PC equivalents and such

[OC Richard]

I was thinking today that some might think a Kilt... could look rather un-American.

But that got me thinking, what would most suits be considered? I have heard of expensive 'Italian" suits, and it leaves me wondering if the American equivalent to the Formalwear world is that blasted white suit outfit that Harlan Sanders of KFC wears? Is a standard tux basically a French/European thing? Does that mean a full Kilt outfit is just as proper as a normal tux, simply because neither are really 'American' ? I'm not suggesting an issue with the kilt, but is there really an 'American' equivalent?

This topic came up a while back on a Highland piping forum...

You see, at Pipe Band competitions here in the USA the bands are required to wear "Highland dress".

But... strange as it may seem, competitions in Scotland do not require this.
Rather, at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, where sure enough bands from all over the world come, the rules say "Highland dress or national costume."

Thus, bands from Brittany wear trousers, as all Breton bands do, and bands from Spain wear the traditional Spanish costume which includes kneebreeches, and bands from the Middle East wear their various national dress.

So that got me to thinking, what might the American national costume be?

Back in the 18th century and early 19th century Europeans living on the frontier adopted a version of Native American dress. Many soldiers in the American Revolution wore it. It was at that time widely considered to be a distinctively American mode of dress, to differentiate Americans from Europeans. It looked something like this:



So, under the Scottish rules, an American pipe band could show up at the World Pipe Band Championships so dressed.

Or a band could wear kilts combined with elements of our native dress, such as the ubiquitous buckskin shirt, or a native-looking sporran:





Or a sporran more like a traditional Scottish one but made of our native animal:



Note what happens to Highland dress in Australia and New Zealand:





Now the sort of hat the Kiwi there is wearing at one time was considered to be the archtypal Cowboy Hat in the USA, where it's often called the Montana Peak:




which brings us to another "American costume", the dress of the Western Cowboy. Now somebody from New England might take exception to Western dress being thought of as a National Costume, but we have to remember that Highland Dress was likewise the dress of one particular region of Scotland, but is viewed by non-Scots as being the Scottish National Dress.

Thus a pipe band from anywhere in the USA, but particularly the Southwest, could show up in blue jeans, cowboy boots, large oval belt buckles, Western shirts, cowboy hats, etc and compete under the Scottish rules.

Or once again these native elements could be combined with elements of Highland dress so you could have a band in kilts and cowboy boots, or complete Highland dress but with Western-themed shirts and hats and sporrans perhaps.