particularly bold patterned Argyll on the 'bay

[Bad Monkey]

It's a bit too busy for me, but here's a jacket like that being worn in piping competition recently

well, the jacket the piper is wearing looks much better than I thought the jacket in the ad would. It could be the photo settings, but the piper's jacket looks a little more 'brown' overall. Still, I'm more of an overcheck/houndstooth kinda guy. I'm glad you posted that pic, though; it's not as busy in context as a picture of just the jacket itself makes it out to be.

[OC Richard]

Yes indeed, I do like that piper's kit, though I would have preferred a different bonnet.

There's a thing artists do, when they're working on a painting: if there's a passage you're struggling with, that you're not sure what to do with, cover up that passage with your hand, let your eye soak in the whole painting for a minute, then suddenly pull the hand away.

Whatever is wrong with the troubled passage will leap out to your eye! Why? Because when it's covered your mind's eye will create the ideal solution for the covered area, and when you take your hand away there will be a stark contrast between the ideal solution and what you've done there.

Try it with the photo of that piper above: cover just his bonnet, let it soak it for a bit, and see what your mind expects to be there. Not sky blue, I imagine.

Now this piper has everything within the same earth-toned palette:



(BTW my minds-eye expects a darker bonnet on this fellow.)

[Tobus]

well, the jacket the piper is wearing looks much better than I thought the jacket in the ad would. It could be the photo settings, but the piper's jacket looks a little more 'brown' overall. Still, I'm more of an overcheck/houndstooth kinda guy. I'm glad you posted that pic, though; it's not as busy in context as a picture of just the jacket itself makes it out to be.

I'm an unabashed fan of "loud" tweeds, and I generally think that they pair better with tartan kilts than most people imagine. Looking back at vintage photos, bold tweed patterns are all over the place. They offer a lot of visual interest, individuality, and style.

I have a jacket similar to the one that piper is wearing; I think it complements the tartan in my kilt quite well. The pattern size is not quite as large as the one in the OP, nor do the colours have as much contrast within the pattern. But I think when the jacket is seen by itself, it appears much more bold than it does when put together as part of an overall outfit. There probably is a point where it's "too much", but one would have to work pretty hard to find it.

[OC Richard]

That looks great on you! Your outfits are always impeccable.