Opinions Wanted: New Kilt Jacket (PIC)

[CMcG]

I picked up a new jacket the other day and am soliciting opinions on it from my kilted colleagues.

This blazer was not designed as a kilt jacket, however it meets the requirements. It is short enough in the waist that it ends about an inch above the fell of my kilt and it slopes enough that it does not cover the sporran. The body of the jacket is just a tad shorter than the arms.

Design-wise, it is reminiscent of one of the Duke of Rothesay's jackets that I have always admired:



It is also perhaps a bit like some of Howie Nicholsby's 21stcenturykilt suits, as modelled here by the mighty Hamish:


I was able to justify my purchase, despite my modest grad student budget, because it can do double duty and it was inexpensive. With the heat of summer looming on the horizon, I need a lighter blazer that I can wear to academic events like conferences, workshops, meetings, etc. This navy blue, slim-fit jacket is made of cotton twill, is only half-lined, and works with p@nts. I picked it up at Forever21 for about $65 and am looking at getting the matching waistcoat.

What say you?

[Godot]

My personal rule is I wear jackets that reach the line where I take hip measurements or shorter. While yours looks maybe a bit longer than that, I think you wear it well. If it doesn't impede the pleats and you enjoy it, then I say go for it.

[unixken]

Worn as you have it here, I think it works well enough. Normally anything built for pants is not best for a kilt (or vice-versa), and any sort of compromise is likely to fall short in both arenas. But for your frame, the cut of that particular jacket looks reasonable. Nice find.

[StevieR]

It looks fine enough to me mate. I'd get the waistcoat as well. Perhaps some thinner soled shoes would better suit the lightweight nature of the jacket? (cracking shine though!)

[duke_19_62]

I don't quite fit their target demographic, and I definitely don't fit on their size charts, but I just learned Forever21 has menswear! Good on ya!

[DyerStraits]

You look just fine. Good eye. As one of my middle school teachers would say, If The Shoe Fits, Wear It.

I have a heather green and tan unvented herringbone tweed jacket I found in a resale shop that was clearly custom-tailored (and very well-tailored) for its previous owner who apparently was built similiarly to me in the upper body but was shorter, and like yours, it's opening accommodates a sporran quite well. So of course on me it makes for a fine day wear kilt jacket.

As has often been pointed out here before, there are lots of non-kilt specific jackets that work well with kilts--mess jackets, Eisenhower jackets, racing jackets, Levi's/"Trucker" jackets, etc. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.

[MacKenzie]

Looks fine to me.

[Liam]

Is it a single or double rear vent (or none)? Kilt jackets as you know are generally (always) double vented. It looks fine to me from the front, but I'd like to see a rear shot, before passing judgement.

Cheers.

[CMcG]

Judging by the positive responses thus far, this seems to work

As unixken mentioned, most jackets cut for p@nts won't work with kilts and vice versa. I kept looking at the slim-cut blazers that have been on trend for the last couple years and thinking they could almost be kilt appropriate. I even went as far as bringing a measuring tape into a couple stores... my previous searches came up close, but a bit too long. It is worth noting that the jacket I ended buying wouldn't work with all my kilts because some of them have a shorter fell than others.

It looks fine enough to me mate. I'd get the waistcoat as well. Perhaps some thinner soled shoes would better suit the lightweight nature of the jacket? (cracking shine though!)

Good call re the waistcoat; I might just get it. Ironically, I had on a thinner soled pair of shoes, but my girlfriend thought the chunkier ones had a more casual look to go with the semi-structured cut and cotton material of the jacket. The soles aren't as utilitarian as they look i.e., they're not field-worthy treads, but rather Fluevog certified "Satan-proof":