Just for curiosity.

[Dirk95]

Hi All,
Just for curiosity, and a possible help to new kilt wearers, what would be your choice of kilt hose for a formal black tie evening, other then diced, Argyll, or tartan ie solid coloured.
Regards
Dirk95.

[Steve Ashton]

Just my personal opinion and preference -

I don't own or wear diced hose.
For formal events I prefer darker, solid color hose.

I do not try to pull colors from my kilt as I let the kilt stand on its own. The kilt is the centerpiece of my outfit.
I color coordinate the entire outfit so will normally choose black or Charcoal gray.

I use the KISS principal (Keep It Simple Stupid). I was taught that simple and basic is far more elegant than outlandish or overdressed.



or

[FossilHunter]

Solid hose in a color that complements the tartan.

[Farmer Jones]

Dark blue solid colour hose that complement the blue in my kilt.

[Tobus]

Evening wear or formal evening wear are not my forte, as I virtually never attend functions that call for such. On the rare occasion that I do, I wear Argyll hose that match my kilt. If I had to choose a solid colour to wear with this level of dress, I'd likely choose a lively colour that went with my kilt, but not one that's obscenely loud.

I personally avoid ecru and white hose, just because of the association (rightly or wrongly) with hired attire. I'm not stating it as a rule, or telling anyone they should do so, but it's just my own hang-up about white types of hose. If push came to shove and I were in a pinch, I might bend enough to wear an ecru pair, but it would have to be a very thick and 'fancy' cable-knit pattern, or some other pattern that came across as more elegant than plain old white hose. I think evening attire certainly calls for a step up above the usual plain hose in some way. If it's not in patterns and colour, it ought to be in the construction details.

I also personally avoid black hose of any sort, not because they are inappropriate or anything, but because they just don't offer any visual appeal to my outfit. To me, they look like black dress socks and make my skinny calves look even skinnier and out of proportion. There's no visual separation between black hose and black shoes, especially in the low light of evening and indoor functions. There's nothing wrong with black hose, but I just don't have any interest in them.

So I would probably gravitate towards something like a bottle green, royal blue, claret, or other vivid colours that occur in my tartan. For evening occasions, I do think matching some colours makes sense, where it's not so important in daywear. And certainly if I were choosing plain coloured hose for evening wear, I would want something fancier and thicker than the usual thin ribbed fare. But that's just me.

[OC Richard]

Yes in traditional Highland Dress it would always be diced or tartan hose for Evening Dress.

Selfcoloured hose have traditionally been considered a Day Dress thing, and incongruous in the Evening.

But times they are a-changin' and for sure nowadays you see selfcoloured hose worn with Evening Dress by many.

It's hard to say what colour is most appropriate, because there's no tradition of use to go by.

Some might say "go with black if you're in a black jacket", fair enough.

Others might say "go with a colour that matches your kilt" and then we get into the matchy thing.

Others might say "go with a colour that co-ordinates with your kilt" which certainly is my preference for Day Dress... but in Evening Dress might we be drawing too much attention to the hose?

Here's a recent precedent to consider, a group of men (mostly Scots) who have been wearing Highland Dress most of their lives.

Three of the gents are wearing tartan hose, two are wearing selfcoloured hose that match the main ground-colour of their kilt, one is wearing charcoal grey, a neutral choice.



Personally it's tartan hose for Evening Dress

[Taskr]

what they all said..

When i was going thru the same process, i purchased claret hose. Wore them once to formal and haven’t since. I fell back to black and dark charcoal, a nod perhaps to “socks with tuxedo” thinking.
I have lots of hose colours and should break out of my stodginess.
Diced is on the wish list.

[kingandrew]

I really favor argyle hose for formal wear. I definitely am not a fan of black or charcoal hose for any occasion, they are just very dark and look sort of like somebody stole my suit pants. I feel like bold colors are an important element in kilt hose. That doesn't mean they have to be garish, just that they should offer some visual interest, which dark solids really don't do for me. I like the "marled" hose with the heathery blend of two colors, strong solid colors, and even shooting socks with fancy-pattern turn-downs. All offer more interest than the black/charcoal shades. After all, your jacket, vest, and shoes are likely already black (not to mention your tie). So some contrast is probably in order.

Andrew

[Jock Scot]

Hi All,
Just for curiosity, and a possible help to new kilt wearers, what would be your choice of kilt hose for a formal black tie evening, other then diced, Argyll, or tartan ie solid coloured.
Regards
Dirk95.

It depends. It depends on experience, upbringing and where that upbringing took place and it depends on the grandeur of the event.

On the first point I think we can all see on this website that those brought up with the kilt in the lowlands of Scotland -----particularly Edinburgh-----do see things rather differently to those kilt wearers of experience in the Scottish Highlands. This difference is not unusual and has existed for as long as I can remember. I leave it up to the members which route they decide to take, or of course, you may wish to make your own way. However, none of us can ignore the hire company influence either, there are many in the Highlands who regard their attire advice as rather suspect, particularly with newcomers who are dipping their toes into the kilt world. Either way, input has been asked for and assorted advice has been given with the best of intentions.

From my experience, if one is just dressing for dinner then plain coloured hose are fine, as they are to any black tie event. BUT, as the events get more "smart" then the argyll, or, diced hose can then come into play. It is very easy to overdress for these occasions.

[Steve Ashton]