"De-formalizing" a black argyle...

[The Wizard of BC]

It is quite easy to swap out buttons on a quality jacket. If you have the type of jacket with cotter pins or split rings to hold them on it is a simple matter of finding where the slit is in the liner, reach in and pull the cotter pin and put a new button on.
It takes about 30 sec per button.

Any good button will work, it just depends on what you are looking for. Until the advent of the large retailers jackets were made in small shops and each had their own unique buttons. You could tell the maker from across the room by the buttons .

Visit your local sewing or fabric shop. Take a look at what is available. Remember though that in most cases simple equals elegant so if you have a choice find a good simple button.

I have used the leather knots, plain black, black fabric covered, and black military style, false and real antler, along with gold and silver. It's just style. What is yours?

[Jock Scot]

Black buttons dress down the look just perfectly. If I want to lower my profile a tad at a wedding, for example, where I am not an important guest and I might be one of the few wearing the kilt, then interchangeable buttons as suggested already with "bachelor buttons" aka buttons held on by cotter pins, make life so easy with the option.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I'm not saying don't switch out the buttons. I've seen people who have and it looks fine. But you might want to consider if you really need to.

Here I am at a Burns Supper last year. My sporran has a brass cantle, but the buttons on my waistcoat and jackets (as well as the buckles on my shoes, and my kilt pin) are all white metal.

I didn't feel at all out of place and I think it looks just fine.

Likewise, here I am wearing a brass buckle, and (though it's hard to see in the pic) the brooch on my shoulder is also brass. But again, the buttons are all white metal.


I think if it were me I wouldn't worry so much about the metals matching as I would about the leather. Brown leather is not at all customary for formal events. I'm thinking if you had a black leather sporran and belt, it would make the outfit look far more formal, regardless of yellow or white metals. (And, of course, if your new jacket is coming with a waistcoat, you may not even want to wear a belt).

[Joshua]

I think if it were me I wouldn't worry so much about the metals matching as I would about the leather. Brown leather is not at all customary for formal events. I'm thinking if you had a black leather sporran and belt, it would make the outfit look far more formal, regardless of yellow or white metals. (And, of course, if your new jacket is coming with a waistcoat, you may not even want to wear a belt).

Not really worried about the "brown leather" issue mostly because daytime weddings will probably be the extent of my formality. I do have a waistcoat but it is not argyle, it has regular black synthetic buttons, and does not match the jacket at all (so chances are I won't be wearing it, especially so in Florida).

[Joshua]

I received the jacket yesterday and it needs major alterations before being worn regardless, I think I'll ask the tailor about putting in cotter-pin buttonholes so I can swap around. I found round celtic buttons available in gold and silver - if I had swappable buttons I could pick one or the other...

HOWEVER...

I'm actually thinking standard black buttons would be the best for the look I want to get... especially so because I have a weathered hunter-green waistcoat with black buttons that looks nicer than I expected with the jacket.

[Santa Kona]

I got my Gold colored buttons for my jacket from J Higgins he has both Large and Small. You have to call them the buttons are not in their catalog.