Daywear Jacket Style Question

[Bugbear]

Are there any styles of daywear kilt jackets that are designed to not close in the front, but have a decorative two or more button closure? Worn with a waistcoat, of course.

What I am thinking of is a jacket cut to about the length of an argyle, or the bottom of the fell on a kilt.
The back of the jacket would be highly tailored with pleats forming the side vents and back flap.
The front would not have a sporran cutaway, but would not be possible to close enough to interfere with the sporran.
The intersection of the hem and lapels would be curved off somewhat like a suit jacket's, or perhaps forming a little bit of a cutaway.
It would have regular notched lapels, and possibly three decorative buttons on either side of the closure.
This would need to be worn with a five button waistcoat.

Here is a jacket folded up at the hem length I am talking about, but there is no waistcoat in this picture
* Picture Removed. *

It would be the same fit in the shoulders and chest, but a closer fit around the waistline.

I have this jacket already cut to length, and pinned up in the back as I have described. I like the way it fits as it is, but I don't know if it is all right that it can not be closed.

Thank you.

[McMurdo]

Generally speaking you do not close your kilt jacket, whether you are wearing a waistcoat or not.

[The Wizard of BC]

Yes Ted, there is just that sort of jacket.

The Argyle style Jacket is just a style that refers to one with Gauntlet cuffs, Scalloped & buttoned Pocket Flaps, and epaulets.

If those are left off you have a very nice looking modern day wear jacket.

Matt at The Scottish Tartans Museum carries a Harris Tweed version. His Jackets are a bit less tailored than an Argyle and similar in cut to a sack coat.

I designed a Jacket of the type similar to what you describe too. I made mine a bit more form fitting in the back and sides.

Basically what you would have is an Argyle without all the fancy stuff.

The only difference I can see in your description and the Jackets out there is the cut away in the front for the sporran. If I read correctly you asked for no cut away. If this is so then no, there is no ready made jacket like that. But if you are willing to have the cut away I know of at least these two examples for you.

[Bugbear]

Thanks, guys.

Looking at the jacket I am working on, I can't say that there would be no cutaway, just that it is not as radical as on my first conversion. I was planning on chopping it back to a single button, but it seems to work better with the longer front instead of a curved front and a taper down to the hem line on the side.

To me, it needs a third button between the two that are already there, or possibly to have three buttons on either side of the closure. I love the fit of the back after the pleating and dart pin up.

[Bugbear]

Ok, I looked over the jacket I am working on several times. I have to back off from saying there is no cutaway. The sporran cutaway is in a different, and lower, place than on my corduroy jacket mostly because the front of the jacket hangs diffrently.

On the corduroy jacket I converted, the curve of the cutaway is higher and the front of the jacket does not hang open quite as much as on this jacket. The corduroy jacket has a tapered section of the hem after the curve, this jacket is open enough that that raised curve isn't needed.

I was just confused by the different hang of the front of the jacket.

I still think it would look better with a third button between the two that are already there. These buttonholes are keyhole shaped, so I will have to practice making those kind of buttonholes if I go down the three button path.

[puffer]

IMHO, if you are planning on wearing it "open" with or without a vest., a jacket without a "cutaway" would work.
BUT, if you wear it closed, then, IMHO no.

BTW, I realize that there is a difference of opinion on wearing a jacket open or closed. In the SOCIETY of my business & professional peers, Jackets ( without vests) are ALWAYS worn closed ( except in "relaxed" circumstances).

Again, IMHO, wearing the KILT in the real world & being accepted, is to wear it as you would if it were p^*%ts ie. If your peers wear their jackets closed with P*^%ts, then wear your jacket closed with your kilt.

Puffer

[castledangerous]

My old Scottish-born pipe instructor used to say, "Don't button your kilt jacket unless you want to look like a farmer."

[Jock Scot]

IMHO, if you are planning on wearing it "open" with or without a vest., a jacket without a "cutaway" would work.
BUT, if you wear it closed, then, IMHO no.

BTW, I realize that there is a difference of opinion on wearing a jacket open or closed. In the SOCIETY of my business & professional peers, Jackets ( without vests) are ALWAYS worn closed ( except in "relaxed" circumstances).

Again, IMHO, wearing the KILT in the real world & being accepted, is to wear it as you would if it were p^*%ts ie. If your peers wear their jackets closed with P*^%ts, then wear your jacket closed with your kilt.

Puffer

Sorry Puffer we are going to disagree here. You are wearing the kilt and as such, the "proper Way" is to have your jacket unbuttoned of that there is no question. To wear the kilt jacket as you describe you end up "neither fish nor fowl" and you are doing kilt wearing a dis service. If you wish to wear your jacket buttoned, then wear trousers.

[Bugbear]

I just noticed something on the jacket I am working on that might be a problem. The sides of the front where the buttons are are not parallel, but they angle back just a bit. This is from the pleating i pinned into the back. In other words, the two sides of the closure do not hang strait down, they angle back like the sides of an "A."

I don't know if this would be noticeable, but I'm guessing it would. There is no way to adjust this because of the button holes etc.

From the pin up experiment, I can see how a jacket could be tailored in this way, but the front would need to be adjusted. The back is really neat looking.

It's OK though because I can unpin the pleating in the back and go about it in a different way; more like what I had planned in the first place. Here's the picture with the hem folded up where the cutaway would be without the back pleating.

* Picture Removed. *

[Bugbear]

Sorry Puffer we are going to disagree here. You are wearing the kilt and as such, the "proper Way" is to have your jacket unbuttoned of that there is no question. To wear the kilt jacket as you describe you end up "neither fish nor fowl" and you are doing kilt wearing a dis service. If you wish to wear your jacket buttoned, then wear trousers.

Yes, Jock, I would not be buttoning the jacket. On the design I was experimenting with it would not be possible to button the jacket, though. I have figured out why the cutaway was not working.

It will probably end up as a single button jacket after I re work everything.

But no, I would not wear a kilt jacket buttoned, so no worries there.