Am I wrong in doing this?

[sailortats]

With all this talk on another thread about dressing for the occasion I feel I need to ask this question. A little background to go with the question.
When in grammar school I was required to wear a tie although a suit coat or sport coat was not required. My first civilian jobs after the Navy required me to wear a suit and tie, and my last job before retiring did not require a tie but I usually wore one as did many others.
Now I have no reason to wear a tie but every so often (2 or 3 times a month) when I wear one of my kilts I like to dress it up with a tie and jacket. Not for any reason but just for the enjoyment of it. (is that weird?) I will probably just wander around town for a while and then stop into one of my favorite pubs for a drink and friendly conversation before heading home. Invariably I will be the only one in jacket and tie at the pub.
I understand that I am actually overdressed for the pub but am I wrong in doing this?

[Father Bill]

Phil, if you were working in one of those jacket-and-tie roles still, you might easily drop into your pub on the way home. It's what you're accustomed to doing, so of course it feels right.

Never underestimate the power of familiarity. As a retired school principal, now a priest, every once in a while I feel a great compulsion to wear a white shirt and a nice tie rather than my clerical collar. Sometimes I do it. Why? Because it's comforting to do something familiar.

Phil, you and I are two too-old dogs to give up what we consider "right" and "normal". Wear it!

[Jock Scot]

Its a free world and most of the time we civilians can wear what we like and if you want to wear a tie then you are just as right as anyone else who may not. There are times when we civilians have to override our personal tastes in attire to conform to assorted social requirements, which is voluntary and employment needs, which may not be voluntary, but that should not encroach into our everyday private lives if we don't want it to.

For what it is worth, I wear a tie for most of my waking hours because it suits me to and I am my own boss and have been for much of my life, so my freedom of choice is only influenced by my own social requirements and the longest time that I am tie-less is probably when I am in bed!

[Jock Scot]

Dual post. Deleted. J.S.

[Tarheel]

There are just days when (on a whim) you choose to dress up a bit more than usual. When I do this, my friends will ask why or at least notice and mention the change. They are satisfied when I give the (just felt like it today) answer. Tomorrow I may not even be noticed because of my wardrobe. My intentional apparel (any select day) begins without questioning the "correctness" of the choice.

I do not refute the protocol of situations where a certain wardrobe is the norm. I am talking about day to day settings here.

[Stitchwiz]

Most people prefer to dress down rather than up. It is hard to see so many people who look slovenly.

To me, it is refreshing to see someone well-dressed. It shows self-confidence - and let's face it, wearing a kilt shows pride in one's self, so why not do it the way you feel best.

GO FOR IT, Phil! Dress how you feel comfortable. We can only hope that others notice and will feel more comfortable doing the same.

[ratspike]

From one heavily inked guy to another, you totally aren't doing it wrong at all. Looking sharp feels good, y'know? And it's not as if you're wearing a powder blue tux to a backyard BBQ. Stopping in at a pub or coffee shop in a jacket and tie wouldn't even be looked at as unusual here in Portland, where casual is always the order of the day.

Whenever I see a guy with lots of tattoos who's dressed well, it makes my black little heart happy. As accepted as having a tattoo has become, if you have a lot of them many people will still give you side eye, like you're some kind of a scumbag. They see you as being less than them, and that extends to what they expect you to wear. I think of being well dressed as the best way to counter that attitude.

[JohntheBiker]

Too many retired men take no pride in their appearance and wonder why they get no respect in return. People make judgments based on appearance (unfair or not) and deal with you accordingly. A well turned out mature gentleman, particularly one in a kilt, will look good, feel good, exude confidence and pride and, I suggest, will be treated with respect. So dress up when the spirit moves you, put on kilt, jacket and tie and reap the benefits!

[Jock Scot]

Thinking on about this Phil, I do think that overdressing for any given situation can and does look awful. However, wearing a tweed jacket and tie to the pub would not be one of those occasions, in my view. Top of the acceptable scale perhaps, for most informal pub events and a perfectly sound choice if one has a smart gathering at the pub to go to.

[Father Bill]

Yes, there is a limit, but I still don't think you've passed it.