There have been numerous discussions about the generally held belief that one should not wear a belt with a dress outfit that includes a waistcoat, due to the interference with the lie of the waistcoat bottom by the bulky belt. This leaves one forced to use some form of sporran chain or strap to keep the sporran at an appropriate height.

Being one of the "Gentlemen of Substance", I have the typical problem of a standard sporran strap tending to ride down under my bulky belly and bunching up my kilt apron above it, so I have virtually from the start of my kilt wearing used sporran hangers in lieu of a strap or chain, with great success to date. Now I am trying to figure out how to reconcile that need for sporran hangers with the need to NOT wear a belt in dress occasions, when the sporran hangers clearly require the use of a belt.

One solution I will try is a more stealthy belt with a flatter less bulky and obvious buckle, so I can continue wearing the hangers.

But I had another idea which I was hoping the rabble, or particularly someone with more skills and talent than myself in the area of metal and leather work, might help me with. I use a money clip to hold my folding money, which has this lovely metal plate (with adornment) for the front of the clip, the a curved clip on the back to hold the bills against the rear side of the front piece. I figure somebody ought to be able to make a matching pair of this type of money clip, with chains attached to the lower portion of the back of the front plate that can then hang down to be attached to the sporran just like a regular sporran hanger. The money clip portion could then be clipped to the front apron, or both aprons, on either side of midline, in lieu of the belt, thereby removing the bulky kilt belt buckle from the equation but keeping the function of the sporran hangers intact. The new "money clip" hangers face place would then be essentially flush with the front apron and not interfere with the drape of the waistcoat or coatee, but still allow the sporran to be hung without the use of a strap.

The front piece could be made big or small and shaped or ornamented however the wearer might wish, depending on the use and occasion, could be covered in black leather or even tartan so as to remain stealthy beneath one's coatee and waistcoat. I have got to believe that the money clip portion of the device should be available from some hobby or craft supply shop, and that someone with metal/leather working capability can help me design something to work for the faceplate and chains and clips for the hanger portions. This could lead to development of a new and marketable product in the area of highland accessories.

Anybody with the skills interested on helping me take on such a project? Anybody out there think this is a feasible alternative, or am I just a crazy guy with too much time on his hands to think this much about this kind of problem?


jeff :ootd: