Am I being too matchy-matchy?

[OC Richard]

photos of HRH the Duke of Rothsie, and that's the fact that he wears black shoes and a brown sporran.

When I first got into kiltwearing in the mid-1970s I got the impression, from catalogues and photos etc, that in Highland Day Dress brown sporrans were the norm and black shoes were the norm. In fact I had been around Highland Dress for a while before I saw my first pair of brown ghillies, or my first black Daywear sporran. The first time I saw a guy wearing all matching leather with Day Dress (sporran, ghillies, and waistbelt all exactly matching brown leather) it struck me as strange. (It was an American guy BTW.)

This impression has only strengthened over the years, especially now since I've begun collecting vintage Highland Dress catalogues. In the old catalogues I have from the 1920s and 1930s all of the Daywear sporrans illustrated and listed are brown leather, usually pigskin or occasionally deerskin, and all the shoes illustrated and listed are black. In other words it would not have been possible for a gent to outfit himself from one of these Highland Dress outfitters in Day Dress with matching leathers.

Now for pictures!

Brown sporrans and black shoes have been with us since the earliest clear depictions of Highland Dress, here in 1714



and in 1930



and in the 1920s




and in this 1938 catalogue you can have any colour you want, as long as you want brown