Quote Originally Posted by Father Bill View Post
In general, they're pretty close to being one and the same.

Consider your torso height - the "points" on the bottom of a vest may interfere with your sporran if you tend to wear it high as I do since with my belly being the shape and position it is, it hurts to wear it low.

If that's not a problem, they're pretty well interchangeable.
It's not my torso height but kilt height. I'm a wirey fellow, but I still like my kilt to sit up higher than pants would, so unless I wear a normal vest under my kilt, it bulges and bunches with a fair amount of overlap. It doesn't look terrible without a belt, still not a fan but I think it can be done. But I also use sporran hangers, so I wear a belt, and a regular vest bulges something fierce.