The ideal time for the black argyll

[ASinclair]

I'd love to know your opinions on when the black barathea Argyll jacket with metal buttons is the best possible option..., when should that be the jacket I reach for above all of my other options?

Nathan

Nathan, the simple answer is formal occasions in the daytime. If you're attending an event in the daytime where others will be wearing striped pants and cutaway, you don the Argyll.

[Nathan]

Nathan, the simple answer is formal occasions in the daytime. If you're attending an event in the daytime where others will be wearing striped pants and cutaway, you don the Argyll.

Thanks Allen.
You are of course, quite right. The thing is that where I live, morning suits are worn...never. Like practically never ever. The most recent picture I've seen of a Canadian in a morning suit was Pierre Trudeau when he and the Queen signed Canada's Patriation of our Constitution in 1982. Maybe you'll see one at a steam punk themed wedding, but does it really count if the groom has huge goggles on?

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categorie...stitution.html

No wedding I've been to or seen photos of in Canada, regardless of the socioeconomic status of those involved, featured morning dress, which I acknowledged in my OP as the traditional equivalent.

Even the families of our Statesmen wear suits and tuxedos during a day time wedding here.

Tuxedo - Former Prime Minsiter's son
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/06...-son-ties-knot

Suit - another former Prime Minister's son who is now a candidate for Prime Minister
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12...n_2332649.html

White tie in the day time for a famous sportsman and actress' wedding.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/...i_dimanno.html

Here's one guide to Canadian dress codes. Morning wear is not mentioned although a morning coat is mentioned as an alternative to a tail coat for white tie which I think is incorrect.
http://www.sweetblissweddings.ca/wed...ng-dress-code/

South of the border, former U.S. President Bill Clinton walked his daughter down the aisle in a black suit during daylight hours.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZWf8YVpcNo...Pictures-1.jpg

Even the Order of Canada investiture ceremony by our Governor General which is the closest thing we have to receiving a knighthood in Canada was a lounge suit affair. One inductee wore tweed.
http://www.gg.ca/gallery.aspx?id=11067

So while "morning suit equivalent" is certainly correct, that has no practical application in my postal code.

So if I end up at the Royal Ascot or something, I'll have the black argyll and silver buttons. In North America, I may stay with my grey worsted Argyll with black buttons for a more subdued look as a wedding guest.

Some great suggestions have been offered in this thread though.

[MacLowlife]

Nathan, you have raised a point that kept swimming into my brain- the morning suit has vanished from this side of the Atlantic. I was interested to see them in FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. If that movie is any indicator, they are a common enough sight at UK weddings. Here in the Anachronistic South, people own tuxedoes and wear them (and dinner jackets) to weddings ( After SIX here, not Seven, btw) and other functions, such as charity events, mostly. But even here, they are not common at weddings. I once wore a rented coat of some description in a daylight wedding- it was called a "stroller" I think- but I have not seen an American in morning dress in a very long time.

If you poke around the internet, you will see pictures of Harvard commencement exercises and enough pictures of John F Kennedy to create the impression that he seldom wore anything else- I have yet to find one of him playing touch football in a morning coat, but I am sure I just haven't looked hard enough. American presidents used to wear them regularly, but it looks like Ronald Reagan was the last one to wear morning dress for his inauguration. Those who are interested may google " Morning dress in America" for a lot of fun pictures.

But back to our sheep- either the 1960s or egalitarianism or something has severely limited the exposure of the morning coat on these shores. I have seen more Argyll jackets in the last month than I have seen morning coats in the last fifteen years. So, while the two may be interchangeable, one is definitely more frequently seen.

[Glen]

No wedding I've been to or seen photos of in Canada, regardless of the socioeconomic status of those involved, featured morning dress, which I acknowledged in my OP as the traditional equivalent.

White tie in the day time for a famous sportsman and actress' wedding.

Even the Order of Canada investiture ceremony by our Governor General which is the closest thing we have to receiving a knighthood in Canada was a lounge suit affair. One inductee wore tweed.

.

I got married in morning suit, but it has shrunk since then and needing replacement; however, the kilt and an argyle jacket works for me at applicable events. There are those that still wear a morning suit or stroller jacket.

White tie for a day time wedding is a very Swedish style.

[mookien]

The time/occasion "when the black barathea Argyll jacket with metal buttons is the best possible option" for me is when I don't feel like wearing my PC or a tweed jacket. I'm not too picky about the formality of the occasion.

[DyerStraits]

My Argyle jacket is easily the most versatile kilt jackets I own. The only kilt jacket I wear more often is a more basic black Barathea wool day wear kilt jacket with stag horn buttons and no shoulder straps. Unless you're like me and wear kilts very regularly on weekdays and weekends, an Argyle jacket is what I would recommend. The more formal metal buttons and the shoulder straps are the key--they provide that military uniform air of formality and allow the wearer to stow a beret and/or wear a fly plaid, for some extra dramatic dash for special occasions. It's basically the blazer jacket of kiltwear. Any serious kilt wearer simply must have one.

Happy Holidays To All My Kilted Brethren. Slainte!

[Dileasgubas]

I agree. The black Argyll with vest was the first jacket I bought and I am glad to have done so. Since I work during the day I tend to wear my kilt mostly in the evenings. When dressing for anything less than a formal occasion, I usually reach for my Argyll. It has advantages in that you have the choice of tie and shirt, whereas with a Prince Charlie, a formal white shirt and bow tie are virtually de rigueur in most cases. With my Argyll, there are options such as wearing a regimental tie, a different dress shirt, vest/no vest, etc. In my mind it fits between the equivalent of a tweed sports jacket and a business suit, amply able to bridge the gap between a dressed-up casual look and more formal wear.

[Father Bill]

Actually, this Saturday I'm marrying a young couple and the order of dress is morning suit, so I guess it isn't totally gone.

[Jock Scot]

I agree. The black Argyll with vest was the first jacket I bought and I am glad to have done so. Since I work during the day I tend to wear my kilt mostly in the evenings. When dressing for anything less than a formal occasion, I usually reach for my Argyll. It has advantages in that you have the choice of tie and shirt, whereas with a Prince Charlie, a formal white shirt and bow tie are virtually de rigueur in most cases. With my Argyll, there are options such as wearing a regimental tie, a different dress shirt, vest/no vest, etc. In my mind it fits between the equivalent of a tweed sports jacket and a business suit, amply able to bridge the gap between a dressed-up casual look and more formal wear.

First of all welcome to xmarks, from Inverness-shire.

It is sometimes, very difficult to explain to those that are not used to civilian kilt attire on an almost daily basis and for too many years to even want to remember, but with civilian kilt attire, it is very difficult to compare exact equivalents when comparing it with "Saxon attire". It can and is done, but with kilt attire many start from the wrong place with their comparisons. Let me try to explain.

There is really no exact comparison to the "saxon" sports jacket with kilt attire. The TWEED argyll is actually the kilt equivalent of a suit. I suppose in the olden days, the beaten up, thirty year old, much repaired, threadbare and much loved tweed argyll might have fitted in as a "kilt sports jacket" and I suppose these days a smart pullover(sweater) probably fits the kilt sports jacket role when compared to the "saxon" sports jacket equivalent.

The black barathea, silver buttoned argyll(BBSBA) is, first and foremost, the kilt equivalent of the "saxon" morning coat(formal day wear). Although these days(yes, there is minor historical evidence to support this too), many do wear the BBSBA very successfully for minor black tie events where others are wearing a dinner suit(tux).

Do we need a BBSBA in the wardrobe? Well no, if, IF, you have a smart pullover,or beaten up tweed argyll jacket(sports jacket equivalent), a decent tweed argyll( lounge/business suit equivalent) of almost any hue and a PC, Sherriffmuir(black tie etc..), or some such in the wardrobe for formal evening attire AND you have no need(requirement) for a formal day jacket.

[ASinclair]

Hello, Dileasgubas!