Sherrifmuir Jacket

[CMcG]

What about bottle green, burgundy or another color?
Rondo

Other colours could work too, but I think the choice of material is more important if your goal is to have a doublet that could be worn as day wear. Barathea is a formal fabric, as is velvet, and these are the materials Sheriffmuir's seem to be commonly available in. A bespoke doublet might be the only way to break that mould.

Matt's tweed Sheriffmuir is a good example of a less formal fabric increasing the versatility of the doublet, but you might also consider something like a fine corduroy. The caveat here is that by dropping the formality of the cloth down, it would no longer be the best choice for the most formal of formal occasions i.e. white tie. It should still be ok for black tie, which is what matters in this case, according to the OP. IMHO, swappable buttons would still help with the transitions between more and less formal.

[rondo]

Just to clarify some:
-I want a coat that can go up to black tie level
-that can also be worn during daytime [formal] events
-I will never see a white tie affair
-and I don't care for the Argyle
A tall order, I know, but something tell me the Sherrifmuir will do it.
Thanks for all the kind replies.
Rondo
P.S. For those that followed my experiment last year with the mandarin styled jacket in brown/olive corduroy it is working out well but the satin facings do provide too much contrast to the corduroy. I still like the cut and if push comes to shove I may still have a formal jacket made in that style.

[SlackerDrummer]

It's a little bit like asking how "dressed down" a tuxedo can go. You can wear it with blue jeans to the county fair if you like, but it probably wouldn't be appropriate.

[cable scot]

Rondo,

I got mine from Rocky, maybe his people could give you more fabric/color options. I wear mine with a colored cravat for black tie, I couldn't do a jabot and cuffs and cravats can be tied in all sorts of ways.

[rondo]

I hear you C.S. I think I could do a jabot if it wasn't too frilly [lol] but I don't think I could ever do the cuffs. I rather like the rouche ties but since i don't do waistcoats that is out. I'll figure out something, I'm just working through the options.
Rondo

[MacLowlife]

Rondo, have you considered re-doing the corduroy with, say, flannel or alcantara ( a synthetic suede, I think) facings instead of the satin? I think CMcG is right- the buttons are going to make a difference. But I don't think fabric covered. I think maybe dull pewter or bone or antler. If you are going custom anyway, what about moleskin? If you had antler buttons on it, it would look like sturdy, workaday moleskin, a fabric said to have been used for road-menders' trousers. If you had shiny metal ones, it would look like sensuous, suede-like moleskin, a fabric that resembles velvet, without all of the fuss.

Now, you still have to work out the details. Notice how Matt's tweed has a different cuff from KD Burke's. If it were up to me, I'd go with navy or bottle green moleskin, with black piping, also in moleskin or something not very shiny. You might find it not quite formal for some people's tastes, but it would work better on the less dressy end.

[MacLowlife]

If all goes well, I will have posted 4 photos. Two are of a black velvet doublet, with red trim. I am showing it here to illustrate how matte fabric trim tends to look a little less dressy. In some light, the red does look like "hot" pink, but it is merely red.

But the other jacket is what I call my Sharif-Muir. I ordered it from an eBay seller in India and I had a little trouble actually getting the fish into the boat, but it did eventually arrive. As you can see, it is burgundy velvet, based on a Nehru jacket, but shortened to a kilt-appropriate length. I am actually considering changing th ebuttons to square white metal ones. I do not share Rondo's need for informality. I've got another jacket for that. I want the burgundy one to look more Scots and less Indian.

By the way, I am not endorsing the red trimmed black one. I would like it better if it didn't have the shells at the shoulder and if it had not shrunk so badly in my closet.

[MacLowlife]

careful viewers will notice a Sherrifmuir in this photo. I am not sure about the fabric- it is a little coarser than barathea. IThe jacket originally came from ClannCrois, but it came to me from eBay...

[rondo]

Mac,
I think I'll leave the corduroy as is. Its grown on me. Most people don't notice anything except 'the nicely dressed guy in the kilt and coat'. I have just about decided to order the same coat in black wool for 'black tie' the corduroy will serve for all others. I have found that a conventional collar and bow tie work with the corduroy as the fit at the neck is open enough so nothing is crowded [not that anyone would see the tie]. At the price I paid I feel the bespoke corduroy was a steal, the fit is perfect. BTW, I love the burgundy coat.
As to going black wool with the Mandarin my thinking is coming around to if "one goes too far away from 'norms' even in Highland dress, it might be a bridge too far". Since the cut is not traditional I think black wool pulls it back to black tie while silk or velvet or another color would push to far. When I do wear the Black coat it will be with a fine tuxedo shirt, black bow tie, 3" black dirk belt, dress sporran, full height hose, and highly polished black shoes.
For the folks that don't know, the jacket in question looks to me very much like a plain, open front doublet, to others it looks a bit German, and some even think it looks Neru or Mandarin.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/a...9&d=1351696198
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/a...8&d=1335934447
Thanks for the replies and conversation.
Rondo