More Wedding Advice

[TheOfficialBren]

Dear Rabble,
As some of you may be aware I'm getting married and will be in Highland attire. I need some advice, however. My lovely bride wants me to wear a Prince Charlie. She loves the look of it. I've never worn a Prince Charlie. I seldom wear black tie dress and have never done so kilted. I usually wear the kilt in settings where Day Wear is the order if the day (collared shirt, long tie, maybe a waistcoat).

What sort of sporran would The Rabble recommend for a gentleman who rarely wears tuxedo equivalent but wants to up his game with a nice sporran that will suit the occasion but fit in with less formal wear?
Any photo examples would be greatly appreciated, as well.

Thank you very much for your kind advice.

-Bren

[Father Bill]

Interesting question and congratulations on your upcoming event.

My comment is not on the sporran (sorry) but on your implied discomfort with the level of dress. Having been to more than a few weddings - professional and personal connections - my advice has always been to dress up one level beyond what you might frequently wear. Thus in Saxon terms, if you never wear a suit, a tux would be too far. If you frequently are in a dinner jacket, then white tie and tails might be appropriate. If you normally wear jeans and that's as far up the scale as you normally go, I recommend a suit and tie.

Your wedding is possibly the most important event you will ever experience with the possible exception of your own funeral, so dress up a notch and enjoy it!

...but just one notch or you might look ridiculous to your friends.

[JohntheBiker]

If you are not going to wear black tie often, outside of your wedding, you may wish to wear your own kilt and rent the formal bits - PC, sporran, etc. Otherwise, if you buy a sporran that you can dress up or down, you are going to end up with a "semi-formal" sporran. It wouldn't be my choice. "Semi-formal" sporrans don't seem to know what they want to be when they grow up.

If you you are buying the PC, then buy yourself a proper formal sporran and find more occasions to wear the kit. I'm sure that your wife could help you out with this.

[McMurdo]

Firstly congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I would say take a look at the 1 kilt 10 looks thread:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-attire-46888/

Pay attention to number 9 Formal Black Tie, Jamie and I are both wearing Prince Charlies but there are subtle differences between our takes on Black Tie, both are acceptable but show personal style.

[NPG]

Congratulations on your up coming wedding.

To your questions on the sporran. Personally I feel that the Prince Charlie needs to be worn with a fur sporran, I wear mine with a seal fur sporran. This does limit the ability to re-use the sporran for other outfits, but in my opinion other options like the "semi-dress" sporran do not fill out the PC look as well. Here I will echo Father Bill's sentiment. It is your wedding dress up a notch, even if it is more for your bride than yourself. As someone planning their wedding I can tell you that I'm following my fiancée lead in most things.

[Liam]

I would suggest a full mask sporran. It can appropriately be worn in any situation, from casual to white tie.

[Taskr]

Hello Bren
Congratulations. And, well done on step one of a happy life together; wear what the lady would like you to at your wedding.
I also rarely wear formal kilted (so far anyway) When I looked to rent a sporran for a gala*, the price point wasn't that much different that just buying one. I went with a hunter style black with chrome cantle. There are some examples on Steve's site, here http://www.freedomkilts.com/sporrans-straps/. It is dressy enough, for me anyway, yet is also subtle enough to wear on far less formal occasions. It looks good under waist coat and tie.
I do agree that seal skin or some other fur does state "formal". Maybe someday when formal whilst kilted becomes more a norm for me.

* I do not have a PC. Went with a steward cut jacket with highland buttons for "bling"

[CMcG]

...

What sort of sporran would The Rabble recommend for a gentleman who rarely wears tuxedo equivalent but wants to up his game with a nice sporran that will suit the occasion but fit in with less formal wear?
Any photo examples would be greatly appreciated, as well.

...

I appreciate the idea of a sporran that can be worn at different levels of dress—particularly if it will rarely be called on to do black tie formal. Unfortunately, the options are slim, and they often devolve into "neither fish nor fowl" territory.

The most traditional option would a full mask, but that has already been ruled out, and I'm not a big fan anyway. Perhaps you need to look at a black leather sporran with a white metal cantle. Below are a few options.

Hunting sporran with metal cantle (courtesy of L&M). A top choice for flexibility, but has become a little too popular with pipe bands, if that matters to you.


Leather sporran with metal plate flap (courtesy of L&M). These are less common than the previous one, but also quite flexible.


A more contemporary take on the leather hunting sporran with metal cantle (courtesy of Lothian Kilt Rentals)