Appropriateness of sweater vest or cardigan in lieu of tweed jacket for day wedding

[imbrius]

I have a lot of time to think about this so it's mostly a thinking point for me.

I have a wedding to attend (as a guest only, not in the party) in July of 2019 and I've been asked by the bride to wear my kilt. I don't yet know what time of day the wedding will be. I have evening jacket covered with the BBSBA but if it's a daytime wedding, I'll need something to wear over my shirt and tie that's less formal. Ideally, a light tweed jacket.

However, I don't have one of those and they're pretty expensive. Given my recent profound lack of success in converting a regular tweed jacket into a kilt-length one, that's not a realistic option either. What I do have are sweater vests (dark and light) and cardigan sweaters (again, dark and light).

How appropriate would either of those be for a daytime wedding in the 'states? I wouldn't button the cardigan if I did wear one. I never button them.

[figheadair]

How appropriate? It rather depends on the level of formality of the other guests. A cardigan could be fine or, completely inappropriate. There must be others in your area that you could perhaps borrow a day jacket from for the event?

[CollinMacD]

Agree with Peter, being a summer weather, you can be formal, suits, sports jacket, or shirt sleeves, depends upon how formal the Wedding is.

[Manu]

Keep an eye out on Ebay for used and vintage tweed kilt jackets. You can often find really good deals. I'm sure by next July something will pop up in your size. Good luck!

[Taskr]

Agreed that it depends on level of dress, as you also alluded to.

The eBay advice is good. Also, since you didn't have success on conversion, don't give up on the idea. A great deal at a second-hand shop and a seamstress is a good value alternative, if you don't know someone who is handy that way.

[McMurdo]

I have had lots of success with EBay, local tartan shops and the for sale section of this forum for Argyll jackets and a good Argyll jacket in lovat green, lovat blue or charcoal would be my first choices in colour. Having said that, a sweater vest would work for a casual setting. The best advice I could give would be to make sure of the formality required before deciding on your outfit.

[revdpatience]

If the bride says that it would be appropriate, I'd suggest a waistcoat (doesn't have to be tweed necessarily) or a v-neck pullover sweater rather than a cardigan.

For me, I guess it's a question of how the other male guests will be dressed -- if they'll be in shirtsleeves, you could go with the waistcoat. If they'll be in jackets, you could get away with a dark v-neck sweater over a shirt and tie.

And of course the location of the July wedding matters tremendously! If it's 100 degrees and humid .... enough said.

[Tobus]

As others have said, it's difficult to say whether a sweater vest or cardigan would be appropriate for the wedding. I don't see either of them as rising to the same level of day dress as a tweed jacket (or any jacket for that matter). Both are casual wear, in my view. They could be OK if that's the level others are wearing, but I just don't see them being in the same league as a jacket.

If a jacket is beyond your means at this point, what about just a waistcoat? You can find those pretty cheap. And even if it's not cut for a kilt, it's much easier to modify than a jacket. Just give it a straight hem at the bottom, high enough to clear your sporran. It'll look 10 times better (my opinion) than a cardigan worn unbuttoned or a sweater vest.