The Ultimate White Socks Article

[Panache]

Alan is the Nor Cal Rabble version of James Dean!

Cheers

Jamie

[Alan H]

Alan is the Nor Cal Rabble version of James Dean!

Cheers

Jamie

Hardly. I'm a past-middle-aged, bald, fat dude, on the backwards, trailing edge of marginally cool (bordering on geek) who wears kilts and has never been on a motorcycle in his life.

I've no problem with folks saying they don't like white socks, or flat caps, or whatever-the-hell it is that they don't like. FINE. I have no problem whatsoever with anybody telling me that orange socks with tiger stripes or tie-dyed kilt hose or kilts made out of lycra and duct tape aren't worn in Scotland and if you wore such a thing with your Cameron of Erracht kilt you'd look out of place. .YOU BET....

I am, however, getting heartily sick of a few people on this forum who declare that anyone who doesn't conform to what THEY like or what THEY think is "correct" is a "Joke"...or is wearing a "confection on their head" or whatever. The words that come to mind are "condescending" and "obnoxious".

I'd prefer to not put anybody on this forum on ignore, or leave the forum because of the actions of a few.. However, a few people may push me to one or the other.

[Panache]

Speaking for myself only, this issue has been popping up a lot as of late.



To our Valued Staunch Traditionalists of XMTS,

I appreciate that you are all trying to promote traditional Highland Attire

Which includes such great items as diced hose

They look wonderful, especially with formal attire.

I appreciate that you all do not like the look of white hose and would prefer at least some form of colored hose to white

White hose are not part of a traditional look for Highland Attire

However, this said, I must state something very obvious

White hose are part of modern kilt ensembles, especially formal outfits both abroad and in Scotland.

This IS a modern variation on Highland attire.

It is valid

It is widely promoted by mills, kilt makers, and highland apparel shops worldwide.

Fashion evolves.

I for one am delighted that this wonderful garment, the kilt, has continued and thrived as a viable and real form of dress.

There are going to be things within fashion we don't like.

I may think that pants worn around the base of one hips exposing one's boxers to be utterly ridiculous.

I certainly don't like it

But I can't say that it isn't a fashion

I personally hold to older styles (i.e. pants that are worn not constantly sliding off my body, but then again I'm a fuddy duddy at heart)

But it is valid in today's society

The White hose issue is a silly one to waste too much time over (let alone start flame wars over).

Those who here on XMTS who have such great information on highland attire and proudly wear their kilt and kit in the traditional manner and are a wonderful asset to XMTS. But if they refuse to accept that there are some modern variants of that attire that are valid (even if they don't like them) then they risk alienating those of our membership that are still determining their own look.

Continue to offer the sage advice but don't rail against trends that you don't like. It doesn't promote the very traditions you hold dear.


Think about...


Belts and waist plates with PC waistcoats

Belts with fancy waist plates for day wear

Black leather accessories for day wear

"Highlander" shirts with kilts

White hose

Now all of the above may not be traditional, but they are currently part of kilted fashion.

They may not last...

...or they might

I suggest instead of trying in a ultimately futile effort to say that this particular fashion isn't right, you all should do your best to share your thoughts in a manner that offers advice about the truly debonair look of traditional highland wear without railing against the modern take on that same fashion.

Looking both forward and back keeps the kilt moving into the next century


Cheers

Jamie

[Panache]

One last argument for white hose





Would these fine gentlemen look even better with colored or diced hose?

Maybe

But I can't imagine anyone saying that they were anything but dashing, handsome, and well dressed.



Cheers

Jamie

[unaspenser]

Jamie, I couldn't have said it better myself. As I got farther into this thread my stomach started to knot, because certain other boards I've been on would have turned this into a flame war very quickly. Thanks for being so articulate and diplomatic. Clothing is one of our most notable forms of self-expression, and wearing a kilt makes a real statement about what we believe. Where I come from, we like it when people express themselves in whatever way they choose. I happen to think most people look silly most of the time, but they are just clothes and they're just expressing their own sense of style.

That said, I can't remember the last time I ever wore a pair of white socks, except maybe on laundry day when they're all I've got left. :P

[Galb]

Jamie just won at this thread. It's over.

[Oddern]

Jamie, I salute you. Well spoken. Long live the kilt........

[JSFMACLJR]

Well, I guess you white hose sorts told us "traditionalists" where to go. Funny how we can be shunted to the side, and made to feel like the bad child on the way to the wood shed.

One day maybe you will see the error and folly of your ways. WHITE HOSE JUST LOOK PLAIN SILLY!!!

That is my opinion, and the opinions of so many who really know about such matters. Go ahead and wear them; wear those skirts you call kilts too. It doesn't matter to me, and I sure get a good laugh out of it. Luckily, we all have the right to dress as we please, to make fools of ourselves if we so choose, and thumb our noses at those with good taste. There certainly isn't any need for us purists to give any more advice, because what we suggest is pretty well ignored, labelled as feminine or "nancy", and called old fashioned. Oh well, I can keep reading your posts and have a good chuckle.

[Carolina Kiltman]

When I saw this thread, my immediate response was "Oh no, not again!" But I have to throw something in here about the GM (?) article. I used to wear white sox with trousers on a regular basis, the U.S. Navy officer dress uniform for summer! The shoes were white, with white soles, The trousers were also white, the shirt (short sleeved, with shoulder boards) white, or the tunic (dressier) was white with brass buttons. The sox Had to be white.

For my own preference I will wear a colour that complements either the jacket or a colour in the kilt. But Jamie has the right of it, this time.

[Mr. Kilt]

Hardly. I'm a past-middle-aged, bald, fat dude, on the backwards, trailing edge of marginally cool (bordering on geek) who wears kilts and has never been on a motorcycle in his life.

I've no problem with folks saying they don't like white socks, or flat caps, or whatever-the-hell it is that they don't like. FINE. I have no problem whatsoever with anybody telling me that orange socks with tiger stripes or tie-dyed kilt hose or kilts made out of lycra and duct tape aren't worn in Scotland and if you wore such a thing with your Cameron of Erracht kilt you'd look out of place. .YOU BET....

I am, however, getting heartily sick of a few people on this forum who declare that anyone who doesn't conform to what THEY like or what THEY think is "correct" is a "Joke"...or is wearing a "confection on their head" or whatever. The words that come to mind are "condescending" and "obnoxious".

I'd prefer to not put anybody on this forum on ignore, or leave the forum because of the actions of a few.. However, a few people may push me to one or the other.

Y'know, Alan (H...the other one LOL) has a good point here.
I rarely post on the forum these days, although I do check it at least once a day. I'd hate to walk away from the forum because of some over-zealous members.
I, too, get the feeling that things are getting way out of control when it comes to people telling other people what's right and what's wrong. Tips and suggestions are one thing, but to outright ridicule people because YOU (the various posters) don't happen to like what they're wearing really bothers me. I see alot of people wearing things that have me scratching my head and wondering "what were they thinking", but I also realize that we are all individuals. I would never ridicule anyone for their choice of apparel.