The Tweed Argyll.

[BoldHighlander]

I'm also a fan of the gauntlet cuff, although I've got plain cuffs on my gray tweed jacket, and "surgeon cuffs" will put in an appearance on my linen jacket this coming summer.

I must confess that though I'd heard the term once or twice before, I wasn't familiar with what the term "surgeons cuffs" referred too.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention again

[Downunder Kilt]

Ah the satorial elegance of it all

[MacMillans son]

I don't mind you asking at all Jock! I always appreciate your input.

It may be illogical to some but here goes:

As an American, most of the events, or activities, that I attend in a kilt and jacket will be non-Scottish events. If I were to only wear the kilt to Scottish events, as some would suggest we do, I would only wear it to two local games a year, and that's about it. I am unwilling to limit myself to that.

The kilt is a unique garment in my country, and certainly in my part of my country. Case in point, I have NEVER seen another man in a tartan kilt, outside of a games venue in the greater Sacramento area, and only two people in one of the canvas deals. That's not too surprising to most people here I'm sure.

So, in order to avoid the "Guy in the Scottish costume" look I think am trying to blend the more traditional Scottish elements like the Kilt, hose, sporran etc. with perhaps a little less stylized Scottish dress into my overall look. I think Argyll cuffs and epaulets are very nice looking but, dare I say it, a little too Scottish for everyday wear in my part of the world. So to temper that, I am considering a "Contemporary" styled kilt jacket or an Argyll with no epualets and Braemar cuffs which to me, and maybe only me, look a little less stylized.

Not unlike the matchy matchy syndrome, I think there is a bit of the "When in Rome..." effect at work here. Being a little off the local path is more comfortable than completely out in orbit compared to my fellow Californians. Does that make sense?

That may change in time, but for now I am OK with what to me feels like a little blending of Saxony with Highland. I hope that is not offensive to you or the other Highlanders among us, its just what I am most comfortable with right now.

Thanks for asking, I look forward to your feedback.

Best regards,
Brooke

[Standard]

Jock, thanks for your continued insight into highland dress for those of us on this side of the pond. I too often wear a tweed jacket with trousers when going out to dinner, or even with jeans when stepping out for an evening at the local pub. The tweed jacket is, to me, an indispensible article of clothing. It surprises me not in the least that this would be true for kilted wear as well.

As Brooke said in his post, here in west-central rural Illinois the only time I've ever seen another kilted gent outside of a highland games is at our local (extremely) small Burns evening, and then usually only one or two others besides myself. The kilt is enough of a stand out here without pushing the look to the point of being, dare I say a costume. While I do think that the Argyle cuff is the most striking style the Braemar, or even more the Crail styles are more similar to what is typically seen here in the States. However, since I'm already going to stand out as a kilt wearer, I'd opt for the Argyle for a look, that to me at least, says Scotland.

[pauljsharp]

What your saying about tweed is interesting Jock, most people of my age think that putting on a shirt is looking smart and rarely if ever wear jackets.
A good example Was on new years day I went out to my local golf club for a drink to welcome in the new year and since there was a do on I had on a blue shirt with my tie jacket and waistcoat. Nothing too formal but smart and I think I looked quite sharp if I do say so myself. By the time I got there I felt like a piper. There were a few kilts in attendance (mostly with Jacobite shirts White hose and a dress sporran) but the only people who had in jackets were the pipers and even then not all of them did.

It seems that most people in my age group (18-25 ish) think that dressing for the occasion or to go out means wearing a shirt!

It was the same in the evening I chose not to wear my jacket just had the shirt and waistcoat on but I still had lots of questions asking what the occasion was.

Unfortunately standards of dress are slipping I would like a nice tweed jacket but I doubt i would ever wear it due to the fact I can hardly find an occasion to wear a shirt and tie nowadays never mind a jacket too.

Jordan

I am constantly appalled by the shift in dress standards. I have noticed this as well where I live and it is not just the 18-25ish age group. It seems to me that people equate formality with cost of the clothing. While this may have something to do with it, a pair of jeans is still a pair of jeans if they cost $25 or if they cost $200! The fact remains that regardless of price jeans should not be worn to certain functions or venues.

The worst I have seen is people going to the symphony downtown wearing jeans and a polo style shirt! This is unacceptable but the problem was that they fit right in. Here I was in my suit and tie and my wife in a Sunday best style dress and we were the people that were out of place!

Jock, thank you for taking the time to let us know the proper time and place for tweed argyll jacket. It was most informative. I think that this shift in dress standards comes from a generation of laziness and complacency. Case in point is in my nursing school education. Often we are required to go to the hospital to get information on our assigned patients for the next day's clinical rotation. However, it took about 45 minutes of the professors' time, an additional lecture and a powerpoint presentation with photographic examples of acceptable and not acceptable dress taken from past student offenses, explaining what is appropriate business dress. Shouldn't students in a baccalaureate nursing program have the common sense to understand business dress?! I was shocked by the moans and groans from my fellow students!

I have lived in England for a couple of years and after a while it was very easy to spot an American. Usually, only because of the way they were dressed. Again we are just clueless sometimes.

To answer a question from a post further down in the thread. Jock you asked why the gauntlet style cuff if going out of style with the contemporary crowd of kilt wearers: I am not sure. I know that when I purchased my gray tweed jacket and vest I purchased one with the prince charlie style of cuff. Mostly because I preferred it over the gauntlet style and the jacket did not have any other option.

I think I prefer it simply because I have seen some jackets where the gauntlet cuff looks a bit bulky and I like a cleaner look offered by the pc style cuff. This is not to say that I will not purchase a jacket (tweed or otherwise) with a gauntlet style cuff, in fact I plan on doing so. However, I will take the time to find a jacket that does not appear bulky in the cuff and it will be a "made to measure" jacket, hopefully avoiding my feared bulkiness in the cuff.

Paul

[Jordan]

I must confess that though I'd heard the term once or twice before, I wasn't familiar with what the term "surgeons cuffs" referred too.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention again

I have never heard of that style of cuff before but reading about it my TFCK jacket has those cuffs, I thought they were quite cool when I noticed them the first time.

[Dale Seago]

Jock you asked why the gauntlet style cuff if going out of style with the contemporary crowd of kilt wearers: I am not sure.

Perhaps because it looks too much like a mid-1700s holdover?

[pauljsharp]

Perhaps because it looks too much like a mid-1700s holdover?

This may be the case subconsciously, but I have seen some that are very attractive...

[Jock Scot]

Thank you Brooke and the others that have answered my question. It is your choice of what style of jacket you decide to wear and I would not presume to question your choices.An observation though, if I may.

I can't quite understand your(plural) reluctance to wear an "old style" cuff on your jacket when you are standing out in the crowd by wearing the kilt in the first place and considering that the style(more or less) of kilt you are wearing is some two hundred years old, I can't quite follow the logic of that. But, each to their own.

[Dale Seago]

I can't quite understand your(plural) reluctance to wear an "old style" cuff on your jacket when you are standing out in the crowd by wearing the kilt in the first place and considering that the style(more or less) of kilt you are wearing is some two hundred years old, I can't quite follow the logic of that. But, each to their own.

Aye, the style of kilt (more or less) is a couple hundred years old; but the cuff style harkens back to a still-earlier period when the feileadh mor was still more commonly worn than its descendant, the kilt more or less as we know it now.

Mind you, some might prefer the "gauntlet" cuff for precisely that reason, as a way of "linking" earlier and more recent forms in a "flow" of tradition. I'm totally fine with that.

For my own part, I have clothing specific to the early-to-mid 1700s (including "accessories" such as broadsword and dirk that I'm totally competent to use in physical conflict) and to our current sartorial fashions, but I don't usually mix them.