Looking for Advice/Criticism

[gsmacleod]

Just a thought. What branch of Clan MacLeod are you from? There are some within the Clan who regard this question and particularly the answer to be important as to which tartan is worn and when. Just saying.

Jock, according to my family we are from the Harris branch. However, this is just word of mouth and I don't know anything before the very late 1700's/very early 1800's in Cape Breton.

Would love to hear what the different branches think and expand my knowledge in this regard.

Thanks,

Shane

[Jock Scot]

Jock, according to my family we are from the Harris branch. However, this is just word of mouth and I don't know anything before the very late 1700's/very early 1800's in Cape Breton.

Would love to hear what the different branches think and expand my knowledge in this regard.

Thanks,

Shane

There is absolutely no reason to question your roots, I doubt that there are any records to disprove, or prove any different anyway. You have a name and if family stories back up what you say then who is to argue. To be brutally honest, these long drawn out tartan justification lectures(stories) do get oh so tiresome! You have probably noticed that I wear the MacLeod of Harris tartan too.

Getting back to the tartan, as far as I am aware any MacLeod can wear MacLeod of Harris, or MacLeod of Lewes(Lewis) tartans. However those from the Macleod of Harris branch could wear MacLeod of Lewes as their dress tartan for formal(dress) attire, if they wish and most don't these days. In my experience, most Scottish MacLeods like to be specific with their day attire and wear their Clan branch tartan and actually these days, most choose to wear that for formal events too. Frankly, its less expensive.

I am not aware of any rule that say that a MacLeod must wear MacLeod of Lewes for dress attire and likewise, I am not aware of any rule that states a MacLeod of Harris cannot wear a MacLeod of Lewes during the day. Its just one of those oddities of " just because we can, does not mean that we should" and most of us don't.

[gsmacleod]

There is absolutely no reason to question your roots, I doubt that there are any records to disprove, or prove any different anyway. You have a name and if family stories back up what you say then who is to argue. You have probably noticed that I wear the MacLeod of Harris tartan too.

Getting back to the tartan, as far as I am aware any MacLeod can wear MacLeod of Harris, or MacLeod of Lewes(Lewis) tartans. However those from the Macleod of Harris branch could wear MacLeod of Lewes as their dress tartan for formal(dress) attire, if they wish and most don't these days. In my experience, most Scottish MacLeods like to be specific with their day attire and wear their Clan branch tartan and actually these days, most choose to wear that for formal events too. Frankly, its less expensive.

I am not aware of any rule that say that a MacLeod must wear MacLeod of Lewes for dress attire and likewise, I am not aware of any rule that states a MacLeod of Harris cannot wear a MacLeod of Lewes during the day. Its just one of those oddities of " just because we can, does not mean that we should" and most of us don't.

Thanks Jock

I didn't think you were questioning my roots, I was just trying to answer your question as to the branch as far as what I know about my family. My apologies if it came across like that.

I appreciate your response; I'm always interested in learning more about traditions and how things are viewed in Scotland.

I'm not sure if I'll take the plunge with a MacLeod of Lewis; my MacLeod of Harris is great but I've been considering getting a more economical kilt for regular wear as I'm hesitant to wear my tank when it might see some abuse.

Thanks again for your response,

Shane

[davidlpope]

I'm not sure if I'll take the plunge with a MacLeod of Lewis; my MacLeod of Harris is great but I've been considering getting a more economical kilt for regular wear as I'm hesitant to wear my tank when it might see some abuse.

Shane,

Two things to consider:

A true "tank" kilt is built to withstand wear and tear, so it will likely hold up better than you think.

Well-worn kit is a bit of a tradition among the Highlands. If you look through photos of successive clan chiefs, you'll often find the same kilts, sporrans, etc. being passed down for decades. I think it contributes to the authenticity of one's gear, so there's really no reason to keep things looking nice and new...

[gsmacleod]

Shane,

Two things to consider:

A true "tank" kilt is built to withstand wear and tear, so it will likely hold up better than you think.

Well-worn kit is a bit of a tradition among the Highlands. If you look through photos of successive clan chiefs, you'll often find the same kilts, sporrans, etc. being passed down for decades. I think it contributes to the authenticity of one's gear, so there's really no reason to keep things looking nice and new...

Thanks for the advice!

I know that I don't have to baby it and it should stand up for many years but as I'm pretty sure it's the most expensive thing in my closet, I find it hard to break it out on a regular basis.

Shane

[Jock Scot]

Shane,

Two things to consider:

A true "tank" kilt is built to withstand wear and tear, so it will likely hold up better than you think.

Well-worn kit is a bit of a tradition among the Highlands. If you look through photos of successive clan chiefs, you'll often find the same kilts, sporrans, etc. being passed down for decades. I think it contributes to the authenticity of one's gear, so there's really no reason to keep things looking nice and new...

As a matter of fact some experienced kilt wearers over here are actually embarrassed when a new piece of kilt attire is let loose on the public, for example, I know of several battered and distinctly tattered kilts and assorted attire that venture forth at important events rather than the owners being seen clad in a new piece of kilt attire. I have seen more than one "new"piece of kilt attire being worn at home for many years before being let loose in public. It is said in some circles around the UK that wearing one piece of new kit is alright, but two new bits of kit at one time is almost bad form. So its more of a British thing rather than a Scottish thing, I think.

[lschwartz]

Background - I have one "real" kilt; MacLeod of Harris but recently I've been thinking of getting a Loud MacLeod. In fact, I picked up an acrylic one and I'm trying to decide whether I want to take the plunge on a better MacLeod of Lewis. I'm not really into yellow, in fact except for my acrylic kilt, I think the only yellow in my wardrobe is a pocket square so I'm not really comfortable working into what I wear. I figured, with the collective experience here, there would be no better way to find out what works than to ask for the rabble's feedback.

Caveat - I'm wearing the same shirt, tie, hose and garter ties. My goal was to see how the jackets, waistcoats and kilts worked together so I didn't bother changing any of these elements (or bother with a pocket square either). Usually I only wear white for a more formal event and have solid coloured shirts and patterned shirts for other occasions.

Crail jacket/brown waistcoat

I recently purchased a herringbone tweed jacket with some blue and brown. I don't have a kilt belt and prefer waistcoats anyway so I tried pairing it with a light brown waistcoat I had in the closet that wasn't too long to interfere with the sporran.

Attachment 36397

Braemar jacket/brown waistcoat

A blue twill that I took a chance on; again, pairing with waistcoat.

Attachment 36398

Since I was already in the midst of taking pictures, I figured I'd try my lovat green Argyll with MacLeod of Lewis as I'm very hesitant to put those together.

Attachment 36399

Looking for feedback or advice on any or all of the combos. I'm pretty comfortable picking out what goes well together from my wardrobe (or at least I think I am) but items other than black or charcoal with the kilt is pretty new to me.

Thanks in advance,

Shane

Shane,

I think they all look good. I personally would not pair the blue jacket with the brown waistcoat. To my eye it doesn't look quite right with the two kilts you showed. If you think of the jacket and the waistcoat as a unit, or suit to wear with the kilt, I think the other two jackets worked better.

[gsmacleod]

Shane,

I think they all look good. I personally would not pair the blue jacket with the brown waistcoat. To my eye it doesn't look quite right with the two kilts you showed. If you think of the jacket and the waistcoat as a unit, or suit to wear with the kilt, I think the other two jackets worked better.

Appreciate the thoughts; I thought the light brown would go better with the blue than it did. At some point I'm going to try a darker brown one and see if it looks better (or worse) than the light brown one.

I have a few other waistcoats but I think most would be too long with the sporran but I'm going to keep my eyes out for some different waistcoats when I'm hitting the thrift shops.

Shane

[gsmacleod]

The kids were gone for a couple of hours so I figured I should try the blue twill braemar with the dark brown herringbone tweed vest. As before, happy to hear thoughts/advice/criticism.



Shane

[Shinenotburn]

The kids were gone for a couple of hours so I figured I should try the blue twill braemar with the dark brown herringbone tweed vest. As before, happy to hear thoughts/advice/criticism.






Shane

That looks nice with the MacLeod of Harris, Shane. I would look for a brown pocket square and pair it with a light blue woven tie and matching flashes. Brown heath colour hose would be great as well. Also with that outfit switch sporrans with the lewis kit, as that one will stand out nicely on the Harris kilt.

For the Lewis kit I would probably get some blue hose to come close to the jacket, yellow or brown flashes and a yellow woven tie with matching pocket square. A dark sporran always works better with that tartan. Black is best, I find. Especially if you are wearing MacLeod modern colours and not the weathered hues.