Christmas Party attire help?

[Colin]

I like the outfit as well, but are the jacket sleeves too long or is it my eyes?

It may just be the angle, this is a photoshop of an old pic. I will get a new one tonight or at the party on Friday.

I would prefer a black sporran, though the brown fur is OK.

here's the sporran that is actually being worn

it's hard to tell from this photo, but it is actually a very silvery grey. I will be wearing a tie that matches that colour fairly well.

Thanks for the advise so far guys, I will see if I can get a good pic tonight to show what the outfit will infact look like.

[Bob C]

I think it looks just fine as pictured and will look just fine with the darker vest, too.

[Panache]

Beautiful sporran Colin. It does sound like you are going to have an awful lot of grey/charcoal in this outfit. Perhaps a green tie or one of the other colors from the kilt would be good to insert some contrast.

Cheers

[turpin]

As mentioned in the thread on KT's pleating difficulties, "If is looks right, it is right." I think it looks right.

[Colin]

Thanks Panache. I may look for a ancient blue or green wool tie in the next few days, but the idea of a red or yellow tie kind of makes me cringe I am not too worried about contrast, as the tartan is pretty noticeable on it's own. Were this a modern colour tatan, I could definetely see that point.

[Richland]

Would you tuck the sweater in to the Kilt? or keep it out?
I like the look of showing off a good kilt belt and buckle.
I have read you should not wear a belt when you are wearing a jacket.
True?

[Colin]

Would you tuck the sweater in to the Kilt? or keep it out?
I like the look of showing off a good kilt belt and buckle.
I have read you should not wear a belt when you are wearing a jacket.
True?

You should not wear a belt when wearing a waistcoat. Wearing a belt with a jacket is alright. No, I would not tuck the vest in, as I would never tuck the waistcoat in either. A belt would be an option, but I sadly don't own a good kilt belt right now

[Chef]

I think the outfit looks great. I have worn sweater vests under a kilt jacket before and it works well. I do agree thought that the sleeves are too long.

[KiltedKnight]

I think the outfit looks great. I have worn sweater vests under a kilt jacket before and it works well. I do agree thought that the sleeves are too long.

Not by much, if at all. While in the Army I always had my uniforms tailored and learned this from a German tailor that I trusted.
The jacket sleeve should hang down to the first joint of the thumb closest to the wrist, remember, the sportcoat/suitcoat is fancy dress as opposed to an ordinary jacket worn for practical purposes like staying warm and would normally end at the wrist with an elastic cuff or strap to tighten it. As for trousers, (which of course nobody but myself will admit to wearing...;o)~), the hang of the cuff should touch the top of the shoe just enough so that there is a slight fold in the pantleg, thereby creating that 'dressy' look. It took some getting used to it but I think that the slightly longer sleeve actually looks better than a sleeve that allows the shirt to show through while the arm is hanging at your side.

Chris.

[Chef]

You are correct about trousers however incorrect about the cuff. Wearing the sleeve too long gives it the look of an overcoat and in truth the fancier the jacket the shorter the sleeve will be because you are more likely to want to show some shirt cuff. It is true that jacket sleeves tend to be worn longer these days than in the past but this is due mostly to people buying off the rack rather than having suits made. A longer sleeve allows more people to fit one size of jacket. It is assumed that the buyer will then have the garment altered. The truth is that only a few have the sleeves altered, those who need the sleeves shortend a lot and a few who want the sleeve to fit properly and can afford the alterations.

If you go to a tailor most will shorten a jacket sleeve where the wrist and hand meet. It should be even with the cuff of a shirt or so that there is just the hint of the shirt below the jacket sleeve. If you tell the tailor you wear double cuffs they will shorten it a further 1/4 to 1/2 inch, ain fact in order to show off the cufflinks.

One problem though occurs if you have jacket sleeves altered for double cuffs; the jacket's sleeves are then definitely too short to be worn without a proper fitting long sleeve short. A polo shirt under a blazer shortened for double cuffs looks rather silly.

By the way, if memory serves me, Army regulations call for the length of the sleeve to be 1 inch below the wrist bone. Which puts it not quite half-way between the wrist bone and the 1st joint of the thumb.