"Double-duty" tweed?

[Steve Ashton]

Another option would be a short jacket similar to an Eton or Spencer.
The Eton jacket has front buttons and could be cut to be worn closed. It usually has a shawl lapels for a bow tie but nothing says it could not be made with notched lapels and worn with long tie.
The Spencer style is similar but has a faux double breasted look and is not intended to be worn closed although I have seen some that are actually double breasted. Again equal notched lapels for a less tuxedo look.


Think a Prince Charlie Coatee without the tashes.
The problem with the Eton and Spencer styles is that you may not have any trousers cut with a high enough rise.


I personally like the Belgian Chefs Jackets. I have one in barathea with a deep red lining that shows when some top buttons are left undone. But there is nothing saying it could not be made in Tweed.



Looks very classic and is suitable where a tie would normally be appropriate but is not worn with a tie.

Then there is the iconic "Ike" jacket of which there are many variations.



Or the British Battle Dress Jacket that has a shirt like collar an buckled belt at the waist.



Are you catching the hint that I like the shorter jacket styles simply because they work so well with both kilt and trousers?

[Tomo]

I was thinking the very same thing about tartan trews and kilt cut jackets. As a matter of interest, I have never seen any criticism on this website of tartan trews being mentioned by anyone.

I shall have to dig mine out next time I am in the UK.

[EagleJCS]

I was thinking something along the lines of the "Ike" jacket or the British Battle Dress Jacket, as Steve suggested.

Both styles can be worn with a kilt or trousers, but are more on the casual end of the spectrum than what you may be looking for.

[OC Richard]

About trews (actually tartan trousers, trews were a completely different garment) kilt-length jackets look a bit short.

As we know the bottom of kilt jackets is usually a bit shorter than the sleeves, while the bottom of trouser-jackets is usually a couple inches longer than the sleeves.

I personally like the Belgian Chefs Jackets.

Those look like 19th century double-breasted military Shell Jackets



but also have some affinity with Western Wear "plastron" shirts



All of these things aside, and back to tweed jackets with kilts, it's quite common in Victorian photos to see men wearing their trouser-jackets with their kilts.

[Tomo]

Typically the trews should have a high rise and so would work with a shorter jacket.

KA offer them in tartan and tweed. Gunn & Grant and MacGregor and MacDuff have both produced some info on wearing trews:

https://www.gunnandgrant.com/post/wh...h-tartan-trews

https://macgregorandmacduff.co.uk/bl...trews-trousers

I've seen them worn with PC and Argylls.

[ObiSeanKenobi]

However, I strongly recommend a good kilt jacket as being completely worthwhile. If you really like your kilt jacket and look smashing in it--well, you'll find yourself opting for the kilt for all sorts of events and you will definitely get your money's worth out of the jacket that way. That's certainly how it's gone for me.

This really is the goal, to be honest. I'm hoping to find more opportunities to wear the kilt, and having a broad range of casual and semi-casual outfit options will make that process a lot easier. I rarely attend functions that call for evening wear (maybe once or twice a year), so a PC is a truly unnecessary expense for me, but a tweed jacket and waistcoat would make a suitable outfit for my business casual office, weddings I may attend in the future, etc. The Ike jacket looks like a great casual piece as well.

This has been a truly illuminating conversation! I'm happy to continue to solicit opinions as long as The Rabble cares to provide them.

[KennethSime]

This really is the goal, to be honest. I'm hoping to find more opportunities to wear the kilt, and having a broad range of casual and semi-casual outfit options will make that process a lot easier. I rarely attend functions that call for evening wear (maybe once or twice a year), so a PC is a truly unnecessary expense for me, but a tweed jacket and waistcoat would make a suitable outfit for my business casual office, weddings I may attend in the future, etc. The Ike jacket looks like a great casual piece as well.

This has been a truly illuminating conversation! I'm happy to continue to solicit opinions as long as The Rabble cares to provide them.

One thing to keep in mind is that it doesn't all have to come at once. Much like fixing up an old car - get the big stuff taken care of right off the bat if you can (buy your kilt), and you can piecemeal the rest together over time. A vintage sporran here, a waistcoat there, etc.

A solid tweed argyll (or crail, or braemar, or wallace) will certainly get you through a great many social events.

[KnittedReenactor]

Well Kilted Padawan, welcome to the Rabble!
The problem with the multi-situation kilt jacket is the jacket's hemline. Suit jackets are too long to look good with a kilt and Kilt jackets are too short to properly cover the midriff with most modern trousers. For some reason everything in men's trousers today seem to favor the hip-hugger look (to me at least). If you look at OC's post from yesterday, the gent on the far left has copious amounts of white shirt showing at his belly compared to his fellows, who look quite nice in their high rise trews.

The ONLY solution I can think of to use the same jacket and vest set with both kilt and trousers is to only have trousers that ride much higher than one can typically get at the department store. This will typically result in vintage finds, reenactor vendor, or custom order trousers. Even the BD Blouse (Ike Jacket) was designed to have much higher rise trousers, and they even had to button the back of the trousers to the jacket to prevent spill out.

[OC Richard]

Typically the trews should have a high rise and so would work with a shorter jacket.

I think that's the key, to get trousers (tartan or otherwise) with the traditional high-rise waist; otherwise the top of the trousers can be seen peeking under the waistcoat, as can be seen in a number of the photos I and others have posted.

I hate the look of some of the modern suits that have the pants cut so low that shirt can be seen under where the suit-coat is buttoned. Either the pants need to be higher, or the suit-coat designed to button lower.

[Father Bill]

Even if you get the old style high-rise trousers, the sporran cutaway at the bottom front will look odd in one or the other usage.