P.C. jacket questions

[Steve Ashton]

I find that there are fewer and fewer black tie, tuxedo appropriate, events left to attend. The kilt community is one of the holdovers where you see formal wear worn. Perhaps due to all those who have and still want an excuse to wear their Prince Charlie coatees.
I know that I have been to many kilt events where Prince Charlie's were worn. But these were not actually black tie, formal events. For example a Burns Dinner where along with some dressed in Prince Charlies you will also see Argyles with long ties, shirts and vest, sweaters or jumpers and other levels of dress. In a few, the Prince Charlies sort of stuck out as the exception among the others.
I attend an annual Highland Games and have asked a few who wear Prince Charlie to a daytime, outdoor event why they chose that form of dress. "It's traditional" is the most common reply. I suspect that this would not be how those who lived in the time and place that their "traditional" is supposed to emulate would have dressed.

So if you own a Prince Charlie and want to wear it for your own reasons, then go for it.

But please, do not be influenced by the horrid rental pictures you see all over the web. The secret to wearing a Prince Charlie is not the jacket, but wearing the kilt in the manner it was designed to be worn.

Here is how I dressed to the only kilt event I have ever attended, where the invitation specified "Black Tie with full ribbons and medals".