Headwear?

[just4fun63]

I have a question for you traditional kilters, what is correct for headwear?
I seem to see a lot of “disdain” for headwear in the community of kilt wearers.
What are your feelings on headwear?
I feel a need to protect my head from the sun when possible.

[Tobus]

Just to be clear, are you asking about "correct" in the context of Highland traditions?

[just4fun63]

Just to be clear, are you asking about "correct" in the context of Highland traditions?

Actually I let the question be open ended as I hope to learn about both traditional and “what’s OK”

[Taskr]

IMO "what's ok" is just about anything you're comfortable with, though I'll admit to not yet seeing hockey helmets or hard hats (one tv commercial excepted). I have some flat caps and a Tilley that go well to my eye for style. As mentioned, its about practicality. I'm not in a highland regiment or pipe band, so I have no glens or tams for 'traditional' wear but I find the tam can look very nice with civilian attire.

[Father Bill]

Am I correct in thinking that headwear, along with socks and shoes, causes a degree of controversy here? I do have issues with people wearing hats (of any description) indoors, particularly at mealtimes, but that is down to my upbringing. As for what to wear with a kilt, well surely it depends upon practicality. Here in Scotland protection from the sun is not an issue compared with keeping the rain off so I would say that needs must and the most suitable headgear is what suits the conditions at the time.

Good for you, Steve. I agree about indoors and particularly at meals. Hats must come off then or label someone as having no notion of traditional manners.

You'll find quite a range of headgear, and frankly, if you're one who burns easily and in a sunny location, you'll need to vary from tradition. A "Fore & Aft" is traditionally Scottish - a bit like a fedora only with the brim narrower at the sides, but then, that doesn't protect your ears much, does it? Neither does a deerstalker.

Flat caps are controversial inasmuch as they're more Saxon than Highland (thus the disdain), but then they don't protect ears either, and for that matter neither does a Glengarry, and a Balmoral only protects one... a little bit.

So what to do! Some folks wear a Tilley style https://www.tilley.com/ca_en/men/hats/winter-hats.html And some just wear a fedora.

If you're in Highland type weather, then I'd suggest a Balmoral, but in sunnier climes, a Tilley or Fedora type is probably a good bet.

[Tobinn]

I wear either a flat cap because I've worn one for about 30 years - when it's not blistering hot (here is ever-sunny Florida, USA) or a sort of wide-brimmed garden hat when it's sunny/hot out. Most other headgear I just find otherwise impractical for these subtropics.

[Manu]

I might be an oddity in the kilt world, as I do not wear headwear while kilted, ever. I find that a little bit of sunblock on my ears and nose does the trick pretty well for me. I've never found hats to be flattering on me, I got a small head

[figheadair]

I might be an oddity in the kilt world, as I do not wear headwear while kilted, ever. I find that a little bit of sunblock on my ears and nose does the trick pretty well for me. I've never found hats to be flattering on me, I got a small head

You're not an oddity, I likewise don't seat headwear as a rule. We are in good company, neither does HRH The Prince Charles.

[ThistleDown]

I rarely wear headgear, but I do have a doo-lander I sometimes don when the snow is falling. The Balmoral is traditional. The fore-and-aft is also traditional in the Highlands, but I question whether we should consider it appropriate anywhere else. I suggest you stay away from lids that serve no purpose (the Glengarry falls into that category) and from anything that smacks of the military. In the heat of Summer, think in terms of a Tilley, a Panama or a slouch hat. Avoid at all costs bits of costumery -- no pith helmets.

[Tobus]

The Balmoral is traditional. The fore-and-aft is also traditional in the Highlands, but I question whether we should consider it appropriate anywhere else. I suggest you stay away from lids that serve no purpose (the Glengarry falls into that category) and from anything that smacks of the military. In the heat of Summer, think in terms of a Tilley, a Panama or a slouch hat. Avoid at all costs bits of costumery -- no pith helmets.

I agree with most of this. I wear Balmorals when wearing the kilt to Highland Games, but only when the weather is cool enough for wearing a felted wool hat. If it's hot and sunny, I wear one of my Tilley hats. There's no sense suffering a sunburn and increasing my skin cancer risk. Hats are first and foremost functional items that are meant for protection against rain, cold, or sun. Form should follow function. That's one of the reasons I've never understood the purpose of the Glengarry, and have no personal use for it. I also think it's a very military uniform-like look, and I prefer to follow civilian traditions. I'm not necessarily opposed to including military items in civilian wear, but there's a particular aesthetic about the Glengarry that I just don't prefer.

I agree that costumery is best avoided, but I'm torn on the idea of pith helmets. I do own a "sun helmet", the straw version of a safari helmet. In the kind of brutally hot weather like we get here in Texas, my sun helmet is actually better than a Tilley hat for keeping cool. Where the Tilley hat's crown is in contact with my head, the sweat has to soak through the material to evaporate and my hair is matted to my head. It only has a vent around the very top of the crown. With a sun helmet, its only contact points are an inner band and top crossing bands (much like a hardhat) with a generous air gap all around my head. The weave of the straw allows air circulation and the sweat evaporates much more freely, and the brim is just the right width. Whilst this sort of hat can look costumish, I must admit that it is very functional when planning to be out in the hot sun during Texas summers. Sun helmets are popular around here as gardening hats.

I have never worn it with the kilt in public, but I've spent many a hot afternoon on a tractor shredding pastures in this hat. It isn't my first choice for wearing with a kilt, but in the right scenario I would consider it. I know one other member here who wears this same style sun helmet to Highland Games in the heat of summer, and he doesn't look costumish at all when he's wearing it. I'd say it really comes down to context and how one is wearing it.