Sporran and Shoe Color

[Jock Scot]

I appreciate all of the helpful input gentlemen!

As for the ghillie brogues, they were the required footwear when I was the best man in a Highland dress wedding so, since I have them, I wear them

Crumbs! I ask this purely out of interest, Why insist on wearing ghillie brogues? Surely any appropriate shoes would be suitable? If someone suggested that I had to wear those dreadful ghillie things, I would not attend the event. Sorry, as far as I am aware shoes in this part of the world, that choice is left to the discretion of all, for a civilian wedding.

[jsrnephdoc]

Here's where the question comes in. I think with the overall color palate it will look very nice to have a brown sporran instead of the more common black. My ghillie brogues are of course black. In modern suiting it would be a terrible mistake to mix black shoes with a brown belt, but does the same apply with shoes and sporran for a kilt outfit? I have brown wingtips I could wear for a better match, but also really like ghillie brogues with a kilt. Not only do I want to honor the kilt by wearing everything correctly, but I also want to honor our friends by looking my best for their wedding. Advice from the rabble will be most appreciated!

This very topic generated several divergent opinions just a few months ago (I think the original poster has been an afternoon outdoor wedding guest by now, and might even chime in).

He had chosen deep cherry or mahogany shoes, and some argued they should be black. However, also discussed extensively here is that, although Ghillie Brogues are "popular," they are NOT derivative from any historic highlands attire. One member here has stated he thinks they were "invented" by the Sobieski Stuarts (the English Allen Brothers, who were apparently very skilled con artists; there's a nice biography of their exploits on Wikipedia).

I believe the other wedding guest wore his gorgeous mahogany wing tips to the afternoon wedding he attended.

You'll probably receive as many separate opinions as you do responses. But, in the end, unless guests in kilts outnumber those in "saxon" business suits, I'm sure your own sense of good taste will be much admired. And almost all rules are "made to be broken."

My parents attended two Clan Gatherings in Pitlochry. I have a photo from one of those events showing my Dad standing next to the Clan Chieftain. The "big boss" is outfitted, mid-afternoon, in a PC/Waistcoat, but also a broad leather belt and sliver buckle above a cantled black dress sporran.

I didn't search for the earlier thread, but I don't think it would be difficult to find. I'm assuming your Glen Affric fabric is coming from House of Edgar?

And, of course, we'll all expect photo documentation come November