Quality Sporrans for less money

[OC Richard]

Good question, and the answer depends on one's feelings about "traditional Highland Dress" versus "post-traditional Highland Dress" (for lack of a better term).

Because in traditional Highland Dress (as it emerged around WWI) there's a near-total demarcation betweed "day" and "evening" dress and nothing in between. The catalogues of the 1920s and 1930s even recommend different kilts for Day and Eve (fine Saxony for evening, heavy worsted for day) but I recognise that the catalogues' job is to sell things.

In traditional Highland Dress leather sporrans were brown and for Day, end of story. Taking off in the 1970s the Kilt Hire Industry and the Pipe Band world combined to create a demand for black leather sporrans using the old Day patterns (often with chrome "evening" elements added) to go with their new hybrid Day/Eve outfits based around the black Argyll jacket (pipe bands) or the black Prince Charlie (kilt hire) and white hose.

Just why the Pipe Band world leapt on that particular style, Hunting sporran in black with chrome top, who can say. My theory is that it combined ruggedness (no tassels to fall off, no fur to wear off) with a bit of shiny bling.