not my cup of tea

[OC Richard]

A sporran is inherently Scottish! Does it really need to have a huge St Andrews Cross on it? And with a massive matching belt buckle?



and here... can they shove any MORE tassels on this sporran?

[brewerpaul]

Overkill indeed.

[Blupiper]

I've seen the badger sporrans with the "swinging six" tassels. Does it count with pink bunny fur?

JMB

[Grizzled Ian]

You might get away with the first effort at Murrayfield, but the second one? Mardi Gras up Oxford St in Sydney NSW?

[English Bloke]

A sporran is inherently Scottish! Does it really need to have....

My sentiments exactly. They don't fire my rockets either but there's no denying they sell, so some people must like them. My solution is I'll just carry on not buying them.

[Chas]

I think context is everything. I depends on the occasion at which it would be worn. If it is a best flippers and jock-strap event, then maybe not. But if the event was more casual ...

[MacCathmhaoil]

That second one looks as though someone "gelded Elmo" and a few of his friends and made that sporran out of the harvested parts.

[TheOfficialBren]

I was given a very fine black sporran by our own A_Hay. It features a very tasteful saltire with a rampant lion in front of flap. In no way does it resemble the piece featured above. The tooling, materials, and craftsmanship are of extremely high calibre--on par with the finest sporran builders out there.

The sporran itself has earned a lot of praise from its maker and it is my absolute go-to sporran when I want to look my best whilest kilted.

I see where Richard is coming from. The St. Andrews Cross theme can look ragged and tired if done distastefully. However, if done with care, style (note the emphasis), and excellent craftsmanship it can look quite sharp.

Both of these sporrans appear to be novelty pieces to my (admittedly less-experienced) eye.
Should they be judged with A_Hay's or Artificer's or Donnie's work (to name just a few of the master artisans on the forum)? Certainly not! Are these pieces pictured above something that I would purchase and wear? No. They are not...but someone will either for a hoot n nanny or out of inexperience.

Are the above pictured sporrans...nice? Not really.

I choose to approach my Highland wardrobe with more respect for this aspect of my cultural heritage but if someone else wants to get kitted up in that fashion then by all means they are free to do so. I don't pay their bills and I don't dress them.

It would be nice if the world at large were as gentlemanly (and lady-like, to not exclude our female members) with regard to Highland Dress as the rabble is but that will only happen in a perfect world.

Maybe this was intended to be a humourous thread and I missed the punchline. If so then totally disregard my above statement. Either way seeing some of the things people wear can be quite amusing!
:heads off to the gym to stretch his funnybones:

[plaid preacher]

I just wanta say that I can completely see Richard rocking that red sporran at his next piping gig!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I did a blog post a few years back about the overuse of emblems like this in Highland dress these days. Some seem to have the idea in their heads that every single article of clothing and accessory they wear with their kilt must have some kind of Scottish theme to be authentic. So you put on your Saltire sporran and Saltire belt buckle (worn on a belt embossed with Celtic knotwork, of course), with your thistle kilt pin and thistle cap badge. Your hose are embroidered with rampant lions (or maybe thistles to match your kilt pin and cap badge). And to top it all off, you are wearing a shirt with either a rampant lion, thistle, or saltire embroidered on the breast, underneath is the word.... wait for it..... "Scotland!"

As if we needed the verbal clue.

When I see this sort of outfit (as I do at nearly every Highland games), I wonder if the person is paid a stipend by the Scottish Tourist Board. PSA: the kilt is signal enough that you like Scotland. And any one of the above described items would be a fine thing to wear with your kilt. But all together? Er... a little much.