IT will be one of those question asked amongst sports fans of all ages; just what is the most famous Scottish sporting kit of all time? 

What one did you want to wear as a kid or a fan, and what one made you close your eyes? Was there a shirt you wished your team wore, or another you just wanted to see disappear?

And what about those other items in sport, the colour schemes, race suits, helmets and clothing that meant so much to so many?

Read more: Sport Times' 100 Most Memorable Scottish Kits: Numbers 26-20 featuring Braehead Clan, Celtic and Rangers

Every reader and aficionado will have their own ideas on this one, just like they will know the outfits that made them cringe.

Over coming days, we will be counting down to what is the Most Memorable Scottish Kit of all time, and what makes the most famous – and infamous – designs over the years.

If you’d like to vote or have a say on what colours make it on to the top 100, either contact us through Twitter, @hssport, or through the Herald Sport Facebook page - and let the debate commence.

Pictures: Herald Archive, SNS group, Getty Images
Graphics: David Moor (Historical Football Kits)

19. Scotland Glasgow 2014 uniform

MISS: Don’t ever say this list hasn’t been inclusive.

We’ve had apparel from all sports, and, different occasions. But probably none created as much of a stooshie as the official Scottish uniform for the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. To say it left a nation - and for that matter a team - divided, would be something of an understatement.
The outfit, if you are not quite up to speed with your Dulux paint charts,

features turquoise, fuchsia and navy, and as we found out at launch, the stone-coloured shoulder bag, when worn diagonally, represented one half of the St Andrew’s Cross. That’ll stay with you for a lifetime. It did for me.

This outfit was not the reason Chris Hoy retired before the Games. But what the athletes did with their uniform is quite revealing.

Some stored theirs away for posterity, some of the men still wear their kilts, while one gave his shirt to his mother, as “she liked it more than me.”
As for the shawl, one female athlete turned hers in to cushion covers. “They make nice conversation pieces.” Just as they did from day one.

Glasgow Times:

18. Celtic 1987 - 1989 

HIT: Picking the best Celtic kit of all time is like naming your favourite Ferrari; there is always another one you would be happy with if you didn’t get your first pick.

Actually, make that picking your second-favourite Celtic strip (or Ferrari if you’re that way inclined).

There is no shortage of candidates, and if your thinking is to be swung by anything, it is usually based on history, sentiment and success. Oh, and age. Sorry if you were trying to avoid it, but it is a major factor in this process.

While some shirts from this century have had no shortage of plaudits, and critics (the main one being there have been too many of them), the Celtic home kit that came out on top as the best of the rest dates back to a memorable year in the history and heritage of Celtic.

Winning anything in your centenary year would have been a major achievement.

As it was, Celtic went one better, clinching a domestic double, taking the title, then adding the Scottish Cup with a dramatic win at Hampden over Dundee United.

It was such a huge occasion that even Margaret Thatcher turned up.Glasgow Times:

17. Team Highland Spring 1998 - 2010

HIT: It was, supposedly, nothing more than a bit of a gimmick, as one London hack beautifully put it, “the continued ‘jockification’ of professional snooker.”
However, little did anyone realise that even today in the world of snooker, the legacy of the best players wearing tartan is still to be seen.
Highland Spring had long been associated with snooker as water suppliers to the game’s governing body. However, they struggled to get any real TV exposure.
The plan was hatched to put logos on the players. But what happened when they went down on a shot? 
With no advertising permitted on the back of waistcoats, what was needed was a form of identification. And that meant tartan, which was also adopted for their ties. So, for more than a decade, you couldn’t watch the sport on TV without the top players all belonging to the same clan.
Highland Spring have long gone, but their influence and those of the players they supported, still exists. Why do you think so many Chinese players have tartan backs on their waistcoats today? So they look like champions.Glasgow Times:
 

16. Scotland 1982 - 1985

HIT: Having made the argument throughout this series that great players and great teams can get away with wearing just about anything, then there is an equal case that great players should have the best of clothes to wear. 

And that would certainly apply to this all-time classic dating back to its launch in 1982 ahead of the World Cup in Spain.

Compared to the aberration that is the most recent Scotland home kit, what white appeared on this shirt was entirely decorative trim, especially the shoulder piping that made this top stand out.

That, and the fact that guys like Hansen, Souness, Dalglish and several others wore it with such pride, and, gained a few results along the way, especially in qualifying for the World Cup in ‘82.

This was also the shirt King Kenny was wearing when he scored ‘that’ goal against Spain at Hampden during the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. 

It was a top that was so nice, you wouldn’t have cared if Scotland and Umbro had never brought out another update or version; you’d have bought this one several times over. And some of us did, as then, we always had a dream.Glasgow Times:

15. Scotland 1994 - 1996 

HIT: What is it they say about pleasing all of the people all of the time?
It is something of a mission impossible when it comes to finding total happiness amongst any band of supporters, as this kit from the mid 90s typifies.

Despite various suggestions and requests, the desire to go ‘too Scottish’ had always been resisted, until this design. And this was where opinion divided.

The SFA had commissioned their own tartan, which, manufacturers Umbro were to incorporate into this design that would see the Scots through qualification and the 1996 Euros.

The thing was, that from the kind of distance most fans would see their heroes perform in this kit, it just looked traditional dark blue. It was only under closer inspection that the jersey and shorts actually looked tartan. So was it worth doing?

I think they got it right, but I wasn’t a fan. The one above was far nicer, but that was from 30 years ago. Maybe there are not many who can remember it.

Still, this one looked nice at Wembley, which is more than can be said for the result.

Glasgow Times:

14. Scotland Cricket World Cup 1999

HIT: Cricket, this high on the list of memorable Scottish sporting outfits? Cricket?

The answer to that is yes, and with good justification.

While other sports flirted with aspects of ‘Scottishness’, it took the Scottish Cricket Union and qualification for the World Cup in England in 1999 for someone to get it right.

Not only did Scotland play there part in a tournament, eventually won by Australia, they also looked the part, as did their supporters who splashed out on replica kits that were worth having and wearing. 

Few who witnessed the sights and scenes at Durham, when Scotland played Pakistan, will ever forget  how many of these shirts could be seen, adding to the colourful backdrop.

The knock on effect was that these cricket tops - probably way past their sell-by date on occasions - have constantly turned up at sporting events where Scotland, or Scots, have been participating, from football qualifiers, to supporting Andy Murray when he was playing at the Australian Open.

Another reason this makes the top 20 is who else, other than George Salmond, got a photo with Caprice?Glasgow Times:

13. Jackie Stewart 1965 - 1973

HIT: We’ve all become aware, over the years as sport has become more commercialised, that individual athletes and participants have morphed in to brands.

Jordan (Michael, not Joe), Woods and Beckham to name but three have all achieved it. But way before them came a Scot, who definitely got the bigger picture.

Jackie Stewart’s signage was instantly recognisable, as he lay in the claustrophobic confines of his race car. No need to ask who it was; the Royal Stewart tartan band around his helmet made him stand out from the majority of other drivers.

But so too did his business acumen; Stewart put his name to sunglasses, and, even had his own design of cap (a particular favourite Father’s Day gift, back in the day).

Even after he’d given up racing in 1973, Stewart maintained his relationship (and lifetime retirement plan) with Ford, to such an extent, that when the American car giants took an interest in F1, Stewart ran the show.

And that meant he could have his very own Stewart Racing tartan designed. Once a brand, always a brand.Glasgow Times: