Chesterfield Coat?

[S Mitchell]

. . . An interesting point is raised in the first post of this thread that puzzles me and has often puzzled me in the seven or so years that I have been connected to this website. It is this, if wearing the kilt outwith Scotland instantly raises the profile of the wearer and many have commented that it does-------- many have ventured an educated guess in a recent thread where it seems, at best, kilts are scarce outwith Scotland-------, so there you are already stood out like a sore thumb in your kilt attire in a "kilt desert", but then you feel that wearing an Inverness, for example, makes you stand out in a crowd! That I do not understand. Why go to all the trouble to aquire your kilt attire and then wear it in this apparent "kilt desert" and then worry about what overcoat you are going to wear?

I can't speak for all Americans (I'd certainly consider wearing an Inverness cape if I needed too) but I can see his point.

It's true, wearing a kilt instantly raises your profile here, but, by and large, Americans respect the choice to wear one. There can be a fine, fine line, though, between carrying the look and not, between legitimacy and affectation. And if you cross the line, you risk going from eliciting admiration and respect to eliciting derision and even anger. Any addition which seems too 'costumey' to American eyes makes the whole look that much harder to pull off.

For all of our talk of "I'll wear whatever I want any d*&n way I please," there's still conventions and most Americans are sensitive to them.

[TheOfficialBren]

Here in warm Southern California the Inverness cape is generally thrown into the costume category (wrongly, in my opinion). They scream Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes. Like it or not.
That is the truth.
I am careful when and how I wear my F&A hat for this reason (no, not a Deerstalker but it's close enough to the untrained eye). With the right outfit it is a smart finishing tough. With the wrong outfit it borders on caricature.

Just my tuppence but Jock's and Kyle's suggestions are spot on.

BP, you did make one sharp cape, sir. It suits you very well.

[CeilidhDoc]

I can't speak for all Americans (I'd certainly consider wearing an Inverness cape if I needed too) but I can see his point.

It's true, wearing a kilt instantly raises your profile here, but, by and large, Americans respect the choice to wear one. There can be a fine, fine line, though, between carrying the look and not, between legitimacy and affectation. And if you cross the line, you risk going from eliciting admiration and respect to eliciting derision and even anger. Any addition which seems too 'costumey' to American eyes makes the whole look that much harder to pull off.

For all of our talk of "I'll wear whatever I want any d*&n way I please," there's still conventions and most Americans are sensitive to them.

Jock--

This sums it up pretty well. There is a difference in being noticed for looking different and doing it well, or being different and looking like a parody.

In the USA my experience with the kilt is that hats and capes are the items to be very careful when wearing because they can take a slick outfit and make it look like a costume to American eyes. The kilt itself, if worn well, does not have the same effect. It just stands out and becomes the start of a lot of conversation. If you add the Inverness Cape though, many will see it as dragging down the outfit to renaissance fair(e) or steampunk party attire, which is not appropriate at a black or white tie function (nothing against said styles, just the wrong venue).

I hope that helps explain it Jock. Maybe it's hard to get across unless you live in the USA but it seems many of us have exactly the same experience. It is also different when playing the pipes or not. When playing pipes you could get decked out in nearly anything and all is forgiven or adorable or quaint or however one wants to describe it through naive American eyes (I know none of these adjectives are at all correct but these are words I hear uttered to describe piper outfits over and over again here).

Wear the same outfit pipeless and walk into a white tie function and the reception would be pretty cold, I would suspect. It's odd how things just get that way.

But to steer the thread back to my point, it seems I am hearing that a person in Scotland at night in the dead of winter on Skye walking 20 minutes to a black tie event would most likely not be wearing an Inverness Cape OR a Chesterfield but rather just dealing with the cold or wearing a practical rather than formal coat because who cares what you were wearing before you arrived at the party. Is that an accurate summary or am I missing something here?

Slainte and thanks again all for the input!

[Jock Scot]

I will stick to answering the penultimate paragraph as a nuclear can of worms is just waiting to be opened if we are not careful.

Actually walking twenty minutes in the Highlands will, oft times, get you, well, nowhere! Whilst I am sure there are some that bother with some fancy style overcoat to go to a formal event, practicallity usually is the choice. Most will drive to the event and use an umbrella to cover the distance between the car and the venue.

[creagdhubh]

I will stick to answering the penultimate paragraph as a nuclear can of worms is just waiting to be opened if we are not careful.

Actually walking twenty minutes in the Highlands will, oft times, get you, well, nowhere! Whilst I am sure there are some that bother with some fancy style overcoat to go to a formal event, practicallity usually is the choice. Most will drive to the event and use an umbrella to cover the distance between the car and the venue.

Sounds about right to me, Jock. Not to mention the many drams had during the course of an evening to keep out the cold if one must indeed walk home! I actually did this several years ago after a black tie affair in the Scottish Highlands. It was during our annual Clan Macpherson Gathering Ball at the Duke of Gordon Hotel in Kingussie, Inverness-shire. After the ball concluded in the wee hours of the morning, the chap (a fellow Macpherson cousin) that was supposed give me a ride to my accommodations in nearby Newtonmore had passed out. So, I gathered my doublet, threw it back on, since I had taken it off due to the fact that I had become very hot and rather sweaty from the countless reels performed earlier in the evening, and proceeded to walk the 3 miles south (no formal coat, no Barbour...I was completely fine, but I'm quite lucky that it didn't rain) to Newtonmore. Rest assure, I made it home safely and quickly passed out myself!

[CeilidhDoc]

I appreciate the anecdotes and recommendations.

I am assuming then that if we moved the venue from the highlands to downtown Glasgow where you were to be inducted into some well-respected society or recognized for something or other in black tie attire that you would just deal with whatever weather between the car and the venue coatless.

The real world application of all this is helpful to me.

Slainte.

[Jock Scot]

I appreciate the anecdotes and recommendations.

I am assuming then that if we moved the venue from the highlands to downtown Glasgow where you were to be inducted into some well-respected society or recognized for something or other in black tie attire that you would just deal with whatever weather between the car and the venue coatless.

The real world application of all this is helpful to me.

Slainte.

That is pretty much it, I would say. Although some of the clerics are lucky enough to have smashing cloaks that look pretty smart.

[Nathan]

I guess it's a weather thing. Every Canadian man I know that regularly wears suits has a proper wool dress overcoat and a smart dress scarf for winter. Older gents have rubber overshoes or overboots to protect their shoes as well. Come to think of it, those are a smart innovation and I can't figure out why they have fell out of fashion in my demographic...

As for walking from the car to the venue, an umbrella is ok if it's not windy, but why be cold, wet, windblown and dishevelled? I wouldn't want to get snow on my fine jacket walking from the parking lot over the ice to the venue so I would wear a long dark wool overcoat. I also have more casual jackets and parkas, some goretex and some not unlike the barbour ones pictured, but I wouldn't reach for those in this circumstance. I save those for when I'm wearing jeans. Well...to be perfectly honest, I might reach for the parka in a blizzard, because during a Canadian blizzard all fashion errors are forgiven in the name of survival.

[Father Bill]

That is pretty much it, I would say. Although some of the clerics are lucky enough to have smashing cloaks that look pretty smart.

What sort of style are you envisioning, Jock?

[JSFMACLJR]

But to steer the thread back to my point, it seems I am hearing that a person in Scotland at night in the dead of winter on Skye walking 20 minutes to a black tie event would most likely not be wearing an Inverness Cape OR a Chesterfield but rather just dealing with the cold or wearing a practical rather than formal coat because who cares what you were wearing before you arrived at the party. Is that an accurate summary or am I missing something here?

Slainte and thanks again all for the input!

In my experience, yes that is an accurate summary.