Should have been a kilt jacket...

[CMcG]

I like the cut and the buttons but the design on lapels and the area around the pocket are a bit too "Liberace" for me. Make those areas plain black and I'd snatch it up. I agree though that it is distinctive, and someone who could pull off that look would get my thumbs up, but I know I'm not that guy.

I believe that is a TRACHTEN jacket, from Germany. Most of the ones I have seen ( online) have higher contrast between the body and the applique. I do like the monochrome effect. I think there are plenty of reasons to wear it in a non traditional kilt outfit, just as you might wear it without lederhosen, with jeans for instance. But I'd be ready to discuss it...



And Whidbey, I am not that guy, either, much as I'd like to be...

I have one of these "trachten" jackets in charcoal grey with plain horn button closure, no decorative buttons, and dark green highlights on the button holes, collar, and slash pockets. It's a little longer in the body, so not really suitable for kilting, but looks great with jeans and stand up collar shirt. Picked up at a thrift store for $20.

I don't understand the fascination with all these very...umm..."distinctive-looking" jackets. There's already so much variation/ freedom of expression inherent in THCD, why not take any one of the seven or so evening THCD jacket styles and personalize it in your own choice of color, fabric, trim, etc?

That seems like it would be so much better than finding some "ebay special" that one "might be able to wear" with a kilt...

David

davidlpope, you are a good traditionalist and of course you shouldn't see the point from that perspective

If I may attempt an explanation, it would be rooted in the post-modern condition. Globalized modernity finds itself at the simultaneous intersection of different cultures, traditions, and even co-existing time periods. Even in THCD we can see elements of dress coming together that span Jacobite, Victorian, Edwardian, etc periods. Preservation, bricolage, syncretism, evolution, and innovation are all available and coextensive methods.

It also has to do with price. I'm not in a financial position to have a bespoke doublet made or even to have extensive alterations done to an existing jacket. Highland attire carries a premium price, even for off-the rack options. As this thread has shown, there are other types of jackets that have a cut suitable to kilting. The style of said jackets, however, is certainly a matter of preference.

Hahaha, quite right David, and well said indeed! To me, those ebay jackets look odd and nothing like the more traditional evening coatees and doublets one is accustomed to seeing - which is more than likely the point I gather. To each is own I guess.

Yes creagdhubh, I think part of the point is to try something different. THCD is wonderful and I'm not considering any of these options as a replacement for traditional jackets. More like an alternative, hence why I posted this in the modern forum!

[auld argonian]

I tend to take the point about a post-modern perspective on the kilted look.

Looking like you just got out of a time machine from the 18th or 19th Centuries looks about as out of place as looking post-punk-emo. Thus super-trad or super-trendy are sort of on an equal footing imho.

Frankly, one of the tests that I apply is whether or not anybody comes up and asks me to explain why I'm dressed "that" way or asks me to explain the "significance" of some part of my outfit...if you have to explain it, it ain't workin'.

Best

AA

[Whidbey78]

I tend to take the point about a post-modern perspective on the kilted look.

Looking like you just got out of a time machine from the 18th or 19th Centuries looks about as out of place as looking post-punk-emo. Thus super-trad or super-trendy are sort of on an equal footing imho.

Frankly, one of the tests that I apply is whether or not anybody comes up and asks me to explain why I'm dressed "that" way or asks me to explain the "significance" of some part of my outfit...if you have to explain it, it ain't workin'.

Best

AA

Well put AA.

Really, it comes down to the wearer. If a guy feels that he "belongs" in his clothes, and projects that, he can wear a clown suit and most folks won't give it a thought. Well, they won't give it too much thought.

[davidlpope]

davidlpope, you are a good traditionalist and of course you shouldn't see the point from that perspective

Yes creagdhubh, I think part of the point is to try something different. THCD is wonderful and I'm not considering any of these options as a replacement for traditional jackets. More like an alternative, hence why I posted this in the modern forum!

Woops...wandered into the wrong forum by mistake...

Frankly, one of the tests that I apply is whether or not anybody comes up and asks me to explain why I'm dressed "that" way or asks me to explain the "significance" of some part of my outfit...if you have to explain it, it ain't workin'.

Really well put....

[SlackerDrummer]

Frankly, one of the tests that I apply is whether or not anybody comes up and asks me to explain why I'm dressed "that" way or asks me to explain the "significance" of some part of my outfit...if you have to explain it, it ain't workin'.

I think this gets to the heart of the disagreement in this thread. I have only ever worn the kilt to attend black tie events, highland games, work (on National Tartan Day) and my wedding. When not playing with a pipe band, it is my intent to wear mostly THCD (or the appropriate attire for hiking - for which I'd like to have a kilt). But 20 years ago, if I'd had a kilt, I'd have been wearing much more avant garde stuff with it. But my guess is that 20 years ago, I was wearing much more avant garde clothing in my non-kilt dress than the naysayers on this thread. I played in punk rock bands from the late 80s through the late 90s. The existentialist in me appreciated the true punk-rock ethos of non-conformity and I dressed accordingly. The thing is, in many ways, what you wear with a kilt is no more "significant" that what you wear with pants. I suspect if one were to wear some of the jackets on this thread with a kilt to attend a highland games, someone there might ask what the significance is. And they might be right to do so. If you push the envelope in one instance, there is no reason not to in the other. Some people don't get envelope-pushing. But I've never thought that to be any sort of reflection on the pusher. There is no more reason to ask "Why are you wearing that jacket?" than there is to ask "Why is your hair purple?" Sometimes the answer is simply, "Because I like it."

[MacLowlife]

Slacker D, you offer at least two important points. The first is explicit- sometimes " 'cause I want to" is plenty of reason. The second one is implicit, but might be called the rule of If It's Too Loud, as in

If it's too loud,
you're too old.

CMcG wisely posted this thread on the modern forum. Being traditional is fine, especially for us old guys, but for modern, I think just about anything goes. And, like they say, if someone doesn't agree, they don't have to look.

[Whidbey78]

Slacker D, you offer at least two important points. The first is explicit- sometimes " 'cause I want to" is plenty of reason. The second one is implicit, but might be called the rule of If It's Too Loud, as in

If it's too loud,
you're too old.

CMcG wisely posted this thread on the modern forum. Being traditional is fine, especially for us old guys, but for modern, I think just about anything goes. And, like they say, if someone doesn't agree, they don't have to look.

All very true. Isn't age just a state of mind though?

[SlackerDrummer]

All very true. Isn't age just a state of mind though?

Youth, as far as I can tell, is a state of mind. Age, it seems, is increasingly a state of disrepair.

[English Bloke]

Youth, as far as I can tell, is a state of mind. Age, it seems, is increasingly a state of disrepair.

What a great statement. Superb!

[The Barry]

If it's too loud,
you're too old.

Words to live by