Need some advice...daywear (shirt, vest, jacket)

[creagdhubh]

Dredging up a bunch of photos from the forum (and elsewhere)...I like the style of HRH's jacket and vest. Hell, I like the whole outfit.


A wee bit off topic, but since I am ever the loyal Macpherson clansman, I shall proceed. Take a wee look over the Duke of Argyll's right shoulder, our left when viewing the above photo, here you will find the face of my chief, Sir William Alan Macpherson of Cluny and Blairgowrie, TD. I had to say something!

Creag Dhubh!

[wildrover]

Thanks everyone for all the advice so far! Some possibilities...

The back of Jim's kilt is very similar to the back of my kilt. Charcoal jacket, here.


HRH in a dark kilt with a yellow stripe. I really like the subtle pattern on the jacket and vest, and the light buttons. Grey tweed makes for good contrast here. There's a tint to the tweed, not sure if I'd call it greenish or bluish, but if I could get my hands on a jacket and vest with this cut and material, I'd be happy.


MacLaren tartan, courtesy of Sportkilt...to the left, Hunter tweed jacket, to the right, Lovat Blue jacket.


Sea Blue, from the USA Kilts website...


I'm really leaning toward the light grey or salt/pepper colors...Lovat Blue could work, too...I guess I'm just thrown by the color in the closeup photos from the Tartan Museum. It doesn't look as strikingly blue in Kyle's photos, more like a blue tint.

This would be a lot easier if I actually had an eye for color !

[creagdhubh]

Sean,

I know exactly how you feel with regards to colour, especially when there is such a variety of high-quality items, with regards to Highland attire, available for purchase. In regards to your keen observation, the lovat blue colour of one of my Kinloch-Anderson day jacket's is actually not overly striking, or bold in my opinion-I have seen other lovat blue styles made by other establishments that are quite BLUE! It may appear that way more than likely due to the lighting that surrounds me; a camera flash, the different tartans I am wearing with the jacket and waistcoat, being out-of-doors, etc. The colour is actually fairly subdued and has hints of lovat green throughout. There is no obvious pattern in the material-the tweed is not herringbone, like the lovat green version is from Kinloch.

I love the patterned jackets, with the subtle vertical and horizontal stripes of different colours on a solid colour tweed background. I also love the inspired Scottish estate tweed, and heavier Harris tweed jackets. I completely understand choosing a day wear jacket and perhaps a matching waistcoat to go with it, may be rather daunting at times! I am quite confident that almost any pattern, style, and colour choice will look very smart with your modern MacLaren tartan-don't worry about it too much and definitely don't necessarily try to match-I am sure that you are already well aware of that! I am by no means an 'expert', just merely stating my personal opinion and offering my advice for what it's worth to you. My good friend and native Scot, Donald MacLaren of Pitlochry, who is also a past president, and currently a member of the board, of the local Saint Andrew's Society here in Saint Louis, wears his kilt in the ancient MacLaren tartan with a lovat green tweed Argyll from Lochcarron. He always look quite dapper whilst adorned in his day attire. I think your tartan sett and colourings will look great with practically any style and colour (charcoal tweed may appear too dark overall with the modern MacLaren tartan, but if you like that sort of deep tone, then by all means, forge ahead!) of Highland day jacket, whether it be an Argyll, Crail, Braemar, or Kinloch-Anderson's version.

I can certainly tell you this, my next day wear jackets and waistcoats will be from the inspired Scottish estate tweed line (Scottish Tartans Museum Gift Shop-Matt Newsome), after of course, I finish purchasing the remaining patterned styles that Lochcarron offers through their Ettrick tweed line!

Good luck and keep us posted!

P.S.-Try the Haggart's tweed line available through the "House of Labhran" or "Highland Clans". You may fancy one of their, or all, tweed styles. I like their waistcoats, because the tailor makes them with single-breasted lapels, very smart!

www.houseoflabhran.net

www.highlandclans.co.uk

Slainte,

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I'll suggest two possibilities: Stewart Christie or Mozart, both in Edinburgh.

[BobsYourUncle]

I'll suggest two possibilities: Stewart Christie or Mozart, both in Edinburgh.

Thank you, good sir! Stewart Christie's website makes that establishment look just the ticket!

[wildrover]

Thanks Matt! I'll have another look, and I'll probably have some questions. The Wallace jacket looks like it would be perfect, actually...I don't know how I missed that style browsing the website. I'll have to think about the waistcoat, straight cut vs pointed, but I definitely like the lapels on HRH's and PM Gordon Walker's waistcoats. What's the lead time on this sort of stuff, if I'm sending measurements and other requests?

Icarus, I hear you on the heat and distraction...the jacket is more to complete the kit. Last year was a dress shirt by itself...not sure if I could do more, in the heat, without looking like I'd had a bucket of water thrown at me!

I posted this pic in its own thread elsewhere, but here it is again...new sporran.

I hope I can dress better than I can photograph. At any rate, it should look great with some tweed on top.

[Woodsheal]

Alexis Malcolm has a good price on the charcoal tweed Crail jacket/waistcoat set, with epaulettes (if you can wear an off-the-rack size):

http://www.alexismalcolmkilts.com/1523.html

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Thanks Matt! I'll have another look, and I'll probably have some questions. The Wallace jacket looks like it would be perfect, actually...I don't know how I missed that style browsing the website. I'll have to think about the waistcoat, straight cut vs pointed, but I definitely like the lapels on HRH's and PM Gordon Walker's waistcoats. What's the lead time on this sort of stuff, if I'm sending measurements and other requests?

The Wallace jackets are all custom made, and so you should allow about 8 to 12 weeks for delivery. (I thought that was stated on the web site, but looking over it now it seems I neglected to put an average delivery time on there... must correct that!)

[wildrover]

The Wallace jackets are all custom made, and so you should allow about 8 to 12 weeks for delivery. (I thought that was stated on the web site, but looking over it now it seems I neglected to put an average delivery time on there... must correct that!)

No worries, I figured it would be a while for anything made-to-measure from overseas.

None of this is "need" items at the moment, and I can always get a cheap vest somewhere...as for the jacket and vest I want, that can wait until I get the sheets back from this season's boards . If I do well, there will be some Harris Tweed in my future .

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Sorry I seem to have missed this thread earlier. Way back on page one a few questions were asked about our jackets.

Our Argyll kilt jackets are single button. And yes, you would typically wear them unbuttoned. What you would want would be "Craill" cuff style and "No" epaulettes, to get a jacket like the one I'm wearing in the picture you posted. That one is a Harris Tweed. We have several Harris Tweed options shown on our fabric pages currently, but I have a ton of samples I'm still in the processes of scanning and uploading to the web site, so if you are looking for a particular color range, let me know.

All of the above is also true for our Argyle jackets, which are made the same was as the Argyll except there is an "e" on the end. :-) lol...

If you want something slightly more contemporary looking, our Wallace Jacket is essentially the same beastie as the Argyll (or Argyle) jacket, but with three-buttons. And yes, you'd still wear the jacket open.

Both jacket styles come with a waistcoat, as you see in the photographs on our web site. If you want a waistcoat with a straight cut waist, or with a shawl collar, as HRH is pictured wearing in some of the photos on this thread, we can generally accomodate special requests such as this. This kind of modification would put your jacket in the "made to measure" category.

We can do made to measure on either of these jacket styles for only $50 more. (MTM means the tailors will make the jacket from specific measurements you provide, as opposed to making the jacket from a standard stock size such as 44L or 40R, etc.)

Any other questions, I'll be happy to answer.

On a personal note, I for one am happy that you are thinking about going with a custom made tweed jacket rather than the ubiquitous black that you see every piper wearing these days. Something that makes you stand out and yet still look very distinguished and traditional will serve you well.