semi-formal, what did it cost me?

[Alan H]

In addition to being relatively short-waisted and cutaway at the front, the lapels on a kilt jacket usually intersect somewhat higher up the chest than a standard sportcoat. This is the one thing that is difficult to recreate in an altered sportcoat because the crease that forms the lapel is very solidly stitched and pressed into place with a whole lot of inner facing material. Half an hour with your iron will not re-locate your lapels, it will just give you a really sloppy looking, indeterminate lapel edge.

Also, the side pockets (not the breast pocket) are rather higher on a kilt jacket than a sportcoat, particularly so on the Argyll.

The little touches, epaulettes at the shoulders, Gauntlet cuffs, and adorned pockets are more-or less tricky, depending on your skill and how much extra material you have.. My altered $7.50 jacket has regular cuffs, like a Crail jacket.

The Crail is somewhat different from the Argyll..



Note the non-gauntlet cuffs and the relatively simple side pocket flaps. Those flaps are not too far off from where a sportcoat would locate them. The Argyll jackets that I have seen have pockets rather higher on the torso, though I expect that's up to the individual tailor. The Crail still has the epaulettes, though. The epaulettes are usually braided material, of the same stuff that the jacket itself is made from.

OK, so my jacket has simple cuffs like the Crail, no pockets, but ersatz simple, rectangular pocket flaps in about the same location as the Crail jacket, and no epaulettes. I could have made ersatz epaulettes and buttoned them in, but it just wasn't worth the effort.

Comparing the picture of the Argyll, above, to the Crail picture I posted here is informational. I'm sure Hamish will have more to say concerning the different styles of jacket, but I think we should not be slaves to only two styles...Argyll and Prince Charlie.