Pipehacker Holiday Gift Guide No. 2: Highland Dress
Can you believe the holiday season is upon us once more? Here at Pipehacker we love making it yourself, but sometimes there is no substitute for a well crafted, high quality item. This year, send your loved ones over here to Pipehacker.com as a (not so subtle) hint for gifts. Today is the special Thanksgiving Day “black friday” edition. But check back on upcoming Fridays over the coming weeks for lists of Pipehacker-approved piping gear!
Highland Dress
Everyone needs their neatly pressed kilt for games day, but what about the other parts of your kit? Many of us rely on our respective pipe bands to supply us with our Highland wear but the dutiful piper should be outfitting him- or herself with Highland accessories all their own.
Ties.com. Does it get any simpler? A tie might be the most stereotypical male present there is, but a new tie for your Highland uniform? That’s gold! Ties.com has just about every patten of tie imaginable as well as every color of the spectrum for the piper who is looking to win that “dress and deportment” prize. Their version of tartan ties plus every solid color you can think of to match just about any tartan accent can be gotten. And for the piper who is only looking for the quick change? Zipper ties!
Build a Sporran from L&M Highland Outfitters. L&M is one of the oldest companies making Highland wear in North America. Their leather work can be seen in just about every Highland product and time was when there wasn’t a piper in the eastern U.S. who wasn’t playing an L&M bagpipe bag. Their newest innovation: Build a Sporran. Anyone not content with the set styles of leather and bangles offered by any of the Highland outfitters can pick and choose their own combination of horsehair, semi-dress, day-wear, evening wear, and full mask animal sporran features. Different natural and synthetic furs, various types of dangling fringe, and a selection of leather tooling and designs all can be chosen in any combination using their easy interface. Select the features, click to place your order, and your personalized sporran will hit the manufacturing queue. Custom badge and logo work is available for bands. All of it is at an affordable price.
Vests from Newjerseypiper.com. Fashion comes and goes but the vest as part of the piper’s dress is just too smart looking to ever change. As anyone who has tried to find a decent vest for their kit knows, standard dress vests are not cut properly for kilted attire. Tim Tokazewski is on the right track with his vests tailored specifically to the piper, drummer, and bandsman. His smart looking vests are five-buttoned, hand tailored, and in come in custom colors. Pick your style of stylish pewter buttons or choose one the reversible vests with two colors for personal and band use. Look sharp in a vest custom styled by you.
Fancy sporran chain. Sometimes it’s the details that pull it all together. We all tend to ignore the belt and chain that holds up your sporran. A slick, fancy sporran chain serves no purpose than to move you more toward the dandied-out pipers of the Victorian age. But it sure is a nice addition to the whole look. Fancy knotwork chainlinks and other designs can be found at any of the good Highland supply shops and is a nice touch for the piper who wants that special look.
Wally Bags 40-inch Suit Bag. Some of the more important parts of the piper’s attire is not attire at all but something that keeps it all looking sharp. Wally Bags are durable garment bags to protect your valuable gear while traveling to and from the games. Choose from multiple styles and price levels to suit your personal needs. The 40-inch suit bag is perfect for the needs of the piper or drummer with multiple pockets and plenty of space to carry your complete uniform or for folding up as carry on plane luggage for that weekend hop.