THE kilt is a notoriously difficult garment to carry off with aplomb. Wearers have been accused of sporting it too long, bunched up, or even - in the case of Virgin boss Richard Branson - back to front.
Scots actor Ewan McGregor has been praised for donning the Highland dress with success. But others like former First Minister Jack McConnell, who wore a "modern" kilt without a sporran at a Tartan Day fashion show in New York, will forever be reminde
d of their indignity.
When the Evening News published a picture earlier this year of Hearts goalie Steve Banks in a kilt with his pleats to the front instead of the back, it provoked an uproar among readers who rushed to decry the Englishman's glaring error. Highland dress experts complained he also had his laces tied incorrectly, his socks pulled too high and questioned the fact he was wearing a plaid.
With traditionalists all too ready to mete out criticism to those who get their Highland outfit wrong, it's enough to make all but the bravest Scotsman turn to trousers. Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of a handbook which claims to offer the advice needed for anyone to wear the national dress with pride. Kilts and Tartan Made Easy aims to equip men with the knowledge to don a kilt with confidence.
Author Dr Nick Fiddes is governor of the Scottish Tartans Authority and managing director of Edinburgh-based company Scotweb, an online retailer of kilts, tartans and Scottish heritage products. He says: "I think sometimes in Scotland we assume everyone knows how to choose a kilt and how to wear one, but it really is a bit of a minefield.
"We deal with so many enquiries, with questions from novices to real experts in kilt-wearing. I couldn't find an up-to-date guide and felt it was time to work people through the basics in modern and concise language."
The most common query Nick deals with is from people asking which tartan to wear. "People don't realise it is just as legitimate to wear the tartan of their mother's maiden name. Increasingly, there are also business tartans, tartans created for special events and there are tartans for every state in the US. There is no reason or tradition to say that kilts can only be worn by Scots."
He is often asked which sort of Highland dress should be worn to a wedding. Nick advises the classic formal Highland dress outfit of the Prince Charlie pure wool barathea jacket, worn with a waistcoat, a fancy sporran and an eight yard kilt minus the belt. Traditionally the "PC" jacket was seen as evening wear - the equivalent of a tuxedo. But nowadays Nick says it has also been adopted in common wedding or formal usage in daytime, as an alternative to Braemar or Argyll jackets. The Jacobite shirt is best reserved for casual dress with a daywear sporran.
The bottom hem of the kilt can fall anywhere from the middle of the kneecap to an inch or so above the knee. "A third of the way down the kneecap is about ideal. Do not cover the knee entirely. That looks a little daft," he says.
"The key thing," adds Nick, "is that all pieces of an outfit should be of about the same degree of formality. If you follow that one simple rule - formal with formal, casual with casual - you won't go far wrong."
As for the ex-First Minister's infamous kilt debacle, he remarks: "Jack McConnell was a disaster because the items didn't look good together and the quality was cheap rubbish."
At family business Geoffrey (Tailor) Kiltmakers on the High Street, sales and marketing director Howie Nicholsby says they go through outfits top-to-toe with customers before a purchase. "People can be criticised for not wearing a kilt right. But it's often just because they have never been shown."
Howie, who also runs his own contemporary range, 21st Century Kilts, boasts he has worn a kilt daily for the last eight years. The snazzy dresser, today clad in a denim pinstripe kilt and matching jacket, is proud of his modern take on the traditional item.
"I'm bringing the kilt back to its original use in everyday clothing. I wore a hemp kilt on my wedding day," he adds.
Both Howie and Nick advise against white socks, which are popular with the kilt hire trade. Howie can't abide them, though Nick is a little more forgiving. "Cream or white hose still offend some traditionalists. But it is possibly time to accept that white is now more orthodox," he concedes.
The most common mistake Howie sees is people wearing their socks too high. "It hides the leg and makes the guy look like he has stockings on. You need to show a bit of leg." Ideally socks should be worn two to three fingers below the knee. In fact, fingers are key to much of the traditional dress, with the perfect space between the bottom of the waistcoat and the top of the sporran also three fingers and two to three fingers - or the handle - being the optimum amount of sgian dubh to show above the sock.
Logic dictates that the sgian dubh should be worn on the right leg for the right-handed and on the left for those who are left-handed. Its metal should also match that of the buttons of the jacket and kilt pin.
A sporran should always be worn and matched up to the central line of the kilt, hanging down the middle, not too low, but to directly cover the crotch. Shirts should not show under the line of the jacket and shirt cuffs should only be slightly evident.
A mistake which makes Howie despair is seeing the kilt pin badly attached or not on the right. "The worst thing you can do with a kilt pin is put it right through the kilt. It can rip right through it and you end up with the kilt looking all gathered."
Despite the plethora of pointers, our experts both claim to favour a relaxed approach to kilt-wearing. So how would Nick encourage those who have provoked an outcry with their kilt-wearing on previous occasions to give it another go? "The kilt can be spectacular whatever you wear it with," he advises, "from a sloppy T-shirt to hobnail boots. The important thing is freedom of expression and however you wear the kilt, wear it with pride."
TIE The formal Prince Charlie jacket should only be worn with a bow tie. A plain or tartan tie should be worn with the Argyll or Braemar jacket.
KILT Pleats give the kilt its swing and should always go to the back. The kilt should rest around the middle of the kneecap.
BELT AND BUCKLES A belt and buckle is a traditional part of semi-formal outfits like the Argyll, and is optional with casual outfits too. But they should never be worn with a Prince Charlie jacket and waistcoat.
SPORRAN The sporran has two functions - to act as a purse, as the kilt has no pockets, and to protect the man's modesty. It is often seen hanging too low, but should hang centrally and cover the crotch.
SOCKS Kilt socks should be coloured to tone with the kilt. Off-white socks have been favoured by the kilt hire trade because they are cheaper and simpler to supply in one colour. However they have never been worn traditionally. Flashes on the socks should be worn to the sides.
BROGUES Experts are divided over whether the ghillie brogue laces should be tied at the front or at the side. And while there are historical justifications for both, the common consensus is that they should be crossed and pulled tight, twisted three times and then pulled tight again to produce a vertical thong an inch long. They should then be passed around behind the ankle and tied at the front, with the remaining lace and toggle left to dangle.
