Kilt jackets and formality

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Glen,

Great subject for a thread!

A few things to remember. First is that all of these jackets you are describing are essentially daywear kilt jackets. The differences can be boiled down to 1) sleeve details, and 2) the material the jacket is made from. I think we cannot discount the importance of No. 2.

The sleeve details are important, but I do not really think they are the most important factor in evaluating the formality of any given jacket. For example, in your original post, what makes the first jacket more casual looking than the other two is not the fact that it has Argyle cuffs, but the fact that it is a brown color Harris tweed. Cloth like that makes for a superb daywear jacket, but the darker color of the other two jackets you picture make them more suitable for "dressing up" for evening wear if the need arises; sleeve details notwithstanding.

Another caveat is that the names you have given to the different cuff styles are not universally followed. What you have laid out here is how most people would describe those types of sleeves. However, sometimes you'll encounter different usages, so let the buyer beware. For example, to most people a "Crail jacket" is one with plain cuffs. But "Crail jacket" is the name House of Edgar uses for their charcoal-grey kilt jacket with Braemar cuffs.

Some people use the term "Argyle jacket" to mean any kilt jacket with a shape and cut like those you have pictured, regardless of cuff style. What you call an "Argyle" cuff they will call a "gauntlett" cuff. So an "Argyle jacket" can have a gauntlett, braemar, or crail cuff.

Some people call a Braemar cuff a "Prince Charlie" cuff, because that style jacket is normally made with a Braemar cuff.

So just keep in mind that the terminology used in Glen's opening post is generally going to be followed in the Highland Dress industry, it is not universally so. Therefore when buying a jacket pay close attention to the pictures and details and when in doubt, ask the seller, to make sure you are getting the jacket you want.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Harris tweed jacket, Crail cuffs. Worn with matching tweed waistcoat.


Glen Tilt "tweed" jacket. This is really a worsted wool, not a tweed cloth. Isla Mill calls this line of patterns "tweeds" because they were inspired by estate tweed patterns. This one has Argyle cuffs. The fact that is is a worsted cloth, rather than a tweed, and is made with silver-tone buttons rather than horn, makes is a slightly more dressy jacket than the Harris Tweed one pictured above.


Another Argyle jacket, made just like the one above only in a solid color worsted wool, and with imitation horn buttons.


This is the exact make and cut of the above jacket, but instead of an olive green worsted wool, it is made of black wool, and the buttons are silver-tone, not horn. The choice of cloth and buttons make this jacket far more suitable to dressing up for formal functions.


But because the cut of the jacket is still the less-formal "argyle" style, the same jacket can be dressed down to wear for a more formal daywear setting, as we see below, by changing details such as tie, hose, sporran, etc.