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[Jock Scot]

I am also curious to hear Jock's take on this photo here:


source: express.co.uk

He was hosting a dinner for fashion leaders to promote wool. But what I see in the photos is that while the guests are wearing black tie, he is wearing what Jock has described as pretty formal clothing with diced hose, buckle brogues, a velvet doublet, and a metal cantled sporran.


source: express.co.uk

Is he not "over egging the cake?" I think he looks great but some of the advice we get here can seem a little contradictory to me as xmarkers attending tartan balls and other events are often advised to tone things down. The cutoff just isn't clear to me at all (not black vs white tie as that would be on the invitation).

Here is a photo of Lord MacDonald of Macdonald with guests at a dinner party:

source: Euphoria Photography

Now the guests in Saxon dress are wearing white tie but Lord MacDonald and most of his kilted guests are wearing outfits pretty similar to what Prince Charles was wearing to a black tie event (black tie based on the guests' Saxon dress). He has a doublet and dirk belt and some of the kilted guests have velvet jackets, tartan vests, buckled shoes, and argyle hose. There is one fellow in a black argyle and solid hose.

This was a pre-ball dinner party according to the source.

So does Prince Charles over dress? Or are royals expected to dress more royally?

Nathan has some wonderful photos of himself in his Balmoral doublet with fancy hose and buckle brogues. He wouldn't look out of place in either of these events based on the kilt wearer's dress in them.

I wondered when these pictures were going to turn up!

The Prince Charles pictures illustrate well, how saxon black tie attire.....dinner suits(tux) covers everything up to, but not including white tie events and kilt attire has several levels of black tie attire, including white tie equivalent. Now Prince Charles is dressed in a higher end black tie(dinner suit equivalent) kilt attire and considering that the event is "putting their best foot forward" for a good cause then Prince Charles is dressing to best effect and is perfectly acceptable.

The bottom picture is an example of a scarce high end black tie kilt event(white tie equivalent), in fact two gentlemen in the last picture, back right, are wearing saxon white tie attire, so the kilt attire is perfectly acceptable. In fact there is a chap not attired properly on the left of the picture. His attire is perhaps the best he could do in the circumstances, but his attire is a perfect example of what to wear to a normal bog standard black tie event.

Those that use these pictures as examples of how to dress formally to some minor burns do at the local hotel would most certainly be over-egging the cake! Unless you use the chap on the left of the last picture as your perfect example.

This is exactly why not understanding the full context of a picture is so dangerous.