Burns Night 2024 is a chance to dress up

Don’t you love to be living in Scotland? Just as we get the party season out of the way, with Christmas and Hogmanay being so last year, up pops another reason to celebrate.

Burns Night is like a bonus party night in the depths of mid-winter. Trust Robert Burns to be born in a month when we’re most in need of some inspiring poetry, a comforting meal and a dram.

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to how to celebrate with events ranging from black tie dinners to a group of friends gathered around the kitchen table.

We all have stories of our Burns Night experiences; the best events we’ve attended, with wonderful speakers and a lovely setting or the nights when the haggis got burned and the neeps refused to cook.

Dress to impress on Burns Night 2024

Whatever you have planned for this Burns Night, you’ll need an outfit and that will almost certainly involve tartan.

Most of us have a bit of tartan kicking about in the wardrobe, whether that be a shawl, a dress, a kilt or a pair of troos.

Tartan often features on childrenswear so it’s easy to find something for the little ones if they are taking part in the celebrations through school or clubs.

We can get into the discussion about how Burns and tartan and ceilidhs don’t really go together historically another time, but for now let’s talk about accessories.

Often less is more when it comes to a bold print such as tartan and on a brooch, a scarf or a hair slide it can look divine.

Lots of the ‘tartan’ kicking about on the high street isn’t actually tartan at all, but a checked cloth, and here on the fashion desk, we think that’s perfectly acceptable.

After all, we’re not attending a living history show, where every stitch has to be authentic, this is merely a nod to a Scottish fabric for a distinctly Scottish celebration.

Above all, Burns would not have wanted anyone to let fussing over clothes get in the way of having a good time.

Even if you don’t find the perfect outfit, if you’re at a Burns Supper here’s all that really matters: “But we hae meat, and we can eat; Sae let the Lord be thankit.”

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