Kilted attire for attending a Wedding

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

"Collar and tie should be of the ordinary pattern, the bow tie being most becoming for this style of dress."

The above was written ante-1914 by Loudon MacQueen Douglas, and is taken from his book "THE KILT, a Manual of Scottish National Dress". In it, for morning dress, he advocates the tweed jacket and waistcoat, a simple leather or fur sporran, and dark, self coloured hose, which should not be made of tartan. As far as shoes are concerned he recommends thick soled brogues with gaiters to match the stockings.

So, in 95 years the only thing to have changed, really, is that gentlemen no longer wear spats or gaiters. And Douglas covers that eventuality as well:

"Where gaiters are not worn the tongue of the brogue should project over the instep about two inches."

This is exactly the sort of attire advocated by Sandy, Jock Scot, McMurdo, Yrs. Trly., and a host of others on this forum.

As far as bow ties are concerned, I believe I have a photo somewhere of me and Gerald Warner of Craigmaddie enjoying G&Ts in the New Club, both of us wearing bow ties. I think they work quite well, especially if one affects a more Edwardian, higher cut, waistcoat than is usually available from the high street shops (as do Craigmaddie and I).

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Um, I ment four-in-hand tie, as in, long neck tie and not the four-in-hand knot. And I'm glad this came up because I had been planning to get a brown wool bow tie to go with my daywear outfit. I had absolutely no idea at all that bow ties were not to be worn with kilt daywear.

It saves me from making another mistake. I was asking if a cravat or something like that could be worn because I don't want to make a mistake in that direction, as well.

A bow tie is never a mistake. Sometimes it can be a catastrophe, but it is never a mistake.

[JSFMACLJR]

Um, I ment four-in-hand tie, as in, long neck tie and not the four-in-hand knot. And I'm glad this came up because I had been planning to get a brown wool bow tie to go with my daywear outfit. I had absolutely no idea at all that bow ties were not to be worn with kilt daywear.

It saves me from making another mistake. I was asking if a cravat or something like that could be worn because I don't want to make a mistake in that direction, as well.

I don't think it would be considered a "mistake," Ted. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think a bow tie would be fine.

Cheers,
Sandford

[Wompet]

I attended a wedding last September where the level of dress could be described as "Sunday casual" - slacks not jeans, collared shirts but tie optional, more than business casual but not full formal. At the time, I felt that my argyle and waistcoat would be slightly too formal, so I went with this outfit:

The fellow with the obvious family resemblance to my left is my brother the usher.

[Bugbear]

Thanks for clearing that up; I do pay attention to what you all say.

I think my daywear outfit is probably close enough to the description MacMillan of Rathdown posted. And I do like the look of a bow tie with five button waistcoat for some reason.

[Panache]

The bow tie issue is probably worthy of its own thread, so I will start one.

Ted, I too find the bow tie best suited to be worn with waist coats

Cheers

Jamie

[shawhighlander]

Sanford, the 'Houndstooth' jacket and vest is quite Splendid with that particular tartan. That is the most outstanding combination I have seen.
Good Show ith:

[JSFMACLJR]

Sanford, the 'Houndstooth' jacket and vest is quite Splendid with that particular tartan. That is the most outstanding combination I have seen.
Good Show ith:

Thank you. I am very partial to this jacket, and it gets a bit more wear than my others, although it is made of quite thick tweed and therefore can be quite warm.

Cheers,
Sandford

[rollerboy_1979]

My Polish/Italian niece is planning her wedding for June and has asked me (her fav uncle)to be an usher. I was honored! I never gave a thought to wearing my kilt until my sister (her mom) said to me during a recent visit, "You aren't going to wear your kilt, are you? Remember, it's her day". My sister has never seen me in my kilt except in pictures, but she obviously sees it as a way for me to garner attention. She seems to think that I would be prancing around stealing the bride's thunder. My first reaction was to tell her that she hurt my feelings, but I simply said, "No, I wasn't planning on wearing it". I will respect her wishes and wear a suit, but I'm really disappointed she'd say that to me. It makes me seem so shallow. The last thing I want to do is take away from the bride and groom.

[pastorsteve]

As an usher you should actually be in a tux. You are a member of the wedding party, and if they are in tuxes you should be too. If they are not in tuxes the people paying for the wedding (usually the bride's family) will/should indicate what attire is appropriate for the wedding party.

On an aside - not indicting just curious - how is it that she's never seen her favorite uncle in person - the one who wears a kilt - kilted? Again just curious.