Best belt for daywear, or casual wear?

[Father Bill]

Well Imbrius, from now on we're going to just call you "Exploded Sausage"!

[Richrail]

I got this belt from Harbor Freight tools for $8.00, it was a natural leather color. I dyed it brown with brown liquid boot polish.

[OC Richard]

If we're talking Traditional Civilian Highland Dress, the sporran would be brown.

See this, all Day sporrans offered from the 1920s through the 1950s were brown http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...20#post1375120

but the shoes would be black, and the belt could be either.

I too prefer open/frame buckles.

Here's what I wear: an 18th century style solid brass buckle, that I bought deep in the Highlands (of West Virginia) in the 1970s, stamped Made In England. I made the belt from a belt blank, took less than a half-hour to make, with a couple Chicago screws.

The sporran is probably from the 1950s, I recently got it on Ebay.

The tartan is Clan Donald, muted colours, from House Of Edgar.

[Tobus]

I've been on the fence for a few months about upgrading my kilt belt from my standard, 1.5 daily wear belt to a dedicated kilt belt. But the more I look at the buckles and styles, I just can't get behind wearing it unless the buckle design were completely blank or minimal. I'm now reading that traditional day wear belts were normal prong belts. Anyone have solid go-to designs, or suggestions for when and how to wear a belt?

If you are looking for traditional daywear, the previous suggestions are spot-on. A plain leather belt (2" or wider for good proportionality, IMHO) with a simple prong buckle is the way to go. There are waistplate types out there that will work too, and don't look dressy, shiny, or overly ornate. It really just comes down to personal taste.

Keep in mind, too, that a belt is not absolutely necessary. It can provide a decent visual separation between shirt and kilt, of course, but sometimes there is a case to be made for not wearing one, even when a waistcoat is not worn. Experimentation with different combinations can be fun.

Last but not least, since you mentioned "casual wear" in your title, there's the option of non-traditional belt styles that still work with the kilt. For instance, a US military web belt is nice and wide, and can work with the kilt when you're not particularly dressing up within the understood realm of "daywear". British army web belts can work very nicely too.

For instance, here's one of my US web belts (ALICE, pistol belt) worn with a military kilt, which is kind of a fun look with combat boots.





Oh, and it works with Utilikilts too, and is especially handy for hiking.

[OC Richard]

Yes as late as the 1950s the belt was still being called the "dirk belt" and its longstanding function was to support a dirk.

There has never been AFAIK anything called a "kilt belt" and the use of a belt to hold up the kilt (in false analogy with trousers) didn't exist in the tradition.

True that in the 1930s a new sort of Evening Dress jacket was invented, the Montrose, which was worn with a purely decorative belt, the belt having no function. Previously a belt was worn to support a dirk but rarely otherwise (form follows function).

In my case the goal has long been to jettison all unnecessary impedimenta so I rarely wear a belt, or a sgian, or a kilt pin or pins of any other sort except for the bonnet-badge, the goal (as a working piper) to look smart but have to don the minimum kit: hat, shirt, tie, jacket, kilt, sporran, socks, flashes, shoes.

[MacKenzie]

A double-buckle belt is an option.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...le-belt-84368/

[Allan Thomson]

the use of a belt to hold up the kilt (in false analogy with trousers) didn't exist in the tradition.

Oh right?...what about the belted plaid then....(excepting drawcords)....

Your definition of "tradition" intrigues me because you rarely seem to consider anything pre 19thC (even less preproscription) in your posts when you talk about "tradition"?

[Tobus]

Your definition of "tradition" intrigues me because you rarely seem to consider anything pre 19thC (even less preproscription) in your posts when you talk about "tradition"?

Generally when we have these types of conversations, it is well understood that "traditional" refers to aspects which have stood the test of time and carried through to the present, whereas "historical" is reserved for items which are no longer commonly worn. The belted plaid, in this case, falls under historical and not traditional.

[Allan Thomson]

Generally when we have these types of conversations, it is well understood that "traditional" refers to aspects which have stood the test of time and carried through to the present, whereas "historical" is reserved for items which are no longer commonly worn. The belted plaid, in this case, falls under historical and not traditional.

Well plaids were worn belted & we wear belts with kilts now...is that tradition enough?...

[McCracken140]

Well plaids were worn belted & we wear belts with kilts now...is that tradition enough?...

Well plaids were worn belted & we wear belts with kilts now...is that tradition enough?...

By no stretch of the imagination could the belted plaid be considered ‘traditional’ in the modern context. ‘Traditional’ connotes a tradition which has been carried on for many years. The truth is nobody except re-enactors have worn a the belted plaid for 200 years. It is a historical relic.

If you saw someone wearing a poofy embroidered frock coat, a mid-thigh length waistcoat, and buff breeches paired with a pair of buckle shoes that were identical for each foot.... well to put it lightly the average Englishman wouldn’t think “ah, how nice to see someone choosing a more traditional outfit today.”

If you wore a nice tweed blazer then he probably *would* think that, even though it would not be very similar to a tweed jacket worn 250 years ago.


Not to say that a belt doesn’t look good with a kilt, because often it does— but traditionally it is not required (except to hold a dirk etc) because the kilt holds itself up.