Style Guy

It’s the return of The Style Guy, your sartorial companion to proper ensemble – the clothing kind, that is.

Let’s see what’s in yon olde mailbag . . .

Hi Style Guy,

I’ve noticed some judges wearing their old band kilt or a band tie when they’re doing their business.

It seems to be more pervasive with drumming judges for some reason.

Do you have any thoughts?

Sincerely,

Kiltless in Seattle

Dear Kiltless,

Thoughts? Do I have thoughts? Oh, yes, indeed, I have thoughts.

My first thought is that a judge should wear their former band kilt or tie only if that band no longer exists.

Otherwise, it’s just a bad look. And if a judge owns only the band kilt and tie they used to compete in, that’s unacceptable. If you’re going to judge, you must get your own gear.

That goes for solo judges, too, since many soloists also play in bands.

Some judges seem to like to show off who they used to be a member of, even if it was for one season and they carried the capes the whole time. That’s a bit sad and probably shows their lack of self-confidence.

Some pipe band judges don’t even have a band kilt because it has been 40 years or more since they last played in a band. (That’s a whole different problem.)

There are also cases when a morning solo judge is competing with a band in the afternoon. They don’t want to pack another kilt and tie, so they wear the band kilt. That’s just lazy.

The bottom line is: don’t do anything to negatively alter the perception of neutrality and objectivity.

Don’t wear band stuff when you judge.

Dear Mr. SG:

I recently played the pipes at a traditional Jewish wedding. The men, like me, were asked to wear a yarmulka out of respect. But I pride myself on my excellent Highland attire, including a jaunty Balmoral.

What was the right thing to do?

Shalom!

I don’t know what you decided, but I hope you respected their wishes and wore the yarmulka. You’re there to perform and add to a special day for all attending, not some holier-than-thou display of Scottishness.

The same holds true for any religious request. While certain headwear is expected at some religious ceremonies, wearing a hat in a Christian church is often frowned upon. If so, remove your hat when performing. If you have a problem, ask in advance and decline the gig if necessary rather than offend.

Like all religions borne of love and understanding, it’s important for you to return the gesture.

Besides, unless you know how to wear one, Balmorals can look pretty dang silly.

Dear Style Guy:

Some civilian bands continue the practice of having their leaders wear military stripes on the sleeves of their doublets. I’ve even seen pipers who never served in the military and were never actual pipe majors wearing stripes on their tunics when performing at funerals and other events.

What do you think of all this?

Stripes Ahoy

Dear Stripes,

The military has had such an effect on the tradition of piping and drumming. Pipe bands were pretty much invented by the Scottish regiments, and along with them came the titles of “pipe-major,” “pipe-sergeant,” “drum-major” and so forth. “Drum-sergeant” seems to have vanished in favour of “leading-drummer” (or is it “lead-drummer”?).

Here’s my answer: No military: no stripes. Yes military: stripes.

Definitely, if you were never in the military with one of those ranks or never in the military at all, you have no fundamental right to wear military stripes. It’s a bit like buying military medals at an auction or antique dealer and showing them off as if you were awarded them.

Military stripes, like medals, might look resplendent. But if you didn’t earn them, you should not wear them.

Dear Me:

I watched the New Zealand Championships a while back and noticed many Kiwi bands prefer a darker tartan. They’re still colourful, but there are lots of dark blues, maroons, and blacks.

Not All-Black, though, as far as I could tell.

I look forward to my answer.

The Style Guy

Deary me, dear me.

Since the New Zealand Championships, I’ve thought about this. Certainly, there are exceptions, bands wearing Royal Stewart, and such.

But I believe I’m right, and I have no answer for it. There are tartan trends in various countries. Canada often likes orange tartans. USA often seems to go for bright blues, especially in the southern states like Florida, Arizona and California. The UK is far more traditional, for the most part. They like the older versions of tartans, maybe because back when the band was founded there weren’t as many options. Ireland likes wearing the green.

There are also noticeable kilt-length trends. I noticed that NZ players often wear their kilts just slightly higher than the knee, whereas Ontario kilts are often far too big and hanging slightly below the knee with the top midway up their bellies.

I like the variety. More differences make for a livelier culture. Wear whatever tartan you like, but for the love of Pete, make sure your kilt is well-tailored.

Bowtie or bolo? Balmoral or bald? Glengarry or Glen Ross? Errbody got questions of style, so send them on to The Style Guy and he’ll give you a good dressing down, or up, or across, or something directional!