A new House of Edgar collection

[jsrnephdoc]

I've seen plenty of kilts worn at weddings in Texas, though generally by the wedding party rather than the guests.

As for the diced hose, while you CAN find them on eBay, you'll pay less here:

https://www.jhiggins.net/hose-diced-...ose-hand-knit/

Maybe not uncommon in Dallas or Houston, but this will be "down on the Brazos."

And, thanks so much for the pointer regarding (less than impossible) pricing for diced kilt hose. My sister still has my dad's, but I stopped growing vertically 6 decades ago, so his will never be of any use to me.

[ShaunMaxwell]

Maybe not uncommon in Dallas or Houston, but this will be "down on the Brazos."

Given that the Brazos River bisects the state from northwest to southeast, that could range from West Texas to Southeast Texas... Where abouts? (I grew up in Washington County, of which the eastern boundary was the Brazos River, a bit less than an hour from Houston...

Cheers,

SM

[jsrnephdoc]

Given that the Brazos River bisects the state from northwest to southeast, that could range from West Texas to Southeast Texas... Where abouts?

West of Dallas. Typically, I just point the rental car when we visit. We end up visiting in Graham, Breckenridge, and this time we'll be spending some time in Mineral Wells.

[OC Richard]

I like "bottle green" so I keep ordering things in that color.

That brings back memories!! I went through a "bottle green" period myself.

I wore a Black Watch tartan kilt to most of the weddings and funerals I piped at. It was dark and formal-looking and didn't draw attention to itself.

At the time I was playing in a pipe band who wore Archer Green Argyll jackets.

Then, evidently determined to be green from the ground up, I got a pair of bottle green hose.

Happily there are no photos.

[OC Richard]

What impresses ME about the Pipe Major's attire is just HOW many weapons he wears.

For sure at least since the 1840s it's been standard for regimental pipers to wear dirks and sginean, and in some regiments swords as well.

In the Highland regiments, officers in Full Dress and Levee Dress wore all three weapons too.

Victorian civilians, in full Evening Dress, wore even MORE weaponry!

Besides the sword, dirk, and sgian they wore a pair of all-steel Highland pistols, and a powder-horn on a chain.

[OC Richard]

Perhaps the question about flashes is one of "just how much is TOO much multicolor...too many colors, too many patterns."

Traditionally Highland Dress had pattern pretty much wherever possible. Kilts and jackets traditionally had the decoration that comes from the loom, woven-in patterns. Bonnet brims and hose have knit-in patterns. Metalwork have engraved patterns. Shoes have pinked edges and punched decoration.

And it's not just dress. Look at a set of Highland bagpipes: the wooden lathe-turned pieces have the decoration that comes from the lathe, the metal pieces are engraved.

That's where I think it's helpful to view Highland Dress not in isolation but as part of a worldwide, and ancient, approach to dress.

Woven cloth has stripes and tartans. Items of clothing are decorated with embroidery. Knit items are rich with pattern and colour. Highland Dress seen in a wider human context isn't unusual at all.



The concept of plain clothing is, in the long view, a fairly recent thing.

[jsrnephdoc]

As for the diced hose, while you CAN find them on eBay, you'll pay less here:

https://www.jhiggins.net/hose-diced-...ose-hand-knit/


I have a couple of pair, but find that they rarely get worn

And, why do you suspect THAT is? Too dressy? not "matchy matchy" enough?

I have none, primarily because of the price, but I'm curious.

[jsrnephdoc]

Traditionally Highland Dress had pattern pretty much wherever possible. Kilts and jackets traditionally had the decoration that comes from the loom, woven-in patterns. Bonnet brims and hose have knit-in patterns. Metalwork have engraved patterns. Shoes have pinked edges and punched decoration.

The concept of plain clothing is, in the long view, a fairly recent thing.

Is THAT perhaps, in the long view, a particularly AMERICAN development? I wonder whether, in another place where the British didn't just subjugate the locals, but actually populated a continent (Australia) there's a similar favoritism for a monochromatic "look."

And, conversely, if "full spectrum ahead, damn the solid colors…" reflects history in many other ways, I'm inferring that your aversion to flashes made from the same fabric as the kilt is that it just wasn't done a century ago. And, might it follow that when I'm kilted here in the US, the "coordinated" look might seem less odd to non-kilted folk uninterested in history lessons, but that next time I put on a kilt in Edinburgh I'll be less likely to broadcast my origins if my hose are diced, in colors that DON'T replicate those of the jacket or kilt, but my flashes eschew patterns?

But, I always learn from your posts! Thanks so much.

[Janner52]

As yet another tartan flash hater, I should explain that my aversion to them is that they look awful and are usually worn way to long. The tradition plays a small part.
I prefer my Highland Dress to be a little stylish and tend to wear buckle brogues and coloured or even diced hose in formal dress. I am also a member of a pipe band and we wear spats with MacKenzie hose tops and green guards pattern flashed in both our orders of dress. (Seaforth Highlanders).
I would say say coordination and Highland Dress is a slight contradiction in terms.

[ShaunMaxwell]

And, why do you suspect THAT is? Too dressy? not "matchy matchy" enough?

I have none, primarily because of the price, but I'm curious.

I’m not concerned with being “matchy-matchy,” it’s just that they’re probably too dressy for the occasions I have to wear them, but I have worn them from time to time.

The last time I wore them was a few years ago to a black tie Burns Supper in Houston:



Cheers,

SM