Sporran Selection Advice...

[RichardtheLarge]

The thing to be aware of, IF you're concerned about Traditional Highland Dress (which many people aren't) is that our Traditional Civilian Highland Dress as it's come down to us has, since around 1900, made a clear distinction between Outdoor/Day Dress and Evening Dress.

Each mode of dress (Day or Eve) has its own dedicated shoes, hose, sporran, shirt, necktie, and jacket.

To mix the two would like be showing up at a formal evening function wearing a tuxedo jacket, board shorts, and flip-flops.

So the first thing I would do in putting together a Highland outfit is decide which mode of dress is being put together.

For Day Dress, the traditional look would be:

-black brogues (plain or wingtips)

-selfcoloured (plain) Day hose in one of a wide variety of colours (Lovat, brown, blue, claret, etc)

-brown leather sporran with or without tassels (matching leather) and with or without fur front

-tweed Day jacket and waistcoat

-tattersall shirt or plain shirt

-necktie plain, striped, or all-over pattern

Now many will argue with some or all of these, but as I said this is the traditional look one has seen throughout the 20th century. Under various pressures it appears to be breaking down nowadays.

I know that it’s traditional, and I know that it’s historical, but I really just don’t like the black brogue and brown sporran together. I’d rather see brown wingtips and brown sporran!