HRH Prince Charles in Highland Evening Attire - Let's Take a Look!

**Spartan Tartan** · 3rd July 13, 01:35 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

You might have to wait a while. I've not seen a pic of the boys in Highland wear since they were lads. More's the pity.

ith:

I know :-(

**creagdhubh** · 3rd July 13, 04:47 AM

Originally Posted by artificer

You might have to wait a while. I've not seen a pic of the boys in Highland wear since they were lads. More's the pity.

ith:

Precisely! I really don't see them wearing Highland dress again until they're a wee bit older.

**CMcG** · 3rd July 13, 07:27 AM

creagdhubh and artificer, I'm glad you enjoyed the extra photos I dug up

One thing that Rothesay's evening attire shows, as does Sir Lachlan MacLean's, is some variation within the acceptable range of THCD jackets/doublets. They both have dark green velvet, which is a nice change from the usual black barathea. Not that there is anything wrong with black barathea wool!

The 13th Duke of Argyll also wears a velvet doublet, but his is deep wine colour with salmon buttons:

The previous (12th) Duke of Argyll also appears to have worn a velvet doublet with salmon buttons, but the colour is a little hard to distinguish in these older photos:

**creagdhubh** · 3rd July 13, 08:01 AM

Great photos, Colin! In fact, I have copies of those shown above, as well as many other delightful photos of His Grace the Duke of Argyll, in my collection. I would bet that the colour of the 12th Duke of Argyll's doublet is black or a very, very dark blue. I base this of course on the oil portraits of previous Dukes of Argyll, which can be seen below. In my opinion, a dark green velvet doublet with the overall green hue of the Campbell tartan probably would be a little too much green, but I am only guessing here, since we really can't tell from the photos.

*Note the boar's heads (crest of Mac Cailein Mór) in silver on each Duke's belt (obviously the same belt and sporran, amongst other items, that were passed down), magnificent!

**Nathan** · 3rd July 13, 08:06 AM

A bit of a side track here but, what is the significance of the salmon to the Argylls? It is a potent symbol of the MacDonalds as it hearkens back to a story of our clan founder Somerled agreeing to take leadership of the Island men only if he caught a salmon. Just then, the story goes, he got a bite and pulled a large salmon out of the water. There has hence forth been a salmon on the Arms of Lord Macdonald and many of the other Macdonald chiefs.

Does anyone know how this symbol applies to the Campbells of Argyll?

**creagdhubh** · 3rd July 13, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by Nathan

A bit of a side track here but, what is the significance of the salmon to the Argylls? It is a potent symbol of the MacDonalds as it hearkens back to a story of our clan founder Somerled agreeing to take leadership of the Island men only if he caught a salmon. Just then, the story goes, he got a bite and pulled a large salmon out of the water. There has hence forth been a salmon on the Arms of Lord Macdonald and many of the other Macdonald chiefs.

Does anyone know how this symbol applies to the Campbells of Argyll?

I posted this above:

The present Duke of Argyll has very similar buttons on his doublet of claret velvet, which makes sense, since the Macleans and the Campbells are traditionally located in the west coast of Scotland in Argyllshire, where the salmon was held sacred as a totem or a talisman by many clans in that particular area. The same can be applied to my own clan and other Clan Chattan clans with the Scottish Wildcat as a totem, and also the crest of several Clan Chattan clan chiefs and armigers.

I have entertained the idea of having silver buttons of the elusive, Scottish Wildcat (in the passant attitude) made and affixed to my velvet doublet. Quite the expense, so we shall see.

**Nathan** · 3rd July 13, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by creagdhubh

I posted this above:

The present Duke of Argyll has very similar buttons on his doublet of claret velvet, which makes sense, since the Macleans and the Campbells are traditionally located in the west coast of Scotland in Argyllshire, where the salmon was held sacred as a totem or a talisman by many clans in that particular area. The same can be applied to my own clan and other Clan Chattan clans with the Scottish Wildcat as a totem, and also the crest of several Clan Chattan clan chiefs and armigers.

I have entertained the idea of having silver buttons of the elusive, Scottish Wildcat (in the passant attitude) made and affixed to my velvet doublet. Quite the expense, so we shall see.

I'm not quite sure how I missed that above. Incidentally, I wonder if they are not just very similar buttons but perhaps the very same buttons. It appears as though they've been handing down the same hair sporran for a few generations also. The present Duke appears to be wearing the same trapazoid top cantle sporran that his father and grandfather wore in half of his photos and a rounded cantle sporran in the other photographs.

I like the wildcat button idea very much.

My black velvet doublet has round silver buttons and my green barrathea kenmore doublet has diamond shaped thistle buttons but I will probably have custom buttons fashioned for both of them at some point in the future. It will be a large investment, so I have to be sure I really like the idea I choose. As you said, we shall see...

**creagdhubh** · 3rd July 13, 08:45 AM

Originally Posted by Nathan

I'm not quite sure how I missed that above. Incidentally, I wonder if they are not just very similar buttons but perhaps the very same buttons. It appears as though they've been handing down the same hair sporran for a few generations also. The present Duke appears to be wearing the same trapazoid top cantle sporran that his father and grandfather wore in half of his photos and a rounded cantle sporran in the other photographs.

I like the wildcat button idea very much.

My black velvet doublet has round silver buttons and my green barrathea kenmore doublet has diamond shaped thistle buttons but I will probably have custom buttons fashioned for both of them at some point in the future. It will be a large investment, so I have to be sure I really like the idea I choose. As you said, we shall see...

In my post further up, I was talking about the salmon buttons being similar to that of both Duart and Argyll. I agree, the buttons seen on the various Dukes of Argyll are more than likely the same ones!

I am curious how the salmon buttons actually fasten on the front of the Duke of Argyll's doublet and also on the waistcoat of Sir Lachlan Maclean? If you look closely, you will see a small, silver circle that is attached (probably a part of the button itself) to the head of the salmon, but it appears to be only on the buttons on the left-hand side of the doublet. Does this mean there is some sort of a hook closure on the buttons on the right-hand side, thus being able to fasten each button together? I'd love to see this doublet up close and in person, but that will probably never happen.

**CMcG** · 3rd July 13, 09:29 AM

On the subject of salmon buttons, the present Duke of Argyll has them on his dress Argyll too. I only found one image of him wearing that jacket for black tie, while the rest are still very dressy, but with a long necktie.

**Nathan** · 3rd July 13, 10:36 AM

Originally Posted by CMcG

On the subject of salmon buttons, the present Duke of Argyll has them on his dress Argyll too. I only found one image of him wearing that jacket for black tie, while the rest are still very dressy, but with a long necktie.

Perhaps these photos will embolden you to wear your dad's fantastic old hair sporran more often, Colin.