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What Goes With the
Kilt?
©2005 Matthew A. C. Newsome, FSA
Scot, GTS
published in the Scottish
Banner, April 2005
I’d like to start this month’s column with a true story, something that I
witnessed at a popular Highland Games just this past year. A man was visiting
our tent, who was a new kilt wearer (I know because I sold him his first
kilt). With his kilt, he purchased just about everything you might want to
wear to have tea with the Queen. But what he was wearing that day was a
sleeveless biker t-shirt and a black leather vest covered with patches. You
see, my friend was also a motorcycle enthusiast, and had ridden his bike (kilt
on!) to the Games.
He was glancing over some tartan swatches and found one that he liked. “I
think I’ll get my next kilt in that!” he proclaimed. To which a colleague of
mine said, “Just don’t wear it with that shirt. That may be fine on your
motorcycle, but you shouldn’t wear it with the kilt!”
My friend, the new kilt wearer, was concerned. I assured him later that he
could wear whatever he wanted with his kilt. You see, I would never
wear what my friend had on that day because it simply is not my style. I don’t
think it would look good on me. But my friend is a biker. That’s his thing,
and he wears that type of clothing often with his pants, so why not with his
kilt? He wouldn’t wear it to a formal occasion, but this was Friday at a
Highland Games — hardly a black tie affair. He was perfectly within his right
to wear whatever he pleased.
Generally speaking, there are two types of people who wear the kilt. The first
are those for whom the kilt is part of the uniform of a regiment, pipe band,
or other organization with a dress code. They will of course have legitimate
restrictions on what they can and cannot wear with their kilt in that
context.
The second type of kilt wearer, whom I am addressing in this column, is he who
simply wishes to wear a kilt as a piece of clothing, and not as part of a
costume. Assuming you are one of these people (and if you are not, I hope you
will become so), here is the guiding principle you should follow: Treat
your kilt as if it were simply a pair of pants.
That’s it. Just wear your kilt as if it were another pair of pants. What would
you wear with a pair of pants? How would you accessorize? You can wear the
same with your kilt.
Obviously, one does not wear long hose, garters, or a sporran with their
trousers. That is not what I am talking about here. I’m talking about
questions like what shoes to wear, or what type of shirt or tie. If you have
the fashion sense to match a shirt and tie to a particular shade of khaki
slacks, then you can certainly match up something that looks good with your
kilt.
As far as shoes go, there are really only two things to consider — comfort and
occasion. If you are going to a formal affair, then by all means wear dress
shoes. While the long-laced ghillie brogues certainly look nice, they are by
no means a necessity. Any dress shoes you would wear with a suit will look
just fine with your kilt. But if you are not going to a formal affair, wear
whatever shoes are most comfortable. If you are going to be walking all day
long around the fields at the Games, by all means wear something with good
support. Of course if your belt and sporran are black, then black shoes would
look better than brown, and vice versa. Just look in your mirror and use your
fashion sense!
Going up the leg, we have the hose. Many people agonize over just what color
to wear with their kilt. Of the colors most commonly available, cream or
off-white go well with just about every tartan (though they also show dirt
well). Other colors you will find include navy blue and bottle green, and the
lighter lovat blue and lovat green. In general, the darker colors go well with
modern color tartans, and the lighter lovat shades will match the ancient
tartans (though they will also look fine with many modern tartans). Again —
use your fashion sense. Keep in mind also that you will be wearing garter
flashes with your hose and you will want to find complementary colors there,
as well.
We’ll tackle the sporran and belt together. There are so many varieties of
sporran on the market today you should have no trouble finding one that you
like within your budget. Sporrans with the silver cantles and fur fronts look
great with a Prince Charlie jacket at the ball, but are entirely over the top
for casual wear. What I recommend is a good leather bag-style sporran, either
black or brown, as these have a much larger capacity and are perfectly suited
for daily wear (and if you get a black one, you can even wear it to formal
events). The only rule about your belt is that it should match the sporran.
Kilt belts should be at least two inches wide —anything less you will probably
find uncomfortable.
As far as shirts, wear whatever you like, keeping in mind the occasion.
Nothing says you have to wear a “Scottish shirt” with your kilt. Jacobite
shirts, or shirts with your clan crest embroidered on them look great. But
that doesn’t have to be all that you wear. Any shirt will do — even some
patterned shirts — as long as you take care to match the color and pattern to
your kilt. You’ll often see gentleman in Europe wearing a shirt with one
pattern, a tie with another, a tweed sports coat with yet a third pattern, and
they all look fine together. If you take care to match your patterns, there is
nothing that says you cannot wear a patterned shirt with your kilt. Just use
your fashion sense, and if you don’t have any, ask your wife or girlfriend
(she’s the one that has to be seen with you, after all!).
The same goes for ties, if you choose to wear one. A solid color tie that
matches your kilt will always look good, as will a tartan tie that matches
your kilt. But you can also wear a tie of a different tartan, or another
pattern completely, as long as it compliments your kilt.
We don’t have enough space here to deal with jackets, bonnets, and other
accessories. That will be fodder for a later column. But let me close by
saying that I am not advocating wearing anything at all, willy nilly, with
your kilt. You do have to choose your clothing carefully — above all you want
clothing that will compliment your kilt and not clash with it or detract from
it. What I am saying is that many of the “rules” that people are taught about
how to wear their kilt simply don’t apply for civilian wear, and you should
feel free to wear whatever you believe looks good. Let your personality come
through a bit.
It’s your kilt — show it off!
