Sunday best?

[Tobus]

Ditto for weddings... Even seeing a tie in the midwest is a rarity, especially on folks under 50

No kidding. The last two weddings I've been to, I was shocked at the way people were dressed. I wore a plain suit to one, and my kilt to the other. But in both cases, I was just about the only person wearing a tie except the wedding party. Most men were wearing blue jeans or shorts & sandals. The women were generally wearing shorts or short-skirts with sandals.

I'm not that old (I'm only 38), but I guess I was raised with old-fashioned values. I cannot enter a house of worship for any type of service (be it church, wedding, funeral, or other service) without dressing up. My mother, the late Methodist minister, would turn over in her grave if I wore casual outdoor clothes to church!

*edited to add:

In answer to the OP's question, if wearing the kilt to church, I think anything in the "day wear" or "dressy" range would do. I would stay away from PCs or formal sporrans with chains, but that's just me.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

The answer is going to depend upon the church, the congregation, and the geographic location. I dress pretty much as David says he does -- jacket & tie, with slacks, most every Sunday. If it is *really hot* I may forgo the jacket, but I never forgo the tie.

A few men in my church dress similar to this, but most dress more casual. I wish more people would dress up, and the only way I know to encourage that is to dress nice myself, and so I do.

On the other hand, when I attend service on our college campus, it's another matter. Most of the male students dress very casually. While a small handful make the effort to dress nice, with slacks and a tucked in shirt (rarely ever a tie), most wear jeans, shorts, flip-flops, tennis shoes, t-shirts, etc. So I tone down my dress a bit. I still wear slacks, and either a dress shirt sans tie, or a polo shirt. In other words, I try to dress nicer than the average college male, but not so nice that I look like I'm trying to show them up. (By the way, the male professors who attend typically dress as casually as the students).

If I were wearing Highland attire to regular Sunday service, I'd wear the kilt, solid hose, plain black or brown leather shoes (I'd probably leave the sgian dubh at home), a plain black or brown leather day sporran), a dress shirt and tie, and a day jacket, either tweed or some other lighter weight material, but not a formal jacket (black with silver buttons). Possibly a waistcoat if I so desired.

Now, if it were a special day, like Chirstmas Midnight Mass, or the Easter Vigil, something like that, I'd dress up a bit more. I might wear that dress jacket, or a fur sporran, and perhaps even diced or argyle hose if the mood struck.

Normally, the only time I wear a kilt to a church service would be if it were a special occasion. Here's what I wore last Easter, when a couple of my students were being baptized and confirmed during the liturgy.


A few times recently I have had to attend funerals of friends of mine who were active in the Scottish heritage community, and I (and many others) wore a kilt in their honor. I didn't take any photos, but dressed very similar to this.