Military Style Shirt

[Walkman]

I bought a tan shirt to wear with my Gordon Modern kilt several years ago. The only one I could find at the time had epaulettes. The color looks really nice with the Gordon tartan, but is it considered bad form for a civilian to wear something similar to the old Gordon Highlander uniform?

[Jock Scot]

There are two cultures at play here, which in my opinion do not happily mix. One is the traditional thinking of Scottish kilt attire in Scotland, where if one has served in the military and is no longer serving(retired) then we are civilians and generally speaking the "Regimental tie" is as near to uniform as one gets, although occasionally, medals might be worn at appropriate events.

This is not a criticism, but it appears to me, by what I see on this website, that those in the USA who have served and are now retired want to wear their military style shirts, military style glengarry with unit badge, decorations, medals,etc., at the drop of a hat. In other words they are far ,far more militaristic as civilians than we are in the UK in general and Scotland in particular.

So there are different cultures at work here, nothing more, both just do their own thing in their own way. Personally as a Scot I feel quite uncomfortable with the mixing of the two cultures, particularly the very apparent US military mindset even when one is retired, but you must decide for yourself which route you wish to follow, but I am impressed that you are sensitive to other cultures and for that, I thank you.

To answer your question! Wearing the shirt will not upset anyone, but it would be appreciated by those who served in the Gordon Highlanders(they must be shrinking in number now) if you did not wear any of their Regimental insignia on it, or with it.

[Hirsty]

I once bought a shirt for hill walking and found that the epaulettes were uncomfortable under my backpack. I removed them and you would be hard pressed to even know they had been there.
Perhaps you could do the same with this shirt if you are concerned?

[Tarheel]

Epaulettes, as a fashion addition to a shirt, has been produced by many manufactures through the last century. Hirsty brings up a fine point in that the extra material may hinder some uses of the shirt (anything carried across the shoulder for example). As a style option, I think few people would make a connection to military when an ensemble is obviously a civilian combination.

[ctbuchanan]

Many retailers here in the US sell shirts with epaulettes. They are just a fashion and usually called "Field Shirts". I know LL Bean sells them and they cater to fishing and hunting enthusiasts.

I would think as Jock says, if you avoid any kind of insignia or regimental badges it would just be a shirt.

[Taskr]

Military styled shirts are not unusual. As mentioned, without any accoutrements it is just a shirt.

[48HofC]

Unless it is an olive green work shirt or khaki dress shirt, you wouldn't be really copying the Gordon's. You need to keep in mind the Gordon's are now relegated to history, so nobody can imply you are trying to pass yourself off as something your not. There are so many people running around with a mish mash of ex army Scottish kit like sporrans, black watch kilts etc, it's pretty pointless to worry about a civilian shirt. I used to get wound up over people wearing kit they have not earned but it is so prevalent it became a waste of time. As long as you don't claim to be something you are not, wear it by all means.

[1oldsarge]

It's also known as an aviator shirt, worn by pilots of all sorts of aircraft. Multi-functional. No issue.

[Jack Daw]

Pipers wear such military-style shirts that indicate no specific Highland regiment and offend no-one, I would think. At warm Highland games and other outdoor events, I have constantly worn such shirts whether piping, piping not, or piping hot.