deciding on day wear

[lukeyrobertson]

I have a plain leather three tassel black day sporran and a black belt. My dress sporran is bobcat (mostly brownish) with spotted feet. I see that brown leather is preferred for more "traditional" day wear. So, if you had to prioritize your purchases as you put your day wear together, what would you do first as budget allows? Would you start with brown leathers? (And/or what about brown semi-formal fur sporran like muskrat or rabbit?) Then, buy some form of day jacket? OR, is the black day sporran OK for now and instead go for the jacket. OR hey, I am considering a MM PV Dark Isle Kilt. Where would you start? I have a Robertson HOE Muted Hunting Tank and a Newsome box-pleated Red Robertson Modern Custom weave coming. Thanks for your help great ones!

[Cowher]

Your black leather sporran is fine for now. I'm going through sort of the same thing. If I were you I would go for a waistcoat/vest and a jacket. Here and there accumulate some accessories and then focus on another kilt f you like. You have most of what you need so finish off the out fit. You should build a ragweed outfit and another style with the same kilt. I am not huge into super casual kilting so I am building a casual daywear outfit then my pipe band uniform then lastly my formal attire. And I'll go from there and follow where wind blows my kilt

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Your black leather sporran is fine for now. I'm going through sort of the same thing. If I were you I would go for a waistcoat/vest and a jacket.

Spot on! All this black/brown nonsense is just that, nonsense! With Highland attire (and within reason!) it's not so much what you are wearing but rather how you are wearing it, that matters most. The basic day wear ensemble comprises:

(1) Jacket, shirt, and tie (waistcoat optional, but highly recommended);

(2) Kilt and sporran (dirk belt optional, but not worn with a waistcoat);

(3) Hose (flashes optional, but worn about 99.44% of the time);

(4) Well-polished black shoes (brown shoes are an option, but really don't work in the evening; if you only have one pair of shoes, they should be black).

Now, not only will the above work for virtually every day time event, it will also more than suffice for an evening out, unless the event is specifically "black tie", when you would need to replace the items in (1) with an evening doublet or coatee, waistcoat, dress shirt, and black bow tie. Everything else could remain the same and no one would arch an eyebrow (unless you were wearing white socks... ).

As long as your kilt hangs to the top of your knee, and your hose are about three finger-widths below the knee cap, everything is as it should be.

[theborderer]

As long as the Leatherwork you wear i.e. Sporran,belt and shoes are the same colour and passes to the Kilt colour you are wearing it should be OK. My 'Heritage of Wales' kilt has a Green base colour so I went for everything in Brown. But my Black sporran,Belt and shoes go just as a second choice.
Luckily I have western belts and buckles and can vary my dress

[robbiethepiper]

Fully endorse MoR in everything. Choose black or brown leather according to personal taste but be aware black is more versatile, therefore more cost effective?

[Downunder Kilt]

Whether you choose black or brown for the colour of your sporran and belt, you only need one colour for your shoes, black.

Get out of the matchy matchy zone

[The Thirsty Viking]

See my problems with Day wear involve the weather. I see talk of tweed vests and balmorals and what-not. And dont get me wrong, they look fantastic, and really bring out the classy in any gentleman. But in Texas, in the summer, Tweed, wool hats, and the like are a 1-way ticket to heat exhaustion. So I have to really be creative if I want to dress it up a bit, and not die.

But I agree, get out of the matchy matchy zone. Wear what you like.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

See my problems with Day wear involve the weather. I see talk of tweed vests and balmorals and what-not. And dont get me wrong, they look fantastic, and really bring out the classy in any gentleman. But in Texas, in the summer, Tweed, wool hats, and the like are a 1-way ticket to heat exhaustion. So I have to really be creative if I want to dress it up a bit, and not die.

But I agree, get out of the matchy matchy zone. Wear what you like.

For those folks who live in hot/humid climes, the answer couldn't be simpler: have your jackets made out of corduroy, linen, or cotton. Kilt jackets don't have to be made out of hairy tweeds; that most are merely reflects their supposed point of origin: cold and damp Scotland. But if you live in Texas or the deep South, light weight and super light weight jackets are available if you look around.

[T-Bone]

To answer the original question with my opinion, I would get the jacket first since you already have a servicable sporran.

[Downunder Kilt]

Below are photos of a kilt jacket and waistcoat made of linen from Major Slackers ebay site.

I believe, and could be very wrong, that MOR at one stage was considering ordering such an ensemble