Quote Originally Posted by Graeme H View Post
I am currently in preparations (quite far ahead of time) for planning my window and showpieces for next season. With the recent surge in popularity in tartan and Highland wear that I have encountered in the South-East UK in the past 18 months or so, I was contemplating showing a semi-casual Highland ensemble that might be suitable for a country wedding (of the 200 or so bespoke commissions we get per year, probably 70% of the wedding commissions we get are in some form of tweed).

My father was raised in Donegal, Ireland, so as a result we are naturally quite fond of a proper Donegal tweed. There's something about the beautiful colour, heavy drape, clean lines and open weave that is particularly pleasing, and I thought it would lend itself beautifully to a highland jacket. Here's a lovely Navy blue herringbone Donegal I finished just a few weeks ago, for those that are interested:

donegal.jpg

Now, I would like to get the opinion of Highland wear purists as to whether this might be considered taboo..? From a tailoring etiquette point of view, really there's no problem. However I can myself often get a little uppity when people wish to make a dinner suit, for example, from a cloth that I would consider to be not really appropriate.

Would you like to see a Highland tweed made from a non-Scottish cloth? Or should I use something from Porter & Harding instead?

Your opinions would be greatly appreciated
I don’t think it should be a problem at all. Lots of people buy jackets made of Pakistani tweed on eBay and generally the quality and fit is a bigger issue than the actual fabric.

I think a well tailored jacket in a high quality tweed will get nothing but compliments wether or not it’s irish or Scottish.

Additionally, the highlands and Ireland have a long intertwined history. I’d be surprised if Irish tweed never made its way into Scottish clothing anyway.