Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Great Scott!

My husband decided to honor his Scotch-Irish heritage.
When he said he would wear a kilt I did not imagine that there were so many other elements included in the Scottish outfit, especially for a formal occasion.
With the help of this wonderful image that I found on greatscotshop.com, I am getting closer to understanding and visualizing everything.

If I laughed a little bit at the beginning I came to like the idea. What sealed it was to see three handsome man in full outfit that I saw at Biltmore Estate when a wedding was taking place in the wine cellar.
Oh my! I had to admit they looked quite dashing, there was something out of the ordinary that came from seeing them in this beautiful traditional outfit. And I would have no problem whatsoever marrying my husband (again) in those clothes.

Starting from the top and going down to the feet let's see what elements we have to work with.
  • The jacket. There is a variety of jackets available to wear with a kilt. The most well known ones are Prince Charlie jacket (left), a fitted military cut jacket, traditionally worn with the kilt for more formal occasions, 100% wood with, trimmed with chrome plated Celtic buttons.
    Or the slightly more casual Argyll Jacket (right), This is the classic cut kilt jacket. In wool and silver toned celtic buttons, this jacket can be worn with a long neck tie, but can also be dressed up with a tux shirt and bow tie. it's considered semi-formal or for day wear.

  • An affordable option would be to simply wear a black button shirt.

  • The Kilt itself of course. in his family colors (Tartan of the MacLeod of Lewis). Notice that the pleats are in the back and the straight fabric in the front. Kilts are made out of wool and therefore quite heavy. After holding one, I doubt there is any risk of a gust of wind moving anything.
  • Garter Flashes: They are used with Kilt Hose (described below), the elastic is hidden
    underneath the hose (it's turned over). Colors can match or compliment the tartan.








  • Sporran: Kilts do not have pockets, so the Sporran is a pouch attached to the kilt to allow the gentlemen to store anything they need. They go from very simple to fancy. Often made out of leather or fur. In my opinion black leather is nice for the groomsmen while a white fur Sporran makes the Groom stick out.
  • Kilt Pin: this is just a decorative item. It is believe that it's used to "Maintain modesty", not really because it adds weight, but because it ties two or the drapes together. All sorts of shapes can be found although a common one is in the shape of a dagger.
  • Kilt Hose: Those are simply thick wool socks that go up to your knee and that are folded over, especially when you wear garter flashes.
    They can be a plain color or with motives. Personally I like the natural wool color. They are surprisingly long, but that's because they have to be folded over several times. No risks of cold legs with those. Note: if you rent a kilt, you will however likely have to purchase the kilt hose (simple question of hygene).
  • Gillie Brogues: Originally, gillie brogues were simply a flat piece of leather with holes poked along the edges then laced at the top of the foot.. They are now considered the traditional footwear for gentlemen. There are many ways to tie them it seems, but a basic explanation can be found here: Andrew's Bagpipe.
    They are quite pretty and traditional, but in our case we knew we would not use them again, so he went for simple black shoes (a more affordable option) and it worked out just fine.
  • Sgian Dubh: This is a ceremonial dagger that you carry tucked in the hose, only part of the pommel should be visible. I see that one as optional for my husband.
  • Tie or bow-tie? While my husband was adamant about not wearing a bow tie, it came as part of the whole outfit he rented, and you know what? I think it looked even better than a tie would have. It just makes more sense with the jacket. A tie would have to match the tartan or be black. The bow tie in black is simple, dressy but doesn't over do the look. Well that's my opinion.
For more information:
A fun blog to read about kilts: http://kiltmaker.blogspot.com/ and the old address:
http://blog.albanach.org/index.html

A very interesting post on how to wear a kilt (and everything that comes with it)