The Ghillie Shirt

[Tobus]

My suggestions (again, take them or leave them)

- Get some Dark socks. The white just cuts your height in half and makes your calves look huge instead of shapely. Dark socks with the Ghillie Brouges will elongate your figure and balance the look.
- Get a Dark Ghillie Shirt. I would actually suggest dying the one you have along with the socks at the same time (you seem to like matchy matchy so it’s a cost effective way to improve your look)

Many great points in your reply, Lady Grey. I've quoted only a couple of them here for discussion.

One of the reasons that stark white is a turn-off to many folks is just as you said: proportionality suffers. White has a visual widening effect, where dark colours are visually slimming. These can be used to great effect when done with purpose.

Dyeing is a great way to re-purpose white hose without having to ditch them entirely. But, with that said, it probably would not work to dye the ghillie shirt and white hose with the same dye. They are different materials and the end result will likely be two different shades. The shirt is probably a cotton material, or a high-cotton blend, whilst the hose are probably a blend of nylon and/or other synthetic materials for stretchability. Hose are notoriously difficult to dye.

Looking back at my previous photos, the white hose that I originally purchased were going to be thrown in the trash once I decided I wouldn't wear white hose any longer. So I dyed them with Rit dye, in a dark forest-green colour. They looked great initially, but the more they got rinsed and then worn and washed, the dye quickly faded. Being inexpensive hose, they are made from synthetic materials (plastics, basically) that just really don't take a true dye. Luckily, they faded to a lovely pale green that's very close to a Lovat green. Here's what those white hose look like today, years after attempting a dark green dye:



I am quite certain that if I had tried to dye that white ghillie shirt, it would not have ended up the same colour. I didn't even keep the shirt; I sent it back, so it's a moot point.

All of this is to say that I agree with the dyeing suggestion for economy, but it might be better to use different dyes on the shirt and hose, and not try to make them match.

[imbrius]

Dyeing is a great way to re-purpose white hose without having to ditch them entirely.

Now THAT's a good idea! I have the white acrylic hose (that I don't wear because I don't like stark white hose ) that came with my kilt. That'd be a great way to put them to use!

[Todd Bradshaw]

I've never had any white hose, but I did dye a pair of wool blend hose which were supposed to be lovat blue and to my eye the color just looked strange. I dyed them navy and they came out kind of a teal color - not what I had expected, but pretty nice. So far it is holding up pretty well and they're actually my favorite hose and a color that seems to be pretty rare. I don't have a good photo of them, but you can see the tops of them in the middle photo here. It's hard to predict what you will end up with considering all the different fiber blends, but in the case of white hose, it is probably going to be better than what you started with.

[jthk]

I am grateful for the perspectives contributed to this discussion and while I'm not the ignorant newcomer to the forum when I first started, I'm certainly not an expert either and I am enjoying the learning process.

I think I've learnt enough to realise that when I wear a ghillie shirt, I'm wearing a modern piece of clothing that could be referred to as a "pirate shirt". However, I will admit that I like wearing them in certain situations and, more importantly, my wife does too. I wear button-down shirts, neck-ties (or bow-ties), sometimes with a vest to work every day so when I wish to go out socially -- date night, movie-night, or whatever -- I don't want to wear my "work clothing" out to the social event. (That said, if it's casual enough, I'd simply wear a T shirt) I appreciate variety and while the ghillie shirt isn't traditional (or historically accurate), I will admit that I like the cream-coloured one I wear from time to time. My personal taste would keep me away from white.

Here is where I show my ignorance: while I realise that the ghillie shirt is a modern creation, weren't loose-fitting, collared shirts worn in a great many places in Europe (and colonial America)? In other words, strip the leather cord and metal grommets from the ghillie shirt and would that be -- generally speaking -- more historically accurate?

Just for the craic, I purchased a red shirt from Verillas' interpretation of the ghillie shirt; paired with a black vest, I think I can pull it off for the right situation.

I understand that I'm stepping outside of convention by wearing these shirts.

Happy weekend, folks.
Jonathan

[PatrickHughes123]

I am grateful for the perspectives contributed to this discussion and while I'm not the ignorant newcomer to the forum when I first started, I'm certainly not an expert either and I am enjoying the learning process.

I think I've learnt enough to realise that when I wear a ghillie shirt, I'm wearing a modern piece of clothing that could be referred to as a "pirate shirt". However, I will admit that I like wearing them in certain situations and, more importantly, my wife does too. I wear button-down shirts, neck-ties (or bow-ties), sometimes with a vest to work every day so when I wish to go out socially -- date night, movie-night, or whatever -- I don't want to wear my "work clothing" out to the social event. (That said, if it's casual enough, I'd simply wear a T shirt) I appreciate variety and while the ghillie shirt isn't traditional (or historically accurate), I will admit that I like the cream-coloured one I wear from time to time. My personal taste would keep me away from white.

Here is where I show my ignorance: while I realise that the ghillie shirt is a modern creation, weren't loose-fitting, collared shirts worn in a great many places in Europe (and colonial America)? In other words, strip the leather cord and metal grommets from the ghillie shirt and would that be -- generally speaking -- more historically accurate?

Just for the craic, I purchased a red shirt from Verillas' interpretation of the ghillie shirt; paired with a black vest, I think I can pull it off for the right situation.

I understand that I'm stepping outside of convention by wearing these shirts.

Happy weekend, folks.
Jonathan

Photos please. I'd love to see some photos, both of the white Ghillie Shirt and the red interpretation one.