Day Wear Jacket-- A Review of "Plan B"

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

It always pays to have a back-up plan.

Several months ago I decided that, given the then impending visit of HRH Prince Edward to the Greenville Scottish Games, I would order a linen day wear jacket to hopefully cope with the sometimes sweltering weather in that part of the world. I contacted an on-line vendor, received his self-measurement form, went to my tailor and was carefully measured. I then scanned everything into an email which I accidentally stored as a draft, as opposed to sending.

Time marches on, as they say, and the games weekend drew neigh. "Where," I wondered, "is my linen jacket and waistcoat?" I did a fast scan of my "sent box" only to discover the awful truth: I hadn't ordered it. What to do?

A quick PM to McMurdo and I was given the name of a local Highland outfitter (Cairngorm Scottish Imports-- www.kiltscanada.com) in Toronto. A call confirmed they had jackets in stock, and as I was headed to Toronto the very next day I was able to breathe a little bit easier as I had less than one week before I would be standing on the reviewing stand of the Greenville Scottish Games "Great Scot Parade" and officially welcoming HRH to the City of Greenville and to the Games. Frankly, anything would be better than nothing and, I have to be honest, I didn't hold out high hopes for acquiring a decent jacket.

Well, Glen's recommendation was absolutely gilt-edged. Darren, who runs the shop, had me fitted in no time and rushed through the alterations so that I could collect my jacket and waistcoat in under 24 hours-- for a moment I thought I was back in Hong Kong! Returning at lunch the next day (as I was headed out of town) I tried on my new ensemble and was more than pleased with the whole shebang.

The jacket is a two button, dark gray tweed with epaulets, pocket flaps, and van Dyke cuffs, similar to those on a Prince Charlie coatee. The waistcoat matches the jacket, however I had the bottom "squared off" to give it a bit of a distinctive style. Fully lined, it is made from 100% new wool (at least that's what the tag inside says and, hey!, the Canadians don't lie about things like that, eh?). Frankly, it was a bit warm in Greenville's mid-80's weather, but I believe that was due as much to the humidity as anything else.

It's no secret that I am a big proponent of bespoke and made to measure clothing whenever possible. But, and this is important, I have nothing against an off the peg garment if it is well made and of sufficient quality to justify the price. In this instance I found the jacket and waistcoat to be both well made and well worth the cost, especially given the circumstances.

If you are in a pinch (as I was) and can't wait for a made to measure jacket from one of our XMTS advertisers, you could do worse than following McMurdo's advice and contact his outfitter in Toronto.