Not a piper but like the look of a horse hair sporran

[artificer]

Now I have gone and done it! I purchased a horse hair sporran and now I wonder if it is acceptable to wear it. I am not a piper but my father was and I am not associated with the military.
When could I wear it or do I just hang it on my wall along with some swords, knives and old maps I have?

For me, one of the biggest things about hair sporrans for day wear (and not looking like a piper or member of the RRS) is a leather cantle.
If you look at many of the sporrans illustrated by Kenneth MacLeay (as OC Richard already posted pictures of) a good number of the chaps are wearing sporrans without metal cantles.
It's just a more casual look, and I was inspired by those same pictures to start a small project (just over two years ago, and still rolling).

Here's one I did with the traditional "envelope" pocket on the back.


One nice thing about leather cantles and the traditional construction is that the sporran is MUCH lighter than the piper/military type frequently seen today



Here's our own M.A.C.Newsome wearing one that I made (albeit for a dressier event):


And another with a custom shaped cantle.


Lastly, even metal cantled sporrans can be given a shaggier, less "military" shape by losing the square cut on the bottom of the hair.


Although nothing beats goat hair for a nice shaggy look.

If you want to wear a horse hair sporran casually, do it. There are no kilt police, and as long as you're not in the Scottish Highlands, nobody will know that it's
"not the done thing".
ith: