kilt.

However, I think it is important for us to realize that the upper crust were not the only ones wearing the kilt in the nineteenth century -- though they were the ones most often posing for portraits! I was recently introduced to the artwork of Richard Ansdell (1815-1885). He was an Englishman, born in Liverpool, and most famous for his paintings of hunting dogs and other wildlife. However, later in his life he had a summer home near Loch Laggan in Invernesshire, and he did paint many pastoral scenes of local Highland shepherds in their kilts.

I will show just a few below.

The Good Shepherd c. 1870

Sheep Washing in Glen Lyon

Look at the way these kilts are being worn. These are kilts worn by working men, who spend all day outdoors, working with sheep and other animals, getting about as dirty as a person can get. The first thing to notice is that just about all of these kilts appear to be made from tweed. Some have a tartan pattern woven into them, but some are solid.

It is surprising to me, when looking at paintings and photographs of kilted men from the nineteenth century, just how often those kilts are actually made from tweed. This nineteenth century photograph shows a man in a kilt, jacket and vest all in the same tweed pattern.

This really should not be surprising. Nothing is more Scottish than a good earthy-smelling tweed. There is just something extremely masculine about this cloth and it is naturally suited to kilting. Today the idea of a tweed kilt is just starting to come back into fashion, with most kilt making firms in Scotland offering some kind of tweed kilt, and Geoffrey Tailor doing a good job of marketing the "tweed kilt suit" with kilt, jacket and vest made from the same tweed (just like in the picture at right). They sell these as part of their "21st Century Kilts" line, but really they are 19th century all the way!

Look especially at the "Sheep Washing in Glen Lyon" painting. This is one of my favorites. The man in the center has a tweed kilt, knife pleated, but containing only four, maybe five yards of cloth from the looks of it. He's wearing a white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up for working. His vest has a leather front with the fur still on. His hose look to be made from a tweed equally strong and heavy as his kilt. And you can even see his red suspenders! He has no visible belt, which means his kilt must be fastened with a strap and buckle system, or just with pins. Though we cannot see his front, we can assume there is no sporran, as there is no belt for it to be worn from. Whatever goods he needs to carry are probably in the pockets of his jacket, which is laying on the ground to his left. That's also where he left his bonnet, which is adorned not with a "clansman's crest badge" like we see today, but a simple pennanular brooch.

There is an elegance, style, and ruggedness to the dress of these men that is missing from our modern dress (and here I'm not talking just of Highland dress). Today it seems that men can either dress sloppily in jeans, t-shirt, and ball cap; or if they are to dress up it must be suit and tie. There is the "L. L. Bean" look, that we call "dress casual" that I tend to favor for every-day wear. I even incorporate some of that style into my every day kilt wearing. But I think we would do well to take inspiration from these hearty nineteenth century Highlanders, as well.

To that end, I scoured the internet looking for a good place that might be able to provide some accessories from that era that could easily be applied to modern Highland dress. I found the Leavy Foundation for Historical Preservation, Inc. at http://www.ushist.com/. They sell clothing and other accoutrements for various nineteenth century pursuits. Taking a look through their web site, I see belts, shoes, vests, shirts and other items that could easily be modified for use in both casual and formal Scottish attire.

I even ordered one of their black vests for myself. I plan on replacing the buttons with some silver ones and having a nice vest to wear with my black Argyll jackets for formal functions. If I like the look, I may order one in brown to have for casual wear. I'll be sure to post pictures when it arrives.

In the meantime, I am nearly finished with making myself a new kilt, from a charcoal grey Harris tweed, with lines of dark green and coral. This will be a knife pleated kilt, from just about five yards of cloth, inspired by some of the Ansdell paintings. I'll be sure to post pictures of that when I am done, as well.

In the meantime, this will most likely be my last post before the Holidays, so Merry Christmas to all of you!

All Hallow's Eve

It's that time of year again... the time of year when I get people asking me to sell or rent them a kilt outfit for them to wear to a Halloween party. Usually they balk at the price. "I'm not paying that much for a costume!" they say. No. No, you are not. Because the kilt is not a costume.

This time of year I always have to remind people of that. Kilts -- real kilts, anyway -- are not meant to be worn as costumes. You can wear them as part of your regular wardrobe, day in and day out, as some do. Or you can reserve them for special occasions such as weddings, Burns Dinners, Highland Games, or some other event where you want to honor your Scottish heritage. But whatever the case, the kilt should be treated as a respected peice of heritage clothing and not some party gag.

If you must dress up for Halloween, then, please avoid the temptation to dress as "a Scotsman." You will only perpetuate the tired stereotype that many have of the kilt to begin with. Those of us who endeavor to treat our culture with respect will thank you for it.

Oh, and if you thought that this post was going to be about the ancient Celtic origins of Halloween, I'll direct you here:
http://www.turrisfortis.com/halloween.html

Pick up a bag of candy for me!

Looking natural in the kilt

Ok, guys, this needs to be said... if you are wearing the kilt, we get it. You are Scottish. Really, the kilt is enough to clue everyone in.

I say that bluntly obvious statement because many people fall prey to the temptation to make every single thing they wear with their kilt "Scottish" or "Celtic" in some respect. The end result is that you either look like you just stepped off of a shortbread tin, or that you have a job as a walking billboard for the Scottish Tourist Board.

I'm thinking of a gentleman I saw one time --not at a festival or other event -- wearing the kilt. Now, the kilt alone clued me in that he was most likely of Scottish heritage. But just in case I didn't get it, he was also wearing a rugby shirt with "Scotland" embroidered on the breast, a ball cap that read "Scotland," and the turn-downs on his white hose were embroidered with little thistles. Of course he was also wearing the standard black kilt belt, nickle plated buckle with celtic knot, semi-formal sporran, dress sgian dubh, and ghillie brouge shoes.

The outfit didn't look bad, it just screamed SCOTLAND like a neon sign. I thought, I get it, I get it! We all know you are Danish!

Many of us fall prey to the same temptation when we dress in what I call "Festival Wear." You know what I mean. You wear your kilt to the Highland Games, and you want to go all out. So you put on the whole "kilt outfit." You wear kilt hose with the kilt, right? And a kilt belt. So why not a "kilt" shirt and "kilt" shoes and a "kilt" hat and a "kilt" jacket and a "kilt" this or that. Before you know it, every little part of your outfit looks like a wardrobe peice from Brigadoon.

Here's a typical outfit. Kilt (with standard clan crest kilt pin, of course), black leather belt with a silver buckle -- maybe that has your clan crest on it, too -- an outrageous sporran that looks like an animal has attacked your whoosits, kilt hose, matching tartan garter flashes, ghillie brogue shoes (that really should be reserved for formal occasion), a Jacobite "kilt" shirt, a historic-themed doublet, a bonnet with your clan crest badge, and perhaps a feather hackle or sprig of heather tucked behind it, and of course a sgian dubh in your hose and a dirk at your side.

Does the above outfit look bad? No, it doesn't. It can look quite striking, actually. You see many men dressed this way at Highland Games in North America. But for every day kilt wear....? It's way over the top. Can you imagine the dapper Scottish gentleman decked out this way at work, at home, or taking his wife out on the town?

So, my advise to all you kilt wearers is to try this -- minimize your outfit. Let the kilt speak for itself. With your kilt, wear the "kilt" accessories that are neccesary and then select everything else from your normal wardrobe. Wear solid color kilt hose in a tone that matched your tartan. Instead of tartan flashes, try solid ones in a color that contrasts with your hose. Wear sensible shoes suited for the occasion. Wear a simple brown or black belt without much ornamentation. Wear a simply brown or black sporran, again without much ornamentation. And then just wear a nice casual or dress-casual shirt like you would with a good pair of kakhi slacks. A polo-shirt, or button down shirt will work just fine. Choose a color that tones well with your kilt. And let that be that!

You'll find that you look good, dignified, feel comfortable, and your kilt, most importantly, will be the shining star of your outfit. And that, my friends, is enough!

On Kilt Hose...

One of the articles of clothing I get asked about most often by men putting together their first kilt ensemble is the hose. Yet surprisingly little has been written about them. That doesn’t stop people from having some rather strong opinions about just what is and is not “correct.” So time to tackle the garment that everyone knows is worn under the kilt – the socks!

To begin with, let’s take a step back into history and look at the very first type of kilt hose worn – the cadadh. These hose were cut and sewn from tartan cloth. They were not necessarily the same tartan as the kilt – most often they were a different tartan entirely. In fact, two tone red and white (or red and black, blue and white, and other color combinations) were popular. The important thing here to remember is that these were not knitted hose. They were made from cloth, cut and sewn with the tartan pattern on the bias (diagonal) for elasticity, with a single seam running down the back of the calf and the bottom of the foot.

The earliest portrait of anyone wearing the cadadh with a kilt is from the early seventeenth century. Since the earliest evidence we have of anyone wearing any form of kilt (the belted plaid) is from 1594, it would seem that the Highlander has been wearing cadadh for as long as he has been wearing the kilt.

Now, we know that knit hose were made in Scotland at least as early as the sixteenth century, but they simply were not worn with Highland dress until the mid-nineteenth century.

But our topic of hand is not the history of hose, but modern fashions. I mention the cadadh only because much of the debate that has occurred over the past century has been on the subject of tartan vs. solid hose. And the knit tartan hose are the modern descendants of the cadadh.

Knowing our history now, let’s look at what some people have had to say about the hose over the past hundred years or so. Beginning with The Kilt and How to Wear It, by the Hon. Stuart Ruaidri Erskine in 1901, he writes:

Formerly hose were made of the same stuff with the kilt. Nowadays tartan hose are not worn, save with evening dress, and not always with that…. [after some discussion of the traditional cut and sewn hose] Nowadays, however, hose are
invariably knitted, and modern fashion decrees that tartan shall not be donned for day wear.

In a footnote to the above comment, he writes:

Tartan hose are still worn by liveried servants. Pipers also cling to them. For day full dress they are proper.

He then continues:

Personally, I am a supporter of fashion in this respect. I think a neat pair of plain hose looks infinitely better and more serviceable than a pair of the same articles knitted upon a tartan plan… A pair of plain hose, of some colour which
harmonizes with the kilt, and without ornamentation or female embroidery of any kind, is to me every way more acceptable than the most brilliantly embellished stockings…. For evening wear, I strongly recommend diced hose in preference to
tartan stockings… Red and white diced hose are the kind most generally worn nowadays; and they would appear to have been the most popular in the past… Black and red, green and red, black and white diced hose are all suitable for evening
wear; and, doubtless, there are numerous other checks which would serve this purpose equally well.

So, to sum up Erskine’s position, tartan hose should not be worn for day wear, unless by livery servants, pipers, or some other in “day full dress.” For day wear he prefers simple, plain colored hose, and for evening for formal wear, diced hose of whatever color looks well with the kilt.

Moving on, we will see that our other commentators have far less to say on the matter than Erskine! Next we will look at The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans, published by W. & A. K. Johnston. This is one of the popular-style "clan tartan" books that was perpetually reprinted in the early twentieth century. Mine is the thirty-third edition and was published in 1947. In its chapter on “The Highland Dress and How to Wear It,” the only comment it makes about hose is that they should be “plain knitted hose” for everyday wear, and for full dress the hose should be “either made from the web of tartan or knitted in check of its prominent colours in the proper proportions.” In other words, either true cadadh, or knit hose made to look like the tartan. No mention of the diced hose is made.

A standard reference that many modern kilt wearers are familiar with is So You’re Going to Wear the Kilt by J. Charles Thomspon, originally written in 1979 (mine is the third edition from 1989). Most of what he has to say about kilt hose in his chapter on “Footwear” is to complain about not being able to find a decent pair of hose at a good price! Were Mr. Thompson still alive today I think he would be well please at the variety and affordability of hose today. One can get a decent pair of kilt hose from any of the many kilt outfitters in person, through mail order, or on line, with prices in the $20-$25 range for most.

Getting to the point, on the matter of what color and pattern to wear, he writes:

Remember… that tartan hose [here he is referring to knit hose] are for evening only! They are not correct for day wear… Diced hose in blue and white or red and white have always been an alternative choice for evening wear, and since even these are hard to come by, you will see many men in evening attire with solid color stockings. The purists have given in on this point, but they insist that the only correct color is white.

So, by and large Thompson is in agreement with our other commentators. Tartan or diced hose are for evening wear, although now he affirms that solid color hose may also be worn for evening, but only in white.

Next, we will get the opinion of an expert in Highland dress, both historic and modern, Bob Martin, author of All About Your Kilt (second edition, 2001). On the subject of hose, he begins:

Not too much need be said about kilt hose. Some time ago, the only hose “ruled” proper for evening wear were “tartan” hose, with fold-over or castellated tops. The “rules” went through a modification, and now white knitted hose are quite popular. Since when, may I ask, must a color be apportioned its time of day or night? May not a good, strong red be worn with equal “correctness” at night? Perhaps one is wearing an all-tartan evening outfit with no white save a jabot. Wouldn’t hose that tone with the kilt be preferable to white ones? The books say
that “tartan” hose should not be worn during the daytime, without remembering that kilt hose were originally of tartan cloth, cut from the piece and worn all the time (cadadh).

Martin here throws all of the before mentioned “rules” out the window (and rightly so!). Why should tartan hose, originally the only hose worn with the kilt, today be relegated only to very formal occasions? And if you want to wear solid hose to a formal event, why do they have to be white? Why not any color that compliments your outfit?

The truth of the matter is that there are no “rules” about what you wear with your kilt other than the rules of fashion and common sense. If you have the fashion sense to match socks, trousers, shirt and tie, then you can match hose, kilt and jacket just fine. Wear what looks good.

A few practical matters come to mind here. First, as far as cadadh are concerned, if you want a pair you are going to have to either make them yourself or find someone who can make them for you. They simply are not seen offered in the catalogs today. Most of the people you see wearing them will be reenactors or others interested in period dress.

So, for most of us, the knit hose are the only options we will be considering. Hose made in a tartan pattern can be hard to come by. (One point that should be made: unless your tartan is very simple, the hose will not truly be knit in the tartan, but rather in a pattern that is made to resemble the tartan in terms of color and proportion). These typically will have to be custom made and cost well over $100. Those who go through the trouble of commissioning a pair are very likely to reserve these expensive items for formal events and understandably so. So even though you certainly may wear tartan hose for day wear, effectively you won’t see these worn much except on dress occasions.

Diced hose are easier to find than the tartan hose. Manufacturers can just make them up in the standard red and white, red and black, and maybe one or two other variations, and not have to worry about all the possible color combinations of the many tartans. But these will still be a far cry more expensive than solid color hose, and for that reason they are still seen more often at formal events than during the day. Personally, this is a style of hose that I wish we saw worn more often, but until they become as readily available as the solids, this is not likely to happen.

The fact of the matter is that for most kilt wearers, the choice they have to make is not between solid or tartan hose, but between various colors of solid hose. And the color we will deal with first is the ever-controversial white. I talk with people all the time, in person and on line, who are seeking advice on this question – which is more appropriate, white or colored hose?

Unfortunately, people’s opinions seem to be all over the map on this one, and every opinion is held strongly, so no matter what side of the question you come down on, you are likely to encounter someone who thinks you are very wrong. Such is life.

As we have already seen, many people (such as Thompson) are of the opinion that white hose are for formal events, with other colors to be worn during the day for casual wear. Yet I have also encountered those who are of the opinion that white hose should never be worn for formal wear! Many have expressed the opinion that white hose are to be worn by pipe bands and dancers only. (Which is ironic, as one hundred years ago, Erskine was making the point that tartan hose should not be worn during the day except by pipers!).

Martin’s opinion that any color hose will work for formal wear so long as the color tones well with the outfit is the most sensible. An on-line article on Highland attire by Thomas Gordon Mungall III says for formal wear the hose can be either white, or some other primary color (surely he doesn’t mean only blue, red, or yellow???), or tartan, or diced red and white, red and black, or blue and white. In other words, anything goes! Just make sure it goes!

For day wear, Mungall says either off-white or other solid color. This brings up another sticky point. When people discuss white hose, do they mean true white or the off-white that is most commonly seen? I have talked with people who say white hose should only be worn, or should never be worn, for this occasion or that, only to find out some time later that they were meaning pure white hose, not off-white or cream.

Pure white hose are actually not that common. The only times I normally see them are being worn by pipe bands at festivals and on parade, usually with the “popcorn” tops. Perhaps this is why some people believe that they should only be worn by pipers. Most of the hose that you will see are in fact an off-white or cream color. Sometimes I have people requesting pure white hose be ordered for them, out of concern that the cream hose will not match their white shirts. I always reassure them that the colors will match fine. It is the cream hose that you see men wearing most often, they look fine with white shirts, and if they were to wear pure white hose it would be quite noticeable (people might ask you where your pipes are!).

Some people choose to avoid the whole issue and avoid both white and cream colored hose entirely. And this is a good option. There are many colors under the sun to choose from, so why limit yourself? Personally, I prefer colored hose for casual wear, and either colored or diced hose for formal wear. I have to admit, though, that I do have a couple of pair of off-white hose in my wardrobe, for two reasons.

1. If I am wearing ghillie brogues for formal wear, the black laces show up much better against the light background of the cream hose than they would against, say, bottle green.
2. The off-white hose go with everything. This is a purely practical consideration. I have kilts in several different tartans, and I know that off-white hose will match whatever kilt I want to wear that day, even if my other hose are dirty.

Off-white hose continue to be the most popular today for both casual and formal wear for many reasons. One is simply that they are guaranteed to match any tartan. Other is that Highland dress suppliers offer these hose with much more frequency. If hose are included with rental kilt outfits, they will be off-white. Perhaps this use of off-white hose by the kilt-hire industry is why they have become so established for formal wear. So be it. Wear off-white hose if you like, but please do not feel limited to them.

Another downside to the light color hose (besides the fact that no one can agree on when they should or should not be worn), is that they tend to show dirt much easier. For those who wear their kilts primarily to Highland Games and other outdoor festivals, where it can either be dry and dusty or wet and muddy, this is an important consideration.

I usually recommend people purchase at least two pairs of kilt hose to begin with, off-white and a darker color. This is the least expensive part of the outfit, so why not splurge? Also, for most kilt wearers here in America, the most likely venue in which you will wear your kilt is a Highland Games, most of which are two-day affairs. Who wants to wear the same socks two days in a row?

So besides white or off-white, what colors are there to choose from? The most commonly seen are the dark bottle green and navy blue, the lighter lovat green and lovat blue, black, khaki (sometimes called tan, oatmeal, or stone in various catalogs), and gray. You’ll sometimes see other colors, such as red and burgundy. Any color that matches your kilt will be fine. In general, the darker bottle green, navy blue, and black will match most tartans in the modern colors. Lovat blue and lovat green will match most tartans in the ancient colors, but also look good with many modern tartans. Khaki, like off-white, tends to go good with everything.

Besides just using your eye and seeing what looks good together, there are a few considerations. First, the darker colors like black, navy blue, and bottle green will look better for formal events than khaki or the lovat mixtures. These are merely loose guidelines, of course. There will always be exceptions. I was talking with a gentleman recently who was describing his formal outfit to me: a formal doublet made from his tartan in the weathered colors, a kilt in solid “weathered green” (really a brown) to match the color of his tartan doublet, worn with khaki hose that matched his kilt. I imagine the effect is quite stunning!

Garter flashes are another matter, and we will only touch on them briefly. Some people think they can skip out on them and save a few dollars, but besides adding a bit of color, they really are an essential item. The elastic garter keeps your hose from slipping, so unless you want to spend your day pulling your hose back up your leg, don’t forget the garters!

Though tartan flashes (to match your kilt) are very popular today, flashes are traditionally solid. I usually advise people to select a color hose that matches one of the dominant colors of their tartan, and flashes to match one of the colors of the narrow lines, if possible a line that lies on the color you chose for your hose. For instance, one of my kilts is in the Armstrong tartan, which has a red line on a blue ground. So blue hose with red flashes look excellent with this kilt. Green hose with red flashes also look good, for this tartan is mostly green.

The reverse is also true -- you can select hose to match a secondary color of your kilt, and flashes in your kilt's primary color to pleasing effect. In fact, this is a more common choice if your tartan is primarily red, such as Bruce, or MacDonald of Sleat. Red hose with green flashes would look fine with either of these tartans, but most people do not choose to wear bright red hose for casual wear, so green hose with red flashes are more usually worn.

(By the way, if you are having trouble deciding what color flashes to wear, just go with scarlet red. You can wear red with any tartan under the sun, even those with no red in them -- really! In The Kilt and How to Wear It, the only color garters Erskine mentions at all is scarlet, worn with any kilt.)

Hamish Bicknell, a frequent poster on the X Marks the Scot kilt forum, and full-time kilt wearer, has some good advice. His strategy is to match the color hose to the shirt you are wearing, and match the flashes to the dominant color of your kilt. In this way, your kilt is “framed” so to speak by your shirt above and your hose beneath. If your hose match your shirt, you can even get by with wearing a color that is not in your kilt at all. I've seen lovat blue hose paired with light blue or denim shirts to good effect, in tartans that are red and green.

This works very well, so long as the color of your shirt and hose is subtle. One point Hamish stresses is that you never want to wear anything that will distract from your kilt. Everything in your outfit should be chosen to compliment and highlight the kilt.

Good advice from someone who wears the kilt every day. Those of us who do wear the kilt frequently can tell you that this really isn’t that huge an issue. If you are worried about what color hose you can wear, you are probably over-thinking it. Use your eye. Use common sense. Try and select a color that looks good with your tartan, and if possible get several pairs so you can alter the color hose based on the shirt, tie, or jacket you are wearing. Keep the overall look of your outfit in mind. And if you simply have no eye for fashion, and you know it, don’t be embarrassed to ask. I wear the kilt all the time, and have a drawer full of kilt hose, and even I sometimes have to ask my wife, “Will these hose look good if I wear this shirt?” She’s the one that must be seen with me, after all!

Sharp Dressed Man

Many of you wanted to see a picture of Pat McCabe, whom I mention in my post after the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival as being one of the best dressed people there. Pat is not afraid to match pattern with pattern, and he does so in such a way that he truly looks like a Scottish gentleman out strolling his estate.

I ran into Pat again recently at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, and he was well dressed, as usual. Here he is wearing a new tweed jacket he had made fom cloth from The House of Edgar. Note that his kilt (MacLeod "Snuffbox" tartan), shirt, tie and jacket all have a different pattern. (The sunlight makes the small pattern on his shirt difficult to see in this picture).

Of course you cannot simply wear any pattern with any other pattern and have it look nice. But Pat here is a grand example of how authentic one can look if you have an eye for color tones and a good fashion sense.

A Good Time in Gatlinburg

I just came back from the Gatlinburg (TN) Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Had a great time -- the weather was perfect and the crowds came out to enjoy the Scottish music, athletics, and shopping.

Being a kilt aficionado however means that I (often without thinking about it) judge how other people are wearing their kilt. I see first of all how the kilt was made, and second of all, how they are accessorizing it.

You always see a great variety at these games. Some people seem to think that a Scottish event like this is an excuse to wear whatever crazy thing they have in their closet. I still recall one gentleman from a games some years ago wearing a perfectly nice kilt, with a black leather biker vest covered in patches (no shirt underneath), enough chains around his neck to make Mr. T jealous, a viking helm complete with horns, and on his feet.... large green furry dinosaur-feet bedroom slippers.

This guy was obviously trying to look ridiculous, and he succeeded. But some people manage to look that way purely by accadent. Examples abouneded this weekend.

One older gentleman looked dashing in his kilt and Prince Charlie jacket. For those of you who don't know, the PC jacket is the Scottish equivalent of a tuxedo. It is usually black, with silver buttons, and has a very formal cut. It is meant to be worn with a vest, or a cummerbund, with a formal shirt and bow tie. This gentleman, however, was wearing it around the feild that day with a t-shirt printed with his clan crest. Perfect evidence that just because two peices of clothing are "Scottish" does not mean they go together.

Then there was the fellow with his kilt too long -- hiding both his knees and the top of his kilt hose. It must have been 28" long or so, and the gentleman was well under 6' tall. Men, please, do not be afraid to show your knees!

But lest I get a reputation as a fashion cermudgeon, it was not all bad news. Most of the men I saw looked dashing in their kilts. Kudos especially to Pat McCabe who turned out in his MacLeod kilt (box pleated), a patterned shirt, a patterned tie, and a patterned tweed jacket. Here is a man not afraid to wear patterns with a tartan kilt -- and all the patterns were different! And they looked splendid together. Pat was easily the best dressed man there that day. I should have taken a photo to show people just how good mixing patterns can be in Highland Dress if you have an eye for it. Pat says he learned in horticulture design how to best match colors and patterns for landscaping, and his skill is doing him well in Highland Dress, as well.

Hats off to you!

What is a "Plaid?"

Keep in mind that the word plaid comes from the Gaelic for "blanket." The original plaid was simply that -- a large woolen blanket worn wrapped around the shoulders in a cloak-like fashion to keep warm and dry. At the very end of the sixteenth century, the plaid began to be worn belted by the men. At this time, they were made from two lengths of cloth, some 4 or 5 yards long and 25" to 30" wide, seamed together to make one peice that was 50" to 60" wide. The length was gathered into folds and belted around the waist. The part that hung from the waist to the knee would later develop into the kilt. The upper portion was worn draped in various ways about the shoulders. This garment was called the feileadh-mhor (large wrap) or "belted plaid."

At some point in the late seventeenth century, or early eighteenth century, the two peices of the belted plaid began to be worn seperately. That is, the lower part was a 4 yard (on average) length of tartan some 25" wide, still worn gathered up and belted at the waist -- the feileadh-beag. The upper length of cloth was still worn around the shoulders in a plaid-like fashion, though it could now be easily removed indoors with the wearer remaining dressed from the waist down.

In the era of the modern, tailored kilt, we have come up with various styles of plaids that are meant to emulate the upper portion of the old belted plaid. The simplest, and most appropriate for general day wear, is not often seen today any longer. And this is just a pure and simply plaid -- that is, blanket -- sometimes called a shoulder plaid. Get a length of tartan cloth -- the exact deminsions don't really matter, but keep in mind that plaid means "blanket" so you will want a couple of yards at least. If you like the ends can be finished with a fringe of some sort. This is just worn folded up and draped across one shoulder, like you would carry a blanket to a picnic. If you want, to keep warm in cold weather, it can be unfolded and worn as a cloak, like the original plaids were.

What is more commonly seen is the "fly plaid." This is usually reserved for formal wear. There are a few different styles of this, but it is basically a peice of tartan cloth some 54" square (or something around that size). The edges are usually fringed. Often one corner is tailored into pleats, and it is this corner that you wear pinned to one shoulder with a large brooch. The remainder is left to hang free in back. One style of this has a tie at the lower end of the plaid that attaches it to your waist, making the garment, when worn, look more like the upper part of the old belted plaid.

And then we have the pipers and drummers plaids. These garments are essentially the same except one has more cloth than the other. Basically this is a length of tartan cloth some 3 to 5 yards long, with the width of the cloth pleated up and tailored down to something like 12 to 16". The two ends are fringed. This is worn over the doublet and all, across the chest and down the back, usually only by those in bands, sometimes just the pipe major and drum major.

What you want to avoid is a lady's sash. Sometimes those unfamiliar with Highland Dress will have this vague notion that something tartan should be seen on the man's shoulder and they buy a woman's sash for the purpose. But as women's sashes are only some 10" to 12" wide and usually 90" long, and most always made from a lighter weight cloth than a kilt would be, you can see how they would not compare to any of the garments described above.

Now, to confuse the issue even more, some retailers have of late introduced items, for men, called things like "mini-fly plaids" or "fun plaids" that are touted as fly plaids for men, but for more casual wear. These that I have seen have roughtly the same deminsions as a woman's sash, and in my opinion fall in the same category and should be avoided.

As a final note abbout the lady's sash -- the old adage about what shoulder she wears it on denoting rank in the clan is a myth. If you are right handed, it should be worn on the left shoulder, and vice versa. Why? Because it's more practical that way!