Which sporran?

[OC Richard]

I like to think the goat hair gives a nod to vintage, but it's definitely more contemporary.

That's a tricky thing to do well, and when done well is quite striking.

A great example, though from auto design, is the PT Cruiser.

I well remember the first time I saw one: I was a member of a focus group which had to evaluate various new car designs. When they showed us the PT Cruiser (un-named for the purposes of the focus group) we all went ballistic. Now they're old hat, but at the time we were all struck by the perfect balance between historicity and modernity. The car was, somehow, simultaneously retro and cutting-edge. We all gave it the highest possible marks.

Usually, though, such hybrid things end up looking neither fish nor fowl. Many modern American-made sporrans remind me of the leatherwork I saw at the Ren Faire in the 1970s. This leatherwork can be gorgeous, yet it's from an entirely different place and time than traditional Scottish sporrans. (Imagine a 19th century horse-drawn carriage with tie-dye upholstery.)

All artifacts reveal the place and time of their making, and internal consistency nearly always "reads" better than inconsistency.