daywear jacket preferences

[CMcG]

I'm curious to know a few things about what people prefer for daywear jackets and why? The sort of thing one might wear to a daytime wedding, Highland games, or maybe a nice (not formal) dinner.

In previous threads, I've seen most of these things discussed but I'm hoping to get a sort of compilation. In the spirit of inclusiveness, traditional, contemporary, and idiosyncratic opinions are encouraged. And pictures are very welcome!

1) size: tight, form fitting, relaxed roomy, or oversize?
2) cut of jacket: Argyle, Crail, Braemar, Wallace, or other?
3) waistcoat: matching the jacket, different than jacket, or no waistcoat?
4) colour: lovat green, bottle green, lovat blue, navy blue, charcoal, light grey, black, or other?
5) material: tweed, barathea, or other?
6) all of 1-5 i.e. you own a LOT of jackets
7) none of 1-5. Please present your preferred alternative!

[MacRobert's Reply]

1. tailored to fit
2. Argyle but with or without epaulettes and with or without gauntlet cuffs
3. with matching waistcoat and with contrasting waistcoat (dark green) and without waistcoat with belt and brass buckle or buckle plate.
4. Lovat green and Lovat blue but occasionally tempted by windowpane checks
5. Always tweed
6. Only two day-wear jackets
7. If the dress code is morning dress then black barathea with silver buttons and matching waistcoat or silver belt plate.



PS I am the old ugly one. The young hansom one is my son.

[MacLowlife]

I have too many jackets and jacket opinions to count. For tradition, it is hard to beat a navy blue jacket. For flash, velvet is the way to go. I have been wondering about cutting down a moleskin blazer for daywear with non-metal buttons.

For less traditional looks, think of the bomber jacket and the cowboy/Levi's denim jacket, along with their variations. The Barbour jackets are great- I'd love to be able to afford the Bedale, which is slightly shorter.

I know this is not the TRADITIONAL forum or thread, but I'd like to put in a vote for leather, bone, or stag buttons, and against metal ones whenever possible. I really like the patterned tweed jackets for day, but am not fond of them with shiny metal buttons.

I have a great lightweight French aviator's jacket in dark navy worsted- very much like an Ike jacket. It has hidden buttons (fly front) and goes well for either day or night- if you want to go understated...



PS, no theatrical Braveheart looks, ever: no Chieftain, Petain, Potain, Swordsman, etc.

[Pyper]

I have one (argyle) in navy, and one in lovat green tweed. Tweed is out of style in piping circles, so I wear the navy any time I have my pipes. Unless it's too warm, which is most of the time, and then I just wear a waistcoat.

I saw someone wearing a charcoal grey argyle and it was really good looking.

[beloitpiper]

I'm curious to know a few things about what people prefer for daywear jackets and why? The sort of thing one might wear to a daytime wedding, Highland games, or maybe a nice (not formal) dinner.

In previous threads, I've seen most of these things discussed but I'm hoping to get a sort of compilation. In the spirit of inclusiveness, traditional, contemporary, and idiosyncratic opinions are encouraged. And pictures are very welcome!

1) size: tight, form fitting, relaxed roomy, or oversize?
2) cut of jacket: Argyle, Crail, Braemar, Wallace, or other?
3) waistcoat: matching the jacket, different than jacket, or no waistcoat?
4) colour: lovat green, bottle green, lovat blue, navy blue, charcoal, light grey, black, or other? All (depending on tartan)
5) material: tweed, barathea, or other?
6) all of 1-5 i.e. you own a LOT of jackets
7) none of 1-5. Please present your preferred alternative!

[CMcG]

Keep 'em coming folks! I suppose I should post my $0.02 as well...


* Crail, relaxed fit, no waistcoat, lovat green, Harris tweed


* Braemar, tailored fit, matching waistcoat, black barathea


My black Braemar is for dressier occasions and the Harris tweed Crail for everything else. I don't have a matching waistcoat for the Harris tweed and haven't found a complementary, non-matching one yet...

An oft repeated suggestion is for North Americans to buy kilt jackets a size up, as British sizing tends to be more snug. That's what I did with my Crail; it feel very comfortable and, to my eye, looks more casual because of the roomy fit. My Braemar fits like a glove, however, which is less comfortable but looks sharp.

I'm toying with the idea of trying to acquire a tweed jacket, with a matching waistcoat, in a more fitted size. On the ol' student budget though, that would require liquidating my Harris tweed Crail...

[iustus]

1) size: tight, form fitting, relaxed roomy, or oversize?

I like it Fitted but if your gonna be doing anything active in the jacket, which I do find myself doing on occasion I think "off the rack" fitted is good enough.

2) cut of jacket: Argyle, Crail, Braemar, Wallace, or other?

Charcoal Tweed Wallace, plain sleeves (cause thats how it came)
Khaki Green "No. 2" (not MoD), plain sleeves (cause thats how it came)

3) waistcoat: matching the jacket, different than jacket, or no waistcoat?

I often prefer just a waistcoat rather than just the jacket. That puts me in an interesting area of formality. Something like Daywear... dressed down. Its not most folks cup a tea but I really enjoy it. So I'd wear a vest alone before I'd wear a jacket no vest. I also like sweater vests if they are short enough to suit a kilt and for me, they often do. I'm mostly in black these days.




4) colour: lovat green, bottle green, lovat blue, navy blue, charcoal, light grey, black, or other?

I'm a big fan of the Lovat green and blue, but I am usually in Black or Charcoal anymore. If I'm in a jacket its usually some form of mourning wear.

5) material: tweed, barathea, or other?

I enjoy Tweed for the day time and I like antler buttons.
For me, Metal is for the night time, but I dress on the darker and subtler end of the spectrum usually, especially in the day.


Here is one example of a common daywear outfit for me.
Good to See MacRobert in clericals and Kilt... made me think of posting this one.



Sorry, don't have a picture handy with the Jacket too. I'm still in my first 1,000 days of ordination, so I only wear black. But I like the light blue MacRobert has displayed, it looks sharp. Also I usually wear a band collar or traditional collar with the kilt and again I like the tab collar on MacR.

here is my brown leather day todo. Kind of dressy for these parts... I don't often wear this one, but I really like it... fits tight but I got some movement.



Sorry if you've seen it before.

Generally I go with red flashes, but that's all I have ever had... maybe some day I'll go for some nice garter ties, but that's perhaps off topic.

peace,
justin

[Whidbey78]

1) Size—form fitting/tailored. Fortunately many off the rack jackets fit me pretty well, so I have options.
2) Cut—Crail is my personal preference, but all my jackets are modified jackets, done by me, and aren't exactly any of the standard styles. I like the Brian Baru in place of a PC for really fancy occasions. I tend to go for simple and understated more than flashy. I also don't have chromed buttons. They are all black or antique silver/pewter finish.
3) Waistcoat—None at present. I would have them match the jacket if I did, though picking up color from the tartan might be cool.
4) Color—I usually stick to black as it works well for almost any situation. Second choice is gray...dark gray.
5) Material—barathea, worsted wool. I'm just not a tweed guy.
6) I have 4 at present, two grey, two black.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I think the best day wear jacket is the one you like. To that end, I recommend that if people can afford it within their budgets, they really shop around and think about getting a jacket made just for them, from cloth they select, in a style they like. No need to look like everyone else!

My personal preferences are for Harris Tweed, and something with a nice check or windowpane pattern. I like something that tones well with the kilt without being too matchy-matchy.

I also like things fairly simple, so none of my day wear jackets have epaulets, and they all have craill (plain) cuffs. I have one single-button and one three-button.

I like waistcoats, so I always have matching tweed waistcoats made with my jackets.

So much of the above is personal preference, so you may have differing opinions, and that's fine.

My message here is that all too often people feel limited to just what's available off the rack. For too many Highland Dress retailers it's "you can have any color you want so long as it is lovat blue, lovat green, or lovat grey." I say why limit yourself? There are so many wonderful possibilities. Those three aforementioned colors are great choices -- if that's what you really want. But don't feel like you have to go with one of them because there are no other options.

[CMcG]

As Matt says, there are definitely options out there for some interesting colours and patterns in jackets. For those of us (like me) who can't afford bespoke or made-to-measure clothing, finding a unique jacket means looking for vintage or second hand.

I'd like to find an incredible bargain on a Harris tweed, plain cuff jacket, with matching waistcoat, in my size, with a subtle but interesting pattern. That is proving to be quite a challenge All probably for the best though. If I did find one, I'd buy it and then have to sell my current tweed jacket to finance the purchase, which is a bit of a bother. And I think finding a matching waistcoat for the jacket I already have might be impossible...

I agree with those who have voiced support for waistcoats and wish I had a matching one for my tweed jacket. As iustus commented they are nice on their own, without the jacket but they can also really put on the finishing touch with the jacket. A complimentary, non-matching waistcoat can be good too but looks more casual to my eye...

What about tartan waistcoats for daywear? Anyone? I know some people like bias-cut tartan waistcoats to match their kilts but I think that's usually for formal evening wear. I recently acquired a regular cut tartan (not cut on the bias?) waistcoat but it seems a bit much for day wear...