Full mask sporrans revisited...

[mookien]

... A coyote, for example, would be far too big to my mind unless it was on a very large gentleman.

What do you folks think?

Below is a picture of my full-posterior coyote sporran obtained from USA Kilts (on sale). It appears that this specimen had three tails.

End of Walk sans Sunglasses.jpeg.
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It was advertised as "faux coyote" which I can only assume means that it was dispatched in the season between summa and winta, ie faux - huntin season. It does appear a bit large, but then again I'm a small guy.

[BCAC]

Comments are always welcome

As for KA's authority, I believe they draw on their Royal Warrants. That fact gathers THCD back to the importance of George IV's famous visit to Scotland in 1822 (orchestrated by Sir Walter Scott), which re-positioned the kilt as a national symbol, but also appropriated it for the upper class. From the end of the Highland Dress Proscription Act until fairly recently, THCD was not an affordable option for the common man and many of the traditions we participate in are thoroughly implicated in legacies of class-ism.

http://www.kinlochanderson.com/about...royal-warrants

That is, however, just one perspective and holds no enforceability. One of the most interesting things about the kilt is that it is polysemic and can be different things to different people: national dress, cultural attire, fashion statement, uniform, everyday clothing, re-inactment, etc. As we learn about the various opinions on it, we can choose to incorporate them into our own view or not. As a result, the kilt is often a hybrid, contested symbol, hence why we have so much to talk about

The Royal Warrant just means that they've supplied good quality goods and/or services to a certain member of the Royal Household. That's all. It doesn't give any rights to the warrant holder. A good thing to have none the less because it would probably mean more sales to the general public. A gauge of quality, as it were.

[creagdhubh]

Some keen observations Cameron!




I'm certainly guilty of this! I can't resist a deal, nor can I resist the desire to share my good fortune with a community of friends around the world who can actually appreciate why I'm excited! I could just show up in photos with the nice kit and leave everyone guessing, but the fact that I'm frank about a $40 ebay or thrift shop find is perhaps gauche but is the opposite of putting on airs. To me, putting on airs would be pretending my DIY full mask sporran was a pricey offering from House of Labhran or something...I admit to getting a thrill out of saving a shiny nickel on high quality merchandise. I come by it honestly. My mother is the same way. That said, I'm sure you were speaking generally and I can see how bragging about a very expensive purchase would qualify as putting on airs.

Speaking of full mask sporrans, what animals are a no no?

To me, I think the head has to be relatively small. A coyote, for example, would be far too big to my mind unless it was on a very large gentleman.

What do you folks think?

Animal species (European species) that I think look the best in regarding a full-mask sporran are the following:

Scottish Wildcat, Scottish Pine Marten, Polecat, Badger, Red Fox, Silver Fox, Mink, and Otter.

[CMcG]

The Royal Warrant just means that they've supplied good quality goods and/or services to a certain member of the Royal Household. That's all. It doesn't give any rights to the warrant holder. A good thing to have none the less because it would probably mean more sales to the general public. A gauge of quality, as it were.

Yes, as I said in my post a Royal Warrant isn't enforceable. It does, however, add cultural weight to the pontifications of Kinloch Anderson, at least to those people who attach value to things like royalty.

[creagdhubh]

Yes, as I said in my post a Royal Warrant isn't enforceable. It does, however, add cultural weight to the pontifications of Kinloch Anderson, at least to those people who attach value to things like royalty.

Or products that are well made.

As an avid wearer of Kinloch Anderson-made items, my sole criteria for making the decision to purchase their products time and time again is the fact that they are well made; the company has been in business for quite some time and has a solid reputation in the realm of traditional Highland Dress; and they have Royal Warrants.

[Nathan]

I think Kinloch Anderson are not just tailors. They are also designers and have been in the taste making business for quite some time. The fashion industry leads trends. Sometimes people follow and sometimes they don't.

When I first started wearing kilts, all I knew about sporrans was:

Leather = day
Sealskin and silver = formal
Horsehair = military or pipe band.

I first saw mask sporrans in this book:

51GMQSIXo4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

It was given to me as a gift for my 14th birthday and a lot of the Kenneth MacLeay and R.R. McIan plates are reproduced therein. I was shocked when I later found out that people still wore sporrans with critter faces attached. In time, I got used to the look and, if it wasn't for the fact that I fell into the necessary materials to construct one for less than $20, I probably would never have purchased one.

Once I made it, I got the gumption up to wear the thing, and I have received a whole lot of compliments on it. I've actually been thanked at Highland Games for showing people how to dress like a proper Highlander and people felt compelled to photograph me.

This is a double edged sword. On the one hand, I could say I look pretty damn smart. On the other hand, I could say I look like I stepped out of a time machine and people are fascinated by what looks like walking 100 year old history.

Granted, it's not just the sporran. I wear a bonnet because I wore one in the military and all the other hats look bizarre to me. Not wearing a hat when out all day is a bad idea for me given my fair complexion and extreme sensitivity to the hot Canadian summer sun.

I also wear a waistcoat because 3 of 4 of my kilts are 2" rises and are so high I need a waistcoat to avoid looking like Steve Urkel.

Finally, i wear a pocket watch because HRH The Duke of Rothsay makes it look so damn sharp and modern. Besides, they're in style again because of the steam punkers.

I have no problem embracing things traditional; I play music and dance steps from the 17 and 1800s. However, I don't spend my life living in the past or pretending to. I want to be a great example of a thriving and living tradition, not a costumed throwback to the victorian era.

That was what motivated this thread. I knew there would be a diversity of opinions on the matter and so far, I have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts.

I go back and forth between a very traditional mindset like Kyle and Glen and a modern traditional, less is more aesthetic like Colin.

Certainly, when at a Highland Games representing my clan, I feel I am my Chiefs' representative. As such, I try to personify Clan Donald and, as such, I follow their lead a little closer than I might if I was just representing Nathan MacDonald, the Cape Breton Celtic musician.

Loving the feedback and discussion so far in this thread.

Given the changing mores around fur, I wonder if the industry will come up with a 21st century dress sporran that becomes the norm. Then again, the pendulum could just as easily swing back the other way. Fashion designers have been using fur and natural fibres again for the past couple of seasons, so who really knows! Food for thought...

[Father Bill]

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. Gen. 3:20

...and if it was good enough for God.........

[Singlemalt]

I no longer do but I spent my early carreer in the wild fur business. Those with enough grey in their hair remember the Berger commission in the'70's on whether the Canadian Government should allow oil drilling in the Beaufort Sea in the western Acrtic. At the time I followed it with great interest. I remember the testimony of a Dene elder and trapper. He sagely pointed out that his people had been harvesting muskrats for their fur from this area and tradeing them to Eurpoeans for over three hundred years. He urged us to considered the value of those same renewable muskrats for the next 300 years as over that time they were worth more than the value of the non-renewable projected oil reserves.

Where is the real value, plunder the enviornment for oil for fuel and nylon coats for a few decades or leave it in its natural state and harvest the abundance of fur for centuries to come?

[creagdhubh]

I have the same book in my "Highland Library," Nathan. A good resource indeed.

[CMcG]

For all the folks who like full mask sporrans, but are concerned about social censure regarding fur, our fellow Xmarkers have some solutions

...

Where is the real value, plunder the enviornment for oil for fuel and nylon coats for a few decades or leave it in its natural state and harvest the abundance of fur for centuries to come?

But Singlemalt has some truth there, so maybe it's better to just stick to the real thing