Accessorizing a Ferguson Weathered

[Jock Scot]

Because I don't want to walk out of the house looking like I got dressed in the dark, and simply grabbed the first set of clothes that I could reach. I don't want people to assume that I'm colorblind. I don't want people to wonder whether I was dressed by clowns.


By that line of reasoning, why not ignore the color sensibilities of Scotland, North America, and every other country as well? There won't be any Scots around to tell others that I'm actually violating the Scottish color sensibilities.

More seriously....

Most people in the U.S. have some understanding/opinion about how to color coordinate a jacket, dress shirt and necktie ... even if they don't understand how to properly dress up a kilt. Similarly, they will have an opinion of whether someone is overdressed or under-dressed for an occasion, even if the opinion is based solely on the clothes worn above the waist.

If the portion from the waist up looks well put together (in their opinion), they'll assume the rest of it is equally well put together. If the portion from the waist up looks like a series of fashion mistakes.... At that point, it doesn't matter whether they assume the rest of the outfit is a mistake or not. The outfit will look poorly put together.


It's possible to wear the kilt and attire in ways that look fashionable and appropriate in both Scotland and the U.S. simultaneously. Look at Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay as an example.

Can you give me one good reason why I should choose to ignore U.S. color sensibilities, particularly when it's possible to dress in a way that meets both countries' color criteria simultaneously?

My laptop has just started to play up, so lets see how we go.

Actually I and many other experienced kilt wearers in the highlands do pretty much dress without much thought, I certainly do, as do my family, very much just reach into the wardrobe and grab the first shirt, hose, tie that comes to hand. I am able to do this because I have just two kilts both of the same tartan, so I know that my dozen or so shirts and maybe a dozen pairs of hose and a handful of ties, one sporran and one set of flashes will work with the kilt whichever bit of attire I might grab. So all this matching and co-ordinating idea, probably subconsciously as we had others to use as attire examples, was sorted out several decades ago in our youth.

From a Highland Sots point of view judging on what is posted here, many examples posted by those outwith the Highlands(including many from Lowland Scotland)the colour choices and attire choices do very much baffle and confuse-----in the nicest possible way--- the Highland Scots eye. There are several fairly recent threads here that illustrate the point.

The Duke of Rothsay is a fine example of wearing traditional kilt attire, its a shame that many kilt wearers worldwide fail to emulate what, how and when to wear the kilt and its attire. We don't see him wearing the kilt, black bow tie, PC, fly plaid and ghillie brogues to a wedding do we? But many show themselves doing just that on this website.

Steve does point out, quite rightly, in this thread that there are dangers of people putting too much faith in internet adverts and pictures that sadly, often become expensive disappointments, if they choose to follow those as examples and they do in droves!

If you want a good reason why those from outwith Scotland and yes those from North America particularly should ignore US colour sensibilities, is that on the whole-----there are honourable exceptions------they get their attire oh so wrong and quite often the colour combinations are an assault on a Highlanders eye! You only need to read back ten years to see countless threads where I and others have spent countless hours trying to explain!

The problem is that if you chaps over there get your choices wrong and keep getting it wrong, then it only perpetuates the costume aspect that seems to prevail outwith the Highlands.

I say all of the above with the greatest of respect and I hope, not without a wee tad of tongue in cheek humour and-----a certain amount of good humoured exasperation!