Corduroy Jacket?

[biblemonkey]

Do you think it would be worth it to try and convert a tan wide cord corduroy sports jacket with exterior hip pockets into a kilt jacket? My father in law is getting rid of a classic sports coat and I quite like the look of it. When I get google working I'll post a picture.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

YES! is the short answer. One of the very best day wear kilt jackets I ever had was corduroy with knotted leather buttons. Much more comfortable in warmer climes than tweed. Because the jacket you intend to convert has patch pockets it will come out looking like a proper kilt length jacket, rather than a converted sport coat. The trick is to remove the pockets when making the conversion, then re-set them at the proper height once the jacket is finished.

Perhaps you can get BugBear to post a photo of himself in the corduroy kilt jacket he made.

[Tobus]

I have one exactly as you describe. Tan/buff color with patch pockets, knotted leather buttons, and even has leather elbow patches. Bought it a couple years ago at a resale shop and it fits me perfectly. It's one of my favorite cool-weather jackets for wearing to the office.

I've often thought about having it converted to a kilt jacket, but I just don't think I could bear to not have it for work. Wish I could find another just like it (at the same price of $20) for conversion. It would look grand with a kilt.

[biblemonkey]

The kilts I have are a Graham of Montrose, a Sutherland Muted, and a Scotland the Brave. Think The tan cord would look good with these tartans? I think the Sutherland would look nice but not sure of the others and the usual color complimenting formulae that folks in the know seem to use. it seems that some folks where colors together that I would never put on at the same time and some have a more traditional color pallate.

[Tobus]

Think The tan cord would look good with these tartans?

A picture is worth a thousand words. Could you maybe post a picture of these kilts laying on the bed next to the jacket in question?

Personally, I think a tan corduroy jacket would look best with weathered/ancient color schemes, or lighter colored tartans. Not sure I would pair it with a dark modern color palette tartan. Also, I would (personally) accessorize with day-wear colored stuff. Like brown shoes/sporran/belt.

I don't know if the more traditional amongst us would consider that too matchy-matchy, but I just think tan corduroy works best when paired with lighter colors and earth tones. It could perhaps worth with any kilt, especially if you were a one-tartan kind of guy, but I'd definitely use the rest of the ensemble to coordinate with the more casual look of the corduroy.

[Lyle1]

Before you reattach the pockets, you might want to trim them down to make them fit the scale of the cut down jacket. Pin them on first to see how they look. You could also leave the pockets off all together; pockets are more traditional, some more contemporary jackets are being shown with out exterior side pockets. It is a sleeker look.

[Bugbear]

This is from the gallery; I'll keep it here for a while.
* picture removed. *

I moved the patch pockets up a bit, but also reduced them in height by about half.
I put the new hem about where the bottom of the fell is on the kilt.

It doesn't have leather buttons.
These are supposed to be weathered kilt colors, but I think the very dark green looks black in some of the pictures; I'm not in a position to argue about it.

[mookien]

Bugbear: Very handsome duds indeed! Everything blends well with the kilt. I especially like the coat and vest. Well done.

[piperdbh]

These are supposed to be weathered kilt colors, but I think the very dark green looks black in some of the pictures; I'm not in a position to argue about it.

In this picture the green looks green.

[Tobus]

Looks green to me too, although I can see how it would appear black at a quick glance.

I think it looks great, bugbear! The overall earth-tones work very well with that jacket & waistcoat color.