I'm just so confused and can not make up my mind!

**gazbot** · 28th May 13, 03:24 PM

I am currently adding to my existing more formal outfit with daywear accessories. I was planning on a daywear outfit along the lines of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh see picture, however I recently came across this great picture of Brigadier Melville Jameison ex producer of The Edinburgh Tattoo as it was when he was there and 2011 Cheiftan of Crieff Highland gathering. He is on the left.

I love both outfits but can not decide which to go for. The light tweed is a complete contrast to my current rig.

Which of the two would be considered more "correct daywear" I know easy answers will probably not ensue!

Kind regards to you all

**Chas** · 28th May 13, 03:44 PM

The gentleman on the right is wearing a kilt jacket (sporran cut-away), the gentleman on the left is not. He is wearing a Saxon jacket. The ones on the right are sold as day wear and I have one my self.

Regards

Chas

**O'Searcaigh** · 28th May 13, 04:57 PM

It is all a matter of personal taste but I prefer the brownish earth tone tweeds as they seem a bit more "relaxed" and informal than charcoal which seems more "business suit" like to me. I have both but I like the earth tones best. Of course, it also could depend on the predominant color of your kilt and what "day wear" means to you.

**John_Carrick** · 28th May 13, 10:29 PM

The Brig's outfit might be a more versatile first purchase. Since you say you have something pretty formal already, maybe the Duke's rig out may extend the range of your wardrobe more.

**Jock Scot** · 29th May 13, 01:27 AM

Well, the Duke will almost certainly be wearing the Balmoral Estate tweed for his jacket(as opposed to the Balmoral tartan for the kilt), which looks plain grey from a distance. I wonder, do you really want grey? There are so many wonderful variations and combinations of greys, browns, greens, blues and a few more that you could choose from and it would be a real shame not to consider them. Grey has its place, but for daywear? Ok, if in the end you go with grey thats fine and absolutely your choice, but--------.

**knotty** · 29th May 13, 03:54 PM

I guess it would depend on what kilt colors you have & what day wear jackets you have.
If you have no day wear jackets I would look at charcoal/grey. Grey looks goo with every color. If you have a place near who does jackets, you could take all your kilts & compare swatches.

Good luck Im on the search too...

**creagdhubh** · 29th May 13, 05:07 PM

I agree with Jock. I tend to go for more earthy coloured tweeds with the majority having a check or window pane pattern. I like browns, tans, and greens. Here's my latest acquisition in a handsome brown check pattern from the Lovat Mill Kirkton medium weight (16oz) range. I'm not necessarily concerned with matching the tweed in the jacket and waistcoat with the tartan of the kilt, on the contrary, I think complementing (i.e - an overall "earthy/weathered" tone) and/or contrasting tends to look more interesting and smarter in my opinion. Whatever you decide, best of luck!

**OC Richard** · 29th May 13, 06:39 PM

In your top photo the gent on the right is wearing a grey sealskin Evening Dress sporran with silver top, not ordinarily worn with Day Dress. Such mixing of Day Dress and Evening Dress is common in Pipe Band kit, though.

The fellow on the left in that same photo appears to be wearing a belt under his waistcoat (under in more than one way of speaking!) which is a look I don't care for.

Here are a couple photos showing modern Day Dress

In contrast, here is Scottish Power Pipe Band wearing charcoal grey jackets & hose with grey seal evening sporrans

**Tobus** · 30th May 13, 05:33 AM

Originally Posted by Chas

The gentleman on the right is wearing a kilt jacket (sporran cut-away), the gentleman on the left is not. He is wearing a Saxon jacket. The ones on the right are sold as day wear and I have one my self.

Regards

Chas

While it does appear that the jacket on the right has more of a cutaway than the one on the left, I wouldn't go so far as to say that the one on the left is a 'Saxon' jacket. It's not long enough for that. It is a little on the long side compared to the other jacket in the photo, and appears to come below the fell line of the kilt, but it doesn't appear to be longer than the sleeves. Saxon style jackets would be longer than this, with the usual rule of thumb being that they should cover the buttocks, and they fall well below the sleeve length. So that jacket on the left is, in my mind, still (barely) within acceptable limits of length for a kilt jacket and would be way too short to be a standard Saxon jacket.

On cutaways, not all kilt jackets have the rounded cutaway at the bottom. I've been noticing this lately. As you can see in the image below, jackets with a straight line (no rounded cutaway) have a long history in Highland dress, and they are usually made where they angle back at the sides. The jacket on the left in the OP's photo seems to follow this style of having straight panels that angle away from the bottom of the lapel to the bottom corner, which creates a nice gap for the sporran. If this were a Saxon jacket, you would expect to see the front panels being much closer in the middle, since they are meant to be worn buttoned.

And while it is true that most modern jacket tailors will put a rounded cutaway at the bottom, it is not an absolute rule that a rounded cutaway is required for it to be a kilt jacket. There are some tailors who still make straight front panels (angling away from each other as they go down) with more of a corner at the bottom. I actually like the look, because it reminds me of this:

**JohntheBiker** · 30th May 13, 06:05 AM

I have a charcoal jacket and waistcoat because it was the most flexible option for me and the most readily available. It get's lots of use and frankly, I have no regrets on the choice. Would I like a jacket in earthier tones? Sure, but I already have three jackets and that would take my wardrobe to a new level and would be harder to justify to me and to my darling wife.