Jackets?

[MacLowlife]

MY first guideline is one I learned somewhere about Saxon dress- it is always better to be smartly underdressed than overdressed. Having said that, I lean more and more towards simplicity and comfort. That means an open jacket almost all of the time, regardless of how amazingly good the double breasted doublets look. I have said it again and again- I think a NAVY Argyll is nicer than a black one- I wear a navy Saxon blazer several times a week- I almost never ( well, hardly ever) wear a black one. Very soon, I am going to cut down my lightest tissue wool navy blazer for kilt wear.

You will find many XMarkers, especially in the traditional corner, opposed to the PC, but enthusiastic about the Regulation doublet. Most non-kilt wearers couldn't tell you the difference.

I live in South Carolina, where the temperature has not gone below 70F in several weeks- and has been above 100F many days in a row, extra layers seem like a bad idea. Even in the wintertime- ESPECIALLY in the wintertime, when I find myself in crowded parties, where the outside temperature may be chilly, but a sufficient number of bodies at 98.6 has made the atmosphere warm, I like to wear an open velvet jacket. I have managed to find two black watch velvet ones, presently configured as Saxon wear, but slated to go to the tailor's to see which one can be stretched to cover most of my expanded middle. Until that happens, I have a strange black velvet jacket with shawl lapels that resembles a regimental Dress Mess, only, you know, velvet and black.

So, to summarize, simplify, understate, go for the velvet.