[grizzbass]

looks good to me.

[davidlpope]

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

Can he open his eyes yet?

Right,

Forgot that bit...

[MacLowlife]

OK, at the risk of turning everything over, let me point something out. A man in a kilt, in almost any modern situation ( other than a meeting of men in kilts) is going to attract attention. So any discussion of how to wear the kilt is going to go down one of two paths: either the assumption is that you are going to attract attention and you want everything to look just so, or somehow, the polite fiction is that you can look like an average guy in the crowd whilst wearing your kilt.

It is certainly possible to look like an average guy in a kilt, as we have all seen, and in a roomful of kilt wearers, many will look average. To carry that a step further, though, and to expect to fade into the background of a non-kiltwearing gathering while appearing kilted, is to invite frustration. This comes up a lot in wedding discussions. I suspect those who wear a kilt daily have reached some understanding with themselves and their daily companions that the rest of us are still working out.

To a guy who wears jeans or khakis every day, a suit and tie is a costume. To a guy who wears shorts all of the time, long trousers are as unfamiliar and awkward seeming as a costume. And if you put on a kilt once a month or less, you might as well expect to feel self-conscious and to draw attention from people who are not accustomed to seeing you dressed that way. Try wearing a suit to Wal Mart on a wednesday afternoon. People will notice you, believe me.

Now, let's apply this idea to Tiny's outfit, or to any of our kilt outfits. Wanting it to look good in the mirror is one thing, but expecting it to look good in the context we are placing it in is another. I do not know how large Tiny's congregation is, but if it is 50 people or less, chances are, he would not go unnoticed if he wore a pale grey suit with a matching grey shirt and tie, or a navy one with a white shirt or what have you. The guy has a presence and people are likely to see him. Maybe if there are 500 people there, it might be less pronounced. But wearing or not wearing an argyle sweater is not going to change Tiny in this outfit at church a lot. The same is true for the color of his hose.

Where does all of this lead? Back to the same old place- like it for yourself and feel good and then you don't have to worry about others' reaction to what you are wearing. I know, I know, that is implicit in much of our discussion above, but I thought I'd point out the unmentioned obvious part.

[Spectre]

The sweater/vest thing has got to go. IMO it is totwotoo loud for the tartan as it distracts. I think that it would look great with a solid or pinstripe kilt, however.

[Tiny]

Well Tomorrow... erm today is my next attempt at this whole kilted at church thing. from my limited selection of hose I'm going with my Lovat Green with either red or yellow garter flashes and the same kilt, not sure if I will wear the blue shirt and blue tie again or switch to a crimson shirt and matching tie. If I go with the red shirt and tie should I go with yellow or blue flashes instead of red that would match the shirt? I promise to leave the sweater vest at home.


I may dust off the sweater vest in the future if I can ever get my solid black kilt to the cleaners to get pressed. (its the kilt I wear for work everyday and I still have atleast a month left till my "Kilt This!" work kilt will be done) Spot cleaning has been fine for keeping it not walk off on its own but the pleats arent to church standards in my eye.


I always feel confident when kilted and I feel I project that confidence. That being said I could tell the outfit could use some tweeking and brought the pic here to become better educated by those who have been there done that. I thank all those who have come with thier thoughtfull and helpfull advice.


Until my next update
Tiny
Aka the Kilted Barista

[Tiny]

Ok this is, I feel, a much better look. I know the tie is a touch to low but this was my third attempt at getting it to hang the right length and I just gave up as I was running late. I went with lovat green hose with red flashes, crimson shirt with a red and black tie. Seems a touch to much red and would have been better suited to have gone with yellow or blue flashes and perhaps matched the tie to another color in the kilt such as yellow, blue, black or white.

[BBoykin]

I think that looks good. The green hose are a nice offset and they work well. A white or off-white shirt would also work if there's too much red for you. At any rate your kilt looks much better without the Argyle competition on top.

[artificer]

Originally Posted by Tiny

Ok this is, I feel, a much better look. I know the tie is a touch to low but this was my third attempt at getting it to hang the right length and I just gave up as I was running late. I went with lovat green hose with red flashes, crimson shirt with a red and black tie. Seems a touch to much red and would have been better suited to have gone with yellow or blue flashes and perhaps matched the tie to another color in the kilt such as yellow, blue, black or white.

I think you're right -yellow flashes, either YELLOW or mustard, would really set that outfit off.

A red/brown or even a green/blue tattersall shirt would really seal the deal, IMO.

[Jock Scot]

Originally Posted by Tiny

Ok this is, I feel, a much better look. I know the tie is a touch to low but this was my third attempt at getting it to hang the right length and I just gave up as I was running late. I went with lovat green hose with red flashes, crimson shirt with a red and black tie. Seems a touch to much red and would have been better suited to have gone with yellow or blue flashes and perhaps matched the tie to another color in the kilt such as yellow, blue, black or white.

I just love your "British understatement"!!!!!! "--a touch too much red------"!!!! Good gracious me, THAT shirt is way, way, WAY too much!!! Shirts really need to be a low key affair, so that it plays "second fiddle" to the tartan, not the lead part!That is why Tattersall shirts are so useful, although, for me, I think that a white shirt for church would be more the norm in the UK.

I still think you are fussing far too much over this matching business.

Your kilt height looks much better though. A tad higher still, perhaps?

I really think that you are great in the way you let us pick holes(in a friendly and constructive way, I hope) in your outfit and I think these conversations are of great help to all those trying to grasp the mysteries of kilt attire.Thank you so much.

[MacMillan's son]

Originally Posted by Tiny

Ok this is, I feel, a much better look. I know the tie is a touch to low but this was my third attempt at getting it to hang the right length and I just gave up as I was running late. I went with lovat green hose with red flashes, crimson shirt with a red and black tie. Seems a touch to much red and would have been better suited to have gone with yellow or blue flashes and perhaps matched the tie to another color in the kilt such as yellow, blue, black or white.

Looking good!

A light variation of yellow/gold for the shirt would look nice also. It would be an option if you wanted to tone down the heaviness of the really dark kilt. A lighter less imposing look than dark on dark. Not necessarily better, just another very different look.

Of course, there are as many options as you choose to create. Experiment and have fun