Advice on buying traditional full dress

[thescot]

I would never own a black argyl jacket since it really is "neither fish, flesh, nor fowl." The jacket is OK, but, as stated above, since it's the most owned and worn, I don't want one. It's almost as if one wears it because one doesn't know what to wear!

For "dressy" day events, my tweed jacket and waistcoat look better than an argyl any day. Add a black tie, and it's almost dressy. And in the US, when style and grace are dying a slow death, I'd be dressier than almost anyone else in the tweed. Even after dark, it's OK around here (Atlant area) to wear tweed when others are in sports coats.

For "dressy," I'd do the prince charlie. It's exactly the same as a tuxedo--not formal dressy, just plain. You can add a white vest and tie and look pretty spiffy, though. And never--I mean never--wear a plaid with a charlie. You'd look loke someone who wanted to dress up but didn't know how.

For really "put on the dog" dressing, I wear a Montrose double-breasted doublet with a beachen feile. The extra wool piled over the shoulder attached with an amethest brooch, the lace at the throat and sleeves, and the fur sporran will be as dressy as anyone you will meet. You'll never be under dressed in that.

That's all my own opinions, and few will agree. I must add the caveat that I am quite old and conserviative.

I guess we have all shown our own prejudices here, and I guess you are over adivsed. So, have some fun. Decide on your own level of formality, and go for it. You'll look pretty sharp in anything that invloves a kilt!

[KiltedKnight]

I would never own a black argyl jacket since it really is "neither fish, flesh, nor fowl." The jacket is OK, but, as stated above, since it's the most owned and worn, I don't want one. It's almost as if one wears it because one doesn't know what to wear!

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For "dressy," I'd do the prince charlie. It's exactly the same as a tuxedo--not formal dressy, just plain. You can add a white vest and tie and look pretty spiffy, though. And never--I mean never--wear a plaid with a charlie. You'd look loke someone who wanted to dress up but didn't know how.

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That's all my own opinions, and few will agree...

Yes, those might be your own opinions but the advice really sounds like it came from someone who wanted to look like he knew something about the kilt but really didn't.

This is one of the worst posts on what to wear and how to wear it that I have ever seen. The Argyle has as many uses as any other jacket. I doubt that someone would purchase a tweed jacket for a funeral. I wear my Argyle to the funeral but I wear my tweed to visit the grave. Or wear a tweed jacket at an evening event? Tweeds are daywear and not meant for after dark. Tweeds at an evening event would definately look like someone had no idea of what Scottish dress was all about.

And the flyplaid with the PC looks like someone didn't know how to dress? The flyplaid goes very well with the PC and in a pinch could be worn with the Argyle. I've even seen the flyplaid worn with a nice shirt although that does border on the Brigadoonish.

Am I to believe that you also think that a tweed jacket worn with a Laird Plaid during daylight hours, as it should be, would look like someone didn't know how to dress?

It is my opinion that some of these "neo-kilts" should not have the label "KILT" attached anywhere to it since they are not true kilts and that opinion would be much more reasonable than this opinion about flyplaids but until now I have mostly kept my opinion to myself if others are happy with what they like to wear.

I shudder to think at what someone new to the kilt would have burned into his psyche at reading someone elses opinion laid out like as if it were gospel.

This reply has been under construction for quite a while and I have tried to take a lot of the sharp edges off it but I am left with this end result. I felt that I had to make this reply to correct what I thought was very bad advice but the subject really had me frosted and I know it shows.

Chris.