The ideal time for the black argyll

[MacLowlife]

In the Southern US, especially when you are going to be indoors, a barathea jacket is far more comfortable many months out of the year. If you go to a "kirkin o' the tartans" of a Sunday morning, an Argyll jacket is highly appropriate. A crowded church heated to 60 or 70 degrees is likely to be warmish for those in tweeds.

I will take advantage of this opportunity to air my own prejudice in favor of a NAVY argyll. Many men grew up wearing navy blazers for just-slightly-less-formal than suit occasions. A navy Argyll does this nicely. I have also found, under most lighting conditions that one can't easily tell the difference between navy and black at night, thus allowing you to squeak by with a navy argyll for black tie events.

The all-seasons aspect of barathea might eventually get you into trouble. Standing in a graveyard when it's 45 degrees, you might prefer the tweed, formality and versatility be darned. But those days occur much less often than the 85 degree ones in my neighoborhood.

[MacRobert's Reply]

I find the Argyll with silver buttons is ideal for weddings or any other event where formal morning dress is being worn. Mine gets worn about half a dozen times a year. It's also fine for the less posh black tie events with a waist belt or three-button waistcoat.

[MacCathmhaoil]

The black Argyll is ideal in the summer for an afternoon wedding when it gets a bit too hot for tweeds. I don't own a P.C., I do have a Sheriffmuir and a velvet Balmoral for formal so the Argyll is a good, less formal option for me. I am considering Jock's sage advice and having it adapted so I can change buttons if/as the need arises.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I have a new Argyll jacket in the making. The body of the jacket is black corduroy and the lapels and cuffs are black silk fialle. I haven't decided on the buttons, but will probably go with faceted jett on both the jacket and waistcoat.

The idea is to have something that approximates a smoking jacket for the black tie "smokers" my local St. Andrew's Society has from time to time.

[creagdhubh]

I have a new Argyll jacket in the making. The body of the jacket is black corduroy and the lapels and cuffs are black silk fialle. I haven't decided on the buttons, but will probably go with faceted jett on both the jacket and waistcoat.

The idea is to have something that approximates a smoking jacket for the black tie "smokers" my local St. Andrew's Society has from time to time.

Sounds absolutely gorgeous, Scott!

[MacLowlife]

MoR, would you consider monogrammed silver?

I think it is interesting to see the two most popular- dare I say overexposed- jackets skewered on these pages. We have run down the Prince Charlie on a regular basis. I do not know, but I will bet that the black barathea Argyll is even more popular amongst the kilt wearing public. And here it is, roundly criticized for being (or trying to be) too many things at once.

A step back for perspective might help. Most wearers of Saxon day dress clothes - suits, sportcoats and the like- do not manage for long with a single jacket. It is easy to spot the man in a crowd who puts on a tie infrequently, not just by the way he wears it, but often by the one coat he wears. At the other end of the spectrum, a careful observer can spot the man whose outfit so perfectly suits the event that it can't possibly be the only one he has. In the middle are the dozens of us who have, say two or three suits and three or four sportjackets. We ratchet them up and down with our choices of shirt and tie. We subdivide the classes of events by whether we want to look sporty or sober, dignified or stylish.

And, here, amongst a crowd of dedicated enthusiasts, it is not really surprising that the all-rounder jacket gets so little respect. Where is the flair of a sporty check, casually matched just so with one's tartan, or a wooly tweed? Where is the polish of something made just for me, with well-turned cuffs and a distinctive waistcoat? Certainly not on that hanger from the rent-it-all shop!

But remember how things get to be overexposed- it is because they fit right in. The Argyll is probably the very best first kilt jacket a man can have. He may quickly decide he needs a doublet or something more formal. He may eventually opt for a tweed or a check to round things out. He might end up with a whole rack of jackets for this occasion or that one, but until he does, he could do far worse than a nice dark Argyll with some bright and shiny buttons.

Or so I believe, anyway.

[Father Bill]

Nicely put, nice perspective MacLowlife!

[David Thorpe]

I have worn mine with a white dress shirt and long tie on several evening, dressy but not formal, occasions. I also wore it last year to a ceremony where my nephew was decorated for valor. It seemed quite appropriate, and I would do so again to similar functions.
The older school of thought seems to be that it is the morning suit equivalent, while some more contemporary sources place it as slightly less dressy than the PC.

[Liam]

Although I have daywear tweeds I don't have an evening jacket, for me and this is my personal view a black argyle would fit the bill if I were going out in the evening with my OH to a very nice restaurant where a jacket is required, somewhere where a very nice evening suit would be requisite without needing the formality of black tie or the where tradition dictates the wearing of a PC. Also trips to the opera or ballet would suit an argyle and so would a dressy but not over the top evening do at a wedding.

It has its place in a wardrobe and I would probably wear it more often than a PC.

At our company Christmas party.



I own both, and find the Argyll considerably more versatile.

[Nathan]

I own both, and find the Argyll considerably more versatile.

There's no question that it's more versatile, but when is it the perfect choice? Again, I don't need versatile...

You both look fantastic, by the way!