Going loopy

Dear Style Guy:

What is with the combo solid hose and decorative tops the House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Band is sporting this season?  Any idea who is making these things?

Thanks,

Joe Bray

Well, Joe Bray, I would bet it’s not the barman at the Station Hotel who’s making those socks. You may want to guess that they’re somehow connected with the band’s former Pipe-Major, Robert Mathieson, who runs a Highland supply shop and has innovated with pipe band gear over the years. His band has at times been living mannequins for his business. I would start there.

As for my opinion of this look . . . I approve. The redoubtable Shotts band, with its close tie with Mathieson’s business and, of course, its Highland wear sponsor, must look good. If it doesn’t, it’s a reflection of the associated businesses. The band has senses a tiring of the all-black or all-navy hose trend, and has struck a new chord that I think resonates through the pipe band world.