Jock Scot wrote: “. . . my family upbringing plus my army background says that it must be black leathers for me and I am happy with that.”

Different army, different rules. The South African Army wears brown boots . . . but the kilted regiments make an exception and wear black.
I was only too happy to dye my old brown army boots black, but I still wear either black or brown shoes.
Regards,
Mike