Kilted at a Masquarade Formal

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 3rd May 10, 04:49 AM

So, in addition to the hours I put in at the Scottish Tartans Museum and making kilts, I also am very happy to serve as the campus minister at Western Carolina University, for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. I have some wonderful students there and it is extremely rewarding work.

The semester is rapidly drawing to a close (today begins exam week, and graduation is Saturday), and to celebrate the end of the year my student leadership team decided to host a formal, which during the planning sessions at some point turned into a masquarade.

The formal was this past Saturday evening, and my wife and I were in attendance. We had a wonderful dinner at our favorite resteraunt in downtown Sylva, Spring Street Cafe, and then were reminded of how old we are by watching a group of 20-somethings dance for two hours straight to very loud music. :-) We had to head home to tuck into bed but I was told the dancing continued well after we called it a night!

Anyway, to the kilt part of this post, I promised my students I would show up properly outfitted for the occasion. When I wear my kilt to a non-Scottish function such as this, where I know I'll be the only one kilted, I do tend to "tone down" the ensemble somewhat. For example, I wore my black leather "Ben Glas" Ferguson Britt sporran instead of the hair sporran I often wear on formal occasions. I put on my ghillies in place of my buckle broughes. I chose my black cravat over my lace jabot.

The reason I tone it down a bit is because in such a context the fact that I am the only man in a kilt makes my attire stand out from the rest enough already. Additional elements that might make my attire seem "unusual" such as lacy jabot, large shiney buckles on my shoes, etc., are not really needed. The kilt really can shine on it's own.

In any case, here are a couple of photographs of my wife and I. First, with my mask on.

Now, unmasked...

I didn't notice at the time that my wife did not remove her mask for the second picture. She actually knit her own mask with green and black threads to match the rest of her outfit. I think she looks like a superhero! :-)

In any case a great time was had by all, and us old folks were not too worn out the next morning.

**McMathTX** · 3rd May 10, 05:49 AM

Verra nice! Is there a female version of the Green Hornet? Also, where did you get your cravat?
Dean

**GMan** · 3rd May 10, 06:36 AM

I like that.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 3rd May 10, 07:10 AM

I got my cravat from a company in Canada that used to be at www.gentlemansjabot.com, but that web site no longer seems to be up. However, they appear to be the same company now at http://www.elegantascot.com/

**Panache** · 3rd May 10, 07:13 AM

Matt,

You both look wonderful (we would expect nothing less).

Is your mask African inspired? I can't quite make it out.

Cheers

Jamie

**piperdbh** · 3rd May 10, 07:30 AM

I know! I know! You're disguised as a granite statue!

What was Junior's disguise?

A really sharp looking couple, indeed.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 3rd May 10, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by Panache

Matt,

You both look wonderful (we would expect nothing less).

Is your mask African inspired? I can't quite make it out.

Cheers

Jamie

My mask was inspired by the decorating materials I had on hand. :-) That amounted to some miscellaneous bird feathers, black, gold and silver paint, and some glitter glue. You are right, though, it does look rather African.