Hose colours

[gilmore]

I'm sure that this has been discussed before, but do you have any idea how many options come up for "hose colours" (and how few of them have anything to do with this)? So, yeah, sorry for probably repeating an already discussed discussion.

I'm wondering how you pick your hose/flashes colours. As a rule of thumb, I like the hose to match the shirt, and the flashes to match something from the tartan. I got this idea from the seeming convention of wearing white hose and tartan flashes as formal dress (flashes match kilt, hose match shirt! heyyyy).

I'm wondering what you guys think, or if there are conventions already. Rabble… GO!

There is no convention of wearing white hose worn by anyone at any time of day other than pipers and drummers. This is a rather recent idea and was dreamed up by merchants who rent kilt outfits as a way to save money by not having to keep argyll and diced hose in stock that matched the color of tartans for formal dress. The latter two are the appropriate hose for formal events. They can be expensive, but if you search around you can find bargains, such as argyll hose made by Hawick Sock Co. From the military comes the custom of wearing red and black and other two-color diced hose, also appropriate for formal wear. Maybe it's my own idiocyncratic sensibility, but white kilt hose with black ghillie brogues looks like something a 1950's greaser biker would wear. Not that there is anything wrong with attempting to affect a Scots version of Marlon Brando in "The Wild Ones." It's just more suited to rampaging small towns rather than formal events.

If you do a search, you will find that it has been discussed in several threads. My own guess is that the prohibition on white hose for formal wear came from the times when footmen in livery wore it while waiting on guests at formal dinners. No one wore white hose because no one wanted to be mistaken for a servant.

Generally for day and casual wear a solid colored hose is worn that matches the predominant color of the tartan of the kilt. The flashes match a smaller color in the tartan, such as an overstripe. Or one can wear red flashes, which seem to be always appropriate, again from military traditions.

If you are interested in the traditional view of formal dress, I strongly suggest you get a copy of Thompson's "So You Are Going to Wear the Kilt," dated, but authoritative.

As to hose that matches shirts, this too evokes period costume, the mid-1960's, when matching shirts and sock were the height of fashion among teenage boys. I can't see it without "Louie, Louie" and shag music coming to mind. Take a look at a JC Penny's catalogues from the time. Cranberry red, bottle green and dark blue were the favored colors.