Highland Mess Jacket?

[D.A. Guertin]

Digging around trying to figure out what this is, and I came across the term, but only briefly... Doesn't seem to match with any military, 'regulation' or civilian jacket I've found thus far. Clearly seems a Scottish design, but it has no tags whatsoever. Fits like a 40R... Just another oddball from my collection!

Darryl

[D.A. Guertin]

Grr... Photos... Ha! This should help. 20191126_050817_resized.jpg

20191126_050851_resized.jpg

[FossilHunter]

With the tashes on it, it looks most like what is today called a regulation doublet. Maybe some tailor specific version of it.

[Blaidd]

Funnily enough, only this morning, I saw a young gentleman, on another site, wearing this very style of jacket and wondered on its origins! I confess, it did look rather smart!

[D.A. Guertin]

I looked over all of the Regulation Doublet that I could find, but they all had 4 tashes... Leave it to me to find the odd ones!

[kingandrew]

I agree. This looks like a regulation doublet.

The Highland regimental mess jackets I have seen in photos were all quite smart looking, but tend to be in shades of red with lots of braiding on the sleeve cuff.

Andrew

[FossilHunter]

I looked over all of the Regulation Doublet that I could find, but they all had 4 tashes... Leave it to me to find the odd ones!

Maybe custom-made sans side tashes? Too bad there’s no maker’s patch on it.

[Highland Logan]

Maybe custom-made sans side tashes? Too bad there’s no maker’s patch on it.

I think, based on the many photos I've seen here and elsewhere, as well as old tailoring instructions/guides; that this may be a conversation from something Saxon.

Frank

[OC Richard]

I'm with Logan, it's some sort of Saxon mess dress or tuxedo jacket that someone has crudely altered.

Cuffs have been added, and tashes/skirts have been added in the back.

I've seen a large number of vintage Highland jackets and sporrans on Ebay over the years that have been crudely modified by some previous owner, for example jackets which have had tashes and/or cuffs added (often in clashing fabric), jackets with cuffs altered, etc.

It's more common with vintage sporrans where you see old horsehair sporrans where the body and/or the tassels have been chopped very short, leather sporrans with cap badges crudely affixed, etc.

Right now on Ebay there's one of the most bizarre examples I've seen: somebody has affixed a child-size sporran onto the front of an adult-sized sporran, creating a strange monstrosity.