Clan tartan ties, unforgivable sin?

[Dollander]

First of all, even as a child I thought those "best and worst dressed" segments in gossip magazines (back before there was such a thing as a blog) were petty and arrogant. Fashion is ultimately an art form like any other, and art is and will always be subjective. Don LaFontaine never asked to see a script or rough cut before doing a trailer voiceover, because his philosophy was that every movie is someone's favorite movie. I may agree with the critic who found it disheartening that genuinely talented writers and directors can't get their movies funded while Deuce Bigelow II was "stinking up theaters", but I had a friend who was a fan of Rob Schneider and found that assessment somewhat offensive. Was I to think less of him for his taste in entertainment? It's not as if he ever insisted we watch a Rob Schneider marathon whenever we hung out, any more than I'd insist we listen to Bad Religion when I knew he couldn't stand them.

I guess it's just because I'm some uncultured dubyatee who never paid attention to the specifics of formal wear, but I happen to like the look. After all, it's considered perfectly fine to wear a long tie with a plain shirt, so why is it suddenly an eyesore when it's framed by the PC waistcoat at the bottom? Especially since it keeps with the above-mentioned separation principle. Indeed, the main reason I converted my Murray of Tullibardine tie into a makeshift day cravat was because I didn't like how it looked with the tie and kilt touching, and did not yet have a waistcoat to solve that problem. But I'd consider someone telling me that I can't wear a day cravat with a black Argyll jacket no different than telling Bad Religion that you can't mix Beatles-esque 3-part harmonies with hardcore punk...which again, my friend thought was cheesy while it's one of the main things I like about their music.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, while some celebrities perhaps don't know what they're doing, others dress however they want simply because they can. I'm sure that plenty of us regular folks keep to the rules because that's what they like and what they think looks good, but no doubt others would probably take greater fashion risks if it didn't carry the possibility of losing their jobs, their social standing, etc. And while it seems some of you might equate Sir Sean's choice of attire with something as crass as Bruce Springsteen wearing a printed tuxedo t-shirt to the Grammys, notice that people didn't stop buying his albums because of it...and likewise it was Connery's bad role choices that ended his acting career, not his questionable interpretation of traditional kilt attire (turned down Lord of the Rings and then did League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; 'nuff said).

Oh, and I just have to get this off my chest. I think the whole "looks like a rental" assessment I see all too frequently on this forum is nothing short of arrogant. To me it says, ugh, look at that peasant who can't even afford to justify spending a thousand dollars on an outfit that he might not even wear once a year. I mean, should we also we scoff at those who rent their tuxedos?

Okay, rant over. We now return to our regularly-scheduled discussion of whether tartan ties with kilts are acceptable, or will earn you an eternity of being force-fed Epcot Center haggis while listening to Rufus Harley...