Yet Another Kilt Hose Color Thread

[imbrius]

I'm shockingly short (pun intended) on kilt hose and with my new kilt arriving in about 6 weeks, I was thinking of stocking up.

I have the cream colored nylon hose that came with my acrylic kilt. I hate them.

I have a very nice modern tartan green pair of cable knit wool hose from Sock Dreams. I love those but they're very dark.

And I have borrowed my wife's brick red / dark gray marled boot socks from Torrid to use as kilt hose and that worked much better than I'd expected but I don't want to repeat that experience.

I've found a few from House of Cheviot on Amazon that are in my price range but the array of colors that they offer is staggering.

The kilt that's on its way is an ancient variant, green base. It has wide blue stripes and thin red stripes. So the obvious choice would be ancient green or ancient blue hose with red or orange garter ties (or flashes).

armstrong-ancient.jpg

But what about less obvious? I'd like to have more variety available, depending on the occasion. Bison? Claret? Navy? Charcoal? Oatmeal? I have red, green, and blue flashes as well as orange garter ties. Black flashes maybe? Black hose? Gah! Too many options! (BTW, I make my own flashes and garter ties so I can easily make any color I can find in the remnant bin at the fabric store (flashes) or any wide weave ribbon I can find (garter ties)).

[davidlpope]

Lovat blue, lovat green, claret/dark red. Easy peasy.

[Tobus]

I'm partial to the earthy colours for hose, as they seem to go with everything. My favourite pair of HoC hose is bison.

I'd also suggest a green colour in the darker olive to khaki range. Don't worry about it not matching the green in the kilt. I think of it like the Lovat green or Lovat blue colours; it can do very well with any colour.

[kingandrew]

You'll be surprised to find that nearly any sock color will look OK. The suggestions for lovat, olive, and claret are good. They work with everything without being matchy-matchy. So they always look "sharp."

I would also suggest that marled/heathery sock shades work well, along with some multi-color choices. Do a search for "shooting socks" and you will find a world of socks with bold colors, often with contrasting colors or patterns on the top "turn-down" section.

Happy hunting!

Andrew

[Tarheel]

When I read oatmeal in your options, I thought dark tan. I just got a pair of bison (darker but not brown) and a pair of light grey flashes to go with my kilt. That would draw attention to the kilt by having a earthy-subdued look below.

Tan shooting socks that have the red and gold checked top would be bold but a good look with your tartan. I would forgo flashes with that and just have hidden garters if needed.

[Tomo]

I have used a Scottish company, Anne Stewart Knitwear - custom made so perfect fit and perfect colour match - and they work out about the same price as some of the House of Cheviot socks.

I have just ordered some in an textured oatmeal with diced tops in ancient red to match my new kilt - previous pair (pics below) are in green and blue - and Anne is great to work with. I know from her website and facebook page she ships to the US.

[Karl R]

And I have borrowed my wife's brick red / dark gray marled boot socks from Torrid to use as kilt hose and that worked much better than I'd expected but I don't want to repeat that experience.

What was wrong with your wife's socks? The size? The length? The marled look?

I've been looking at some less conventional sock options, so I'm wondering what I should be cautious about.

[imbrius]

What was wrong with your wife's socks? The size? The length? The marled look?

I've been looking at some less conventional sock options, so I'm wondering what I should be cautious about.

Nothing wrong, per se, but they weren't meant to be turned over at the top and the texture wasn't very interesting. They weren't cable-knit or patterned in any way, just dark red with random smatterings of dark gray under-knit visible.

[imbrius]

Using this tool (mentioned in this thread), I have decided that mustard and claret are going to be great for complementing the kilt and ancient or lovat blue or green for matching it, depending on how much of a statement I want to make and where I'm going to be. If I wear the green or blue hose, then I'll wear yellow or red flashes or garter ties. Thanks, everyone!

[imbrius]

I got Bison and Navy in a Lewis-like pattern and Mustard, Claret, and Ancient Blue in a simpler Cable pattern. All value-branded so I'll see what kind of quality I get.