Kilt outfits and colour selection

[OC Richard]

A topic that comes up on these boards regularly is the one of matching.

I put together some collages- what are called "mood boards" in film costuming- showing three different levels of matchiness.

First are outfits where everything matches, that is, there is only one colour chosen. In other words the kilt's main colour is chosen for all accessories.

Here are monochromatic outfits in white, cream, black, grey, and blue. Note that one photo of an all-grey outfit could be mistaken for a black & white photo if it wasn't for a swatch of red tartan on a shelf behind.



The next level in complexity is outfits using two colours. In other words, the kilt's main colour is one of two colours chosen for all accessories.

Here are outfits in red/black, purple/yellow, and grey/blue.



All the outfits above look over-designed and over-simplified to my eye.

The next level is outfits using three colours. Now we're getting to the sorts of outfits generally chosen by Pipe Bands and pipers, and many non-pipers too.

Note that none of these outfits actually employ three colours. Rather, they use a kilt that's neither black nor white, with entirely back and white accessories. This thing of having the only colour in an outfit being the kilt, the rest being black or white, was a huge fad in the Pipe Band world starting around 1990 and has not yet entirely abated.



I haven't yet hunted for photos showing four-colour outfits, that's next.

But just as food for thought here's an illustration from a Highland Dress catalogue from the 1930s. Note that there are no repeated colours save for some accessories echoing colours in his kilt's tartan. We also may note that his bonnet and hose, while blue, are different from each other and also from the blue in the kilt.

navy blue bonnet
Lovat green jacket
tartan green/royal blue tartan kilt
brown sporran
light blue hose
black shoes



Also here's a piper playing in a higher-level solo competition. His kilt is primarily green and purple and neither of these colours appear in his accessories. Once again his bonnet, jacket, and hose are different from each other and from his kilt. (There might be a tiny splash of purple in his flashes!)

[KennethSime]

Richard, just wanted to say that I found this very helpful. I've never been great at coordinating outfits: matching my belt with my shoes was about as far as I ever got. Coordinating an outfit with Tartan as proven quite the challenge, but thanks to the helpful folks such as yourself here and over in the K&C group on Facebook I'm slowly getting the hang of it (I think). I still tend to try to match a bit too much I think, but posts like this are helping me see that you can look great without matching everything.

[Tomo]

WOW - that purple / yellow number looks like an outfit for the Joker!!

I was looking through some jackets on ebay this week and spotted a fine array of colours (for those in the UK) they reminded me of an old Murray Mints commercial from the 70s or 80s in which they had three guys rigged out in green, blue and yellow tartan with matching PCs for the different products (original, cool-mint and butter-mint) - if only I could find it I would share.

Anyway the jackets I saw come in red, claret, pink, cream and various blues and greens:



My own tastes are perhaps a little more subdued - although perhaps a bit matchy matchy for some:

[jhockin]

Hopefully not too far off topic, but something that jumped out at me, in the OP post, was the line from the 1930’s catalogue, about the apron being secured by a kilt pin!

[OC Richard]

Tomo, to my eye except for the far-left outfit (which has hose that match the kilt) your outfits follow the principle of the main accessories neither matching the kilt nor each other, which I think looks best.

Spending my life in the Pipe Band world, where outfits are generally viewed en masse, from a distance, and mostly from behind I came to realise that from a design standpoint a Highland outfit consists of three major equal-sized horizontal bands of colour

Jacket
Kilt
Hose

This being the case, outfits that have all three match are throwing all of their colour possibilities out the window, and outfits that match two of the three are still only utilising less than half their potential.

Outfits that have all three contrasting are firing on all cylinders, and Tomo's centre and right-hand outfits are like that.

Here's the Pipe Band thing, the overall design is like a flag having three equal horizontal stripes black/red/white





That photo is from the 1990s when everybody wore white hose and black jackets and the overall intent was to have the kilt be the only coloured thing, all other elements being either black or white.

With Highland outfits worn by individuals, which are seen closeup and separately, there's far more room for subtlety and more complex colour juxtapositions than in Pipe Band uniforms which tend to have 3-colour or 2-colour schemes.

[Katia]

I admit it: I like matching. Partly for aesthetic reasons, and partly because I am not the sort of person who could pull off non-matching accessories without someone thinking, "Oh, poor thing, either she couldn't find the hose and top that matched her kilt this morning and had to wear just anything that was clean, or all she can afford is to just buy whatever even though it doesn't go together."

[Highland Logan]

I admit it: I like matching. Partly for aesthetic reasons, and partly because I am not the sort of person who could pull off non-matching accessories without someone thinking, "Oh, poor thing, either she couldn't find the hose and top that matched her kilt this morning and had to wear just anything that was clean, or all she can afford is to just buy whatever even though it doesn't go together."

Maybe just change your thinking. The opposite of matching is not non-matching, it's complementary. And for the people whom can't tell the difference... well just think of the outing as a stroll in the Highlands amongst the sheep.

Frank

[OC Richard]

At least with people new to Highland Dress, I think it helps to cast things in terms of what they're used to, "Saxon" dress.

Here's matching.



When I Googled "matching suits shirts ties" (I worded it various ways) I came upon a large number of advice articles, none of which were about outfits like that.

Rather, they were all discussing co-ordinating suits, shirts, and ties. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-XfcKuK5jU

Co-ordinating involves using contrasting things and is the diametric opposite of matching.

I think there's a strong visual reason to not match the kilt's colours in the accessories: it tends to drain colour from the kilt, diminishing the beauty of the tartan.

Say if a kilt is around 50/50 red/green. If your jacket and hose are the same green as the kilt's, the green in the kilt visually fades due to be subsumed by the surrounding green. It's why photographers wouldn't photograph a green object against a matching green backgound. (Well they might, if the client demanded it.)

Without being surrounded by a sea of matching green, the green in the kilt is free to vibrate against the red in the kilt (green and red being complimentary colours).

And wearing an outfit entirely of cloth the same colour as your skin wouldn't do your complexion any favours.

[Steve Ashton]

I once wore two matching socks, but for the life of me can't remember any time I counted how many colors were in what I wore.

I guess my only "rule" to myself is I refuse to dress in TCHD or like I stepped out of some old catalog.
I'm not a Highland Scot, not pretending to be Scottish, and not going to a Halloween ball. When meeting someone on the street it is the visual "first impression", before you open your mouth, that sets the tone. I don't want my first impression to be "Oh look, a Scot in a kilt. Where are the bagpipes?". I would prefer that they don't even notice the kilt at first glance.

I also don't dress in an outfit inspired by a military uniform. I wore a uniform for much of my adult life and don't think I need a military look to prove how macho I am in my kilt.

This is much the same "first impression" thinking I use if I dressed in pants. My goal is that I never have to wear this T-Shirt.

[McMurdo]

Here is a recent photo of me:



From the bottom to the top I'll go through the outfit:

Shoes: Black
Hose: Purple
Kilt: Predominately Blue and Black with Red & White stripes
Sporran: Brown
Jacket & Waistcoat: Light Brown
Tie: Red, Green & Blue
Shirt: Tattersall

I don't try to look like anything I am not when wearing Highland Dress. I am a First Generation Canadian who is proud of his heritage and culture. This is simply for me where regular kilt wear has taken me over the years as my personal style has developed. I wore the hose with this kilt because I had never done it before and I've always found this a difficult tartan to pair things with.

Another recent photo this one a bit more casual:



Shoes: Black
Hose: Claret
Garter Ties: Green
Kilt: Graham of Mentieth (Green, Blue, Black & White)
Sporran: Brown with a Brass Cantle
Wolly Pully: Navy Blue
Shirt: Tattersall

So lots of colour here as well, but to my eye they all work well together.