Chesterfield Coat?

[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!