Piper's plaid with something other than a doublet

[davidlpope]

I've seen it done before with a black Argyle, but it looked terrible. The biggest issue isn't the epaulet, it's that the piper's plaid wrapping around the chest is not well-suited to the less-fitted, "gappy" front of an Argyle. The front of the jacket doesn't look right because it pulls in all the wrong places and the white shirt and necktie are unsightly, as well.

I'll see if I can find a photo.

[Tobus]

I've seen it done before with a black Argyle, but it looked terrible. The biggest issue isn't the epaulet, it's that the piper's plaid wrapping around the chest is not well-suited to the less-fitted, "gappy" front of an Argyle. The front of the jacket doesn't look right because it pulls in all the wrong places and the white shirt and necktie are unsightly, as well.

I'll see if I can find a photo.

Hmm. I disagree. Granted, these aren't piper's plaids with tightly stitched pleats, but they are worn to the same overall effect. And I think they pulled it off quite nicely. It doesn't look terrible, at least. And it's certainly a traditional Highland way of wearing a plaid, though it would look costumey today.

[davidlpope]

Hmm. I disagree. Granted, these aren't piper's plaids with tightly stitched pleats, but they are worn to the same overall effect. And I think they pulled it off quite nicely. It doesn't look terrible, at least. And it's certainly a traditional Highland way of wearing a plaid, though it would look costumey today.

De gustibus non est disputandum.

[Barb T]

Tobus - the pictures you show are not the kind of plaid I'm talking about. They aren't structured in the same way and they aren't worn the same way.

David - I totally agree with you about the question of look and fit - worn properly, a piper's plaid is really snug across the chest, side, and back and is tucked up under the right arm pit, neither of which work at all with the fit of a Argyll jacket. What I'm curious about is how someone would even attempt to manage the stuff that has to go on at the left shoulder if they were to try to wear a piper's plaid over an Argyll jacket.

[Arnot]

What I'm curious about is how someone would even attempt to manage the stuff that has to go on at the left shoulder if they were to try to wear a piper's plaid over an Argyll jacket.

Maybe add some sort of tie to secure the plaid if the epaulette were not sufficient? Still not the best idea to wear it with the Argyll jacket, though.

[Barb T]

For those of you have not watched the video of how a piper's plaid is put on, I've done some screen caps from the video and labelled them to show the critical structural role of the epaulet. Video is same as linked above (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ytc6LqWyms). As you'll see, the epaulets actually do more than just keeping the plaid from falling off the shoulder, so it's not just a matter of adding a tie to secure the plaid if you're wearing a jacket without ginormous, stiff epaulets. The epaulets serve a structural function that is integral to how the plaid is put on - and, if you've never seen how a piper's plaid is put on, the process is not at all obvious just from looking at someone wearing a piper's plaid!