uber formal on the cheap: dollar by dollar

[Monkey@Arms]

I just thought I'd bump this post again, since thomsec put together this EXACT outfit, as recommended in the first post in the thread, and wore it to our 2009 Nor Cal Rabble Burns Night.

He looked *great*.

I am wearing a rental Eton/Spencer jacket I got off of ebay, but thomsec actually got the Uniformalwearhouse jacket, put on cast pewter buttons, teamed it up with a USA Kilts kilt in the Isle of Skye tartan and looked super.

Yes, his kilt was a USA Kilts casual, and that's not the same as a full-on formal kilt, but he still looked super, and did it on a serious budget.

Well done, thomsec!

Here's two pictures of Thomsec's ensamble. I noticed he had a new outfit this year, but assumed the jacket was from a regular Highland gear outfitter. Likewise the kilt looked like a traditional wool. Just goes to show you can look good for most purposes without going bespoke.




Best regards,

Jake

[LANCER1562]

Seems like number of people went the Uniformwearhouse Spencer jacket and pewter buttons for Burns Night 2009, myself included. Actually, I got my jacket from www.worldwidetuxedos.com ($59.00 closeout), backless vest from Uniformalwear.com ($29.95), and buttons from threefeathers.com ($17.50 including shipping). A little over $100 for the whole outfit when you add in the shipping cost on the jacket and the vest.

[beowulf67]

That does look good. Thanks for the pictures!

[Dan R Porter]

Okay I am sold, but 2 questions...

Why the emphasis on the single button eton? WHy not the three button>?

And what is the point of a backless vest? If I plan to take my jacket off should I have a full back vest?

Thanks.

[Alan H]

Okay I am sold, but 2 questions...

Why the emphasis on the single button eton? WHy not the three button>?

And what is the point of a backless vest? If I plan to take my jacket off should I have a full back vest?

Thanks.

I missed your post here, Dan, but here you go...

The three-button Eton looks a whole, whole lot like a little boys Eton, or a waiters jacket. The one-button looks a lot more like a "real" kilt jacket.

the Backless vest is in there because that's what the Uniformalwearhouse sold, that looked a lot like a three-button vest. If they had one with a back on it, then sure, I say to buy it! Can you modify a 5 or 6 button vest to a 3-button? Sure, but I kind of figured that the whole point here was to do all this for minimum work. Will you want to keep your jacket on if you have a backless vest? Yes, you will.

If you wear a 5 button vest with an Eton, IMHO it doesn't look right. Five button and six button vests go with Argyll/Braemar/Crail style jackets, not this shortwaisted military mess-jacket derivative look. This, however, is just my opinion.

Here's a one-button Eton, in white.



And here's a three-button Eton, in green...



Hey, buy what you want, but IMHO I'd say stick with the one-button.

[The Kilted Reverend]

How would it look to order the eton and wear it as is.

Slainte,
Rev.

[billmcc]

How would it look to order the eton and wear it as is.

Slainte,
Rev.

It should look fine since the only recommended change was replacing the plain buttons with silver ones.

[ForresterModern]

Someone commented on some problems with teh formal silver buttons having very long shanks and thus not lying flat when sewn onto the outside of the jacket. Many of the original buttons designed for formal kilt jackets are designed to be removable so that they are off the coat and out of the way when the coat is formally cleaned. to do this they must have a long shank, have that shank put through an actual hole in the jacket, then affixed inside the jacket with some form of pin, like a small cotter pin. The pin ca be removed to remove the button for cleaning. My Argyll and waistcoat are made this way, so I have to remember to manually remove the buttons before sending it off to the cleaners, then take a couple minutes to replace them upon its return.

My understanding is that this is the practice in the UK where a large percentage of the kilt jackets are rentals and need to be frequently cleaned without risk of damaging the expensive shiny buttons.

[Colonel MacNeal]

I bought one of the Uniformalwearhouse single button shawl collar etons, and I can tell you that you get what you pay for. It's cheap in every way. Thin material that snags easily, shaped like a formless sack, and probably flamable.

[Alan H]

I bought one of the Uniformalwearhouse single button shawl collar etons, and I can tell you that you get what you pay for. It's cheap in every way. Thin material that snags easily, shaped like a formless sack, and probably flamable.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, since I thought Tomsec looked fantastic at our last Burns night, wearing his. Ditto for Cavscout..

Certainly the jacket is nowhere near the quality of a nice wool Barathea jacket, but then it doesn't cost what one of those jackets cost, either.

How about showing us a picture or two of you in your kilt, with the jacket? I'd be curious to see how it looks.