Quote Originally Posted by KennethSime View Post
Richard, would you mind indulging me a bit here?

You mentioned the evening sporran a bit in your first response here, and I wonder if I can pick you brain a bit. Is there anything you'd consider an evening sporran which doesn't necessarily contain fur, or a pelt of some kind? I know there are faux-fur options out there, but personally I'd prefer to stay away from even those. If the answer is no, that's ok, and I'm ready to accept that I may just not blend with THCD in this case.

Specifically, I've been looking at a leather dress sporran such as this or that form USA Kilts, and I'm currently bidding on a vintage version of this sporran which I'm hoping might do ok as a dress sporran, and offer a bit of a victorian aesthetic, similar to one Glen posted earlier in the thread (although a bit louder I think).
[I've tried to do my due diligence on the question I'm asking, done a fair amount of searching; but the amount of material on this site is bewildering! Hoping that I've not re-asked a question for the millionth time ...]

What's the definition of a true formal sporran? The consensus seems to be, at a minimum: there should be a cantle of a silver-colored metal; and visible leather should be black. Is there more?

Like the original poster, KennethSime, I'm hoping for a sporran that's suitable for evening formal wear, but doesn't have fur. The horsehair and similar ones are a little showy for me at this stage in my kilt development. The first two above seem fine to me - they're all leather, silver-cantled, and both have tassels. Is there agreement that these are full-up, real, formal sporrans? Is the tassel a requirement? I ask because I have ...

HSTB dress sporran 440x533.jpg

I've seen this style described as semi-formal (e.g., on J. Higgins site); fully formal (Kinloch Anderson's, where they say "This is the perfect sporran ... for a Formal Black Tie Event.". Hard to argue with KA, but ...); or some variation on the term "pipe-band" (which I suppose means you can wear it any time, as long as you're willing to carry a set of pipes).

Also like the original poster, I'm willing to flout convention slightly if I must, but I really would like to have one full-up THCD formal kit available.