The ideal time for the black argyll

[Liam]

Let me guess, for day wear it would be,....your basic brown targe with claymore and dirk?

And after 6 they would quickly switch to black handled silver Lochaber axe.ith:

[Nathan]

Not to take anything away from the Jacobite charge attire conversation, but back to the black Argyll.

When the right occasion comes along, I think I'm covered. I got this black one and the aforementioned charcoal Argyll from a fellow xmarks member and was very pleased with the fit! Aside from the black waistcoat, I didn't have to alter a thing.



I actually might wear it to play a Burns Night at a pub. The event isn't formal, but I'm the entertainment, so I can step it up a notch.

[Carlo]

And after 6 they would quickly switch to black handled silver Lochaber axe.ith:

From what I've read on the Interweb (and I know that there is a lot of :crap: around), your "walking" stick, with evening attire, should never be black. The brown handled silver Lochaber axe would therefore be much better and easier to get ith:.

Sorry Nathan for mishandling the thread..

In my untrained eyes you look smashing. And I'm sure that you will be well dressed whenever you go around kilted.

[Spartan Tartan]

Nathan,
I am not sure where you are going, but you look great. I can see that outfit fitting into a large variety of events--both day and evening

[OC Richard]

I wonder though if this 1930's catalogue is indicative of actual THCD practice of the time?

I would think so. The firm only has four Evening jackets shown, the Prince Charlie, the Doublet, the Argyle, and the Montrose. They wouldn't take up catalogue space with things that didn't sell; people wouldn't buy things they didn't intend to wear.

Besides I've seen a large number of photos showing men wearing such, from the 1850-1930 period.

Here's another photo of the Argyll worn formally



It's different nowadays with internet sites and firms showing thousands of products. Wasn't like that in the old days. Catalogues were expensive to produce and distribute and space was limited and the firms were judicious about what they included. They almost certainly offered more variety than is shown, and what was shown was the most popular, the most likely to generate business.

I will point out that the other catalogues of the period I have (Anderson, Henderson, Lawrie, Paisley) do NOT illustrate an 'evening Argyle', and illustrate the Doublet and Prince Charlie, and usually also the Montrose. Of these only the Doublet was traditional, the others being recently invented.

The exception is as part of Youth costume. Here is an illustration from the Lawrie 1930 catalogue



and from the Paisley 1940 catalogue



These costumes strike me as a bit odd in having full Evening Dress footwear and sporran but a long necktie.

[Nathan]

So MacKenzie Murdoch's jacket has a shawl collar and really does look like it has a satin lapel. The Regal costume has a peak lapel. Wouldn't this mean they are not really apples to apples as far as the modern black Argyll is concerned?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I have two black Argyle jackets, one with satin lapels and the other with barathea lapels. The "all barathea" is for those times when I would normally wear a very dark blue or black suit, and the one with satin lapels is for those times when I'd wear a dinner jacket. The all-barathea jacket could certainly pass muster at a black tie function; the fact that I have two is down merely to personal extravagance! (How do you like them apples! )

[Deil the Yin]

Excellent piccies by the way, Nathan, thanks. I've been struggling over gauntlet cuffs vs braemar cuffs, and it's been a great help to have seen your recent piccies showing both versions and in the same excellent composition. Much obliged.

...I actually might wear it to play a Burns Night at a pub. The event isn't formal, but I'm the entertainment, so I can step it up a notch.

[TheOfficialBren]

I have a question. In those old catalogs that Richard has generously shared with us it really appears that the bottom of the jacket, although rounded to accommodate the sporran, appears longer like a Saxon jacket. Am I missing something? In one illustration it seems to clearly come below the fell line. Has the length of jackets evolved that much? In the last photo especially (the man holding the fiddle).

[GRKilt]

Another couple of pictures for you to consider. Had I been wearing trousers then I would certainly be wearing a sports jacket, as I am wearing the kilt then I am wearing a pullover--------kilt sports jacket equivalent!

Jock in the office. Where I am now, typing this, I am at present wearing trousers and guess what? I am wearing a sports jacket!

Thanks for this post Jock. As a new kilt wearer, I had idea how to get the right level of formality. For the vast majority of the events I attend, you may see men in a sports jackets. I looked way over dressed wearing my converted tweed jacket. But this pullover look works perfectly.