Black and Brown?

[KEArnold]

Are there any hard and fast rules about wearing a black sporran with a brown belt or vice-versa?

I know Americans still seem to have an aversion to wearing clashing colors (at least I do) when it comes to the tartan and shirt/hose/shoes. Not so much in Europe. But what about the accessories. All I own are black belts with silver buckles. My sporran belt is black with silver chain and the two sets of belt hangers for it are black leather with silver snaps.

Should I invest in a brown kilt belt with brass or gold buckle?

The main reason I ask is that I'm making a sporran based on a pattern I got here. It's the one from 1750-80. It's going to be slightly larger and I'm tooling Celtic knots on the upper flap and front. I had planned on coloring it a saddle brown or maybe a mix of browns to make it look antiqued.

Keith

[HeathBar]

I think most of the conversation about about wearing black and brown together has been pairing shoes to sporran. Do you have enough leather to make yourself a leather sporran strap to match the sporran you are making? That would be the best. And you always have the option to not wear a kilt belt at all. I find myself going sans kilt belt more and more.

[Urchurdan]

There are no real 'hard and fast' rules about kiltwearing, there are conventions and traditions most of us try to stick to, some more rigidly than others.
What about instead of shades of brown, colour your sporran black and tan? That would solve your conundrum about the colour of the strap, it could be either....

[Mikilt]

Here's a great breakdown of different sporran from the Scottish Tartan Museum Gift shop
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/sporran.html

(Passed to me via Artificer)

~Mikilt

[davidlpope]

Are there any hard and fast rules about wearing a black sporran with a brown belt or vice-versa?

I know Americans still seem to have an aversion to wearing clashing colors (at least I do) when it comes to the tartan and shirt/hose/shoes. Not so much in Europe. But what about the accessories. All I own are black belts with silver buckles. My sporran belt is black with silver chain and the two sets of belt hangers for it are black leather with silver snaps.

Should I invest in a brown kilt belt with brass or gold buckle?

The main reason I ask is that I'm making a sporran based on a pattern I got here. It's the one from 1750-80. It's going to be slightly larger and I'm tooling Celtic knots on the upper flap and front. I had planned on coloring it a saddle brown or maybe a mix of browns to make it look antiqued.

Keith

Since you asked, my advice:

Wear black shoes with your kilt (full brogues, i.e. wingtips are traditional), and don't sweat trying to match the sporran/belt/sporran strap. Just wear what you have. I would recommend that you switch from sporran hangers to a regular leather sporran strap, though.

David

[azwildcat96]

My preference is to match...an opinon that seems to be frowned upon around these parts. Either way though, I doubt anyone in public will really make any comments about your matching (or lack of matching).

[KEArnold]

I think most of the conversation about about wearing black and brown together has been pairing shoes to sporran. Do you have enough leather to make yourself a leather sporran strap to match the sporran you are making? That would be the best. And you always have the option to not wear a kilt belt at all. I find myself going sans kilt belt more and more.

Yes I could make my own sporran belt or a set of belt hangers to attach the sporran to. Sadly my kilts will fall down with out a belt.

[KEArnold]

Since you asked, my advice:

Wear black shoes with your kilt (full brogues, i.e. wingtips are traditional), and don't sweat trying to match the sporran/belt/sporran strap. Just wear what you have. I would recommend that you switch from sporran hangers to a regular leather sporran strap, though.

David

This one is gong to be more casual. either to wear with my re-enactment costume or just to have on. I'm still wondering if I want to do the stitching to the outside or hide it. Outside makes for a more old fashioned look.

I'll be wearing my black hiking boots or my leather high boots (also black).

As for the hangers, they work better with my fat belly (less pinching). Although I'm thinking of making an all leather belt to hang the sporran from.

[MacRobert's Reply]

Mixing both leather colours and metals (silver and brass) is quite acceptable in day wear. Brown leather sporrans are ofter worn with black shoes. However, if you are going for a casual look I would avoid silver sporran cantles and buckle plates. Save these for more formal events. A sporran strap is also less formal than a chain, and is kinder to the kilt as well.

[Tobus]

I'm in the process of making another sporran too, and to solve the dilemma of black versus brown, I'm making my sporran a two-tone affair. It will be black with brown trim. That way, it can go with both, and I don't have to worry about being matchy-matchy or not.