Hi everybody!

I am new here and although I have just posted an introduction on the Newbie board I realise that many of you may not have seen it, so for anyone who hasn't, I am Jessica. My husband Christopher and I live in Ontario, Canada. We have a formal evening event to attend soon and we're looking at the possibility of traditional Scottish dress for Chris, who has a lot of Scottish blood but has never worn the traditional dress before.

The event we'll be attending is a Legion event, it's a gala evening (dinner, dancing, and more) in support of the Poppy Fund to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The information states that dress is "formal with medals," though the medal part doesn't apply for us. Initially Chris saw this as a great excuse to buy his first kilt, but attending this gala is sort of a last minute plan (it's in a few weeks) and after eventually getting a hold of the kiltmaker who's done my brothers' kilts in the past it was decided that, due mostly to time constraints, it might be better to hold off on buying one right now. So, we've turned our attention to rental package options for the time being.

Personally, my favourite formal look for kilts is the Montrose doublet with a lace jabot, but all the formal rental packages we've been able to find come with the Prince Charlie coatee, vest, and black bow tie. Chris would also prefer the jabot because he has a thing against bow ties (not bow ties in general, he just doesn't want to wear one himself if avoidable). I know it's not the normal way of doing things, but I have been trying to determine whether or not it's acceptable to wear the jabot with the PC (or anything other than a bow tie with it, for that matter) and I've been finding a lot of contradictory information out there. Some things say only the bow tie with the PC, period; some things say that a Windsor tie or a ruched tie would be okay too; some things say that the PC was initially meant for either the bow tie or the jabot; some say the jabot is strictly for doublets... it goes on! I know James Bond wore the jabot with what looks to me like a PC, and I'm sure that wins points with Chris, but... you know... Bond is fictional.

Because of the nature of the event, we're concerned about showing respect with proper attire... but would also like to consider husband's personal comfort and taste in so far as it's possible.

Any advice? Thanks in advance!