Is there a name for this?

[kilted redleg]

Yesterday I was on You tube listening to some pipe music - piobaireachd [pea brock] and it was John Burgess playing "Lament for the children." JD was always the fashion standard for pipers, however if you look at his hose at 1:37, 4:29 and 9:30 they seem to be hose that is done in different colored blocks [lack of a better term] that were woven together - of course they go with his kilt; I've never seen any tartan like this and was wondering is there a special name for this type of hose and where is hose like this made? Can anyone help????
It puts an interesting twist on highland attire.

[Father Bill]

Can you give us a direct link?

[ShaunMaxwell]

Can you give us a direct link?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKLIW-T4GNo



A bit hard to make out in both the video and still image, but I've not seen anything like them before!

SM

P.S. Here's another image of what *may* be the same hose, or at least the same style. They look striped!

[Lady Grey]

I’ve come back and looked at the pictures and video about 3 times and
I just don’t know?

I’m not sure if I like them or not?
(How unusual for me not to have a firm opinion)

I shall follow with interest to learn about the style and any history associated with them.

In the second picture I’m going to say “it seems a younger man style”
Those socks would look great with a black canvas kilt.
And yet in the John Burgess video I think they look lovely and very dashing but still not sure if I like them overall.

[kilted redleg]

I sent an e-mail to house of cheviot hopefully it went and maybe they can shed some light on this hose caper.

[Tobus]

I’ve come back and looked at the pictures and video about 3 times and
I just don’t know?

I’m not sure if I like them or not?
(How unusual for me not to have a firm opinion)

I shall follow with interest to learn about the style and any history associated with them.

In the second picture I’m going to say “it seems a younger man style”
Those socks would look great with a black canvas kilt.
And yet in the John Burgess video I think they look lovely and very dashing but still not sure if I like them overall.

I have looked at them several times, trying to be open-minded and considering the esteemed reputation of the wearer. But I just can't escape the idea that vertically-striped hose with Highland dress come under the category of "a bridge too far". There have been many variations of hose colours and patterns over the centuries, but there's a reason this particular variation never caught on. And the same applies with horizontally striped hose, for that matter. It just starts to look cartoonish.

[davidlpope]

I have looked at them several times, trying to be open-minded and considering the esteemed reputation of the wearer. But I just can't escape the idea that vertically-striped hose with Highland dress come under the category of "a bridge too far". There have been many variations of hose colours and patterns over the centuries, but there's a reason this particular variation never caught on. And the same applies with horizontally striped hose, for that matter. It just starts to look cartoonish.

I think that these hose are an example of what John Burgess could get away because, well, he was John Burgess. A bit of eccentricity is acceptable when you nail every other element of a highland outfit with high-quality, well-made kit.

When one wears a sporran like this:



One can get away with things that mere mortals cannot...

[OC Richard]

I found some of the ties I was thinking of, they were knocking around in the back of my mind, I had to haul out the Ben Silver catalogue and hunt around online to find them. It may be that the hose were intended to represent a specific tie, or it may be that they were inspired at the general appearance of these ties.

The other possibility is that the hose were recreating, or were inspired by, tartan colour-strips.

[Tobus]

It may be that the hose were intended to represent a specific tie, or it may be that they were inspired at the general appearance of these ties.

It's all speculation, of course, but I think Bruce Scott had the right of it with the QOCH tie. Since he served with that unit, he wore that tie a lot, and was wearing it in the photo with the striped hose. It's hard to tell from that photo due to the size, quality, and very limited bit of tie showing. But comparing it to other photos of him, this is the same tie he's wearing with the striped hose. My bet is that the hose were made to match these colours reasonably well, and it just wasn't possible to incorporate the narrow yellow stripe into hand-knitted hose.

From the PM John D. Burgess website:

[OC Richard]

I think Bruce Scott had the right of it with the QOCH tie. Since he served with that unit, he wore that tie a lot, and was wearing it in the photo with the striped hose.

Yes it makes sense for the reasons you mention.

However the careers of army Pipe Majors may span a number of different units. (They can be assigned to any unit that needs a Pipe Major.) I wondered about the socks representing some other regiment or battalion with which he may have served as PM. But the only reference I see is to him being a Corporal piper in the QOCH (which battalion isn't mentioned) and as Pipe Major of the 4/5 Camerons, a Territorial unit.