Let's Talk Buckles

[ASinclair]

Bren,

On my Ancient Hunting Sinclair, I went with brown leather and brass buckle.

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I knew I would be wearing it most often with brown leather day sporran and brown leather shoes. When my wife makes my Ancient Sinclair (sometime this year, hopefully), I'll have her use black leather and silver buckle (as I intend wearing it mostly for formal occasions).

[Grizzly]

Thanks for that Simon. I knew I had seen a kilt in the recent past with brown leather straps and brass buckles, but for the life of me could not find it on the forum. Hope you are still strapping it on with pride mate. Cheers

Cheers Mike, since the subsequent arrival of my Taylor Ancient and IOS kilts, the COE is more of my formal kilt now, so I tend to keep it for best. But this was its last casual outing at Harpenden this year. I know that you can't see the kilt straps but you can imagine how well they would coordinate with the brown accessories.

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[Barb T]

Brass and brown is fabulous with a weathered tartan, and black and brass would be great for a tartan with some gold or yellow. Best place to get brass buckles and brown straps (plain) is Highland Xpress:

http://www.highlandxpress.com/patterns.html. Scroll down to buckles & straps.

Here are the the fabulous embossed brown straps (thanks to Robert at RKilts!) that I put on Hamish's kilt:



And here's another with brass and brown:



And same tartan, different pleating, also brass and brown:



I always ask, though, before putting brown and brass on a kilt, because, if a kilt has 2 buckles on the fringe edge of the apron, one of the buckle/strap sets does show. If someone owns only a black sporran, silver chain (or black sporran strap), and black kilt belt with a silver buckle, it would look weird to have brown straps with brass buckles.

[TheOfficialBren]

Thank you for the many useful replies here.

I have another question: If brown conveys a sense of casual dress and a fellow has a kilt with brown straps that would otherwise be appropriate in a formal setting is his kilt inappropriate for said formal setting by virtue of having brown and brass? Am I over thinking it?

Btw, Simon, your new kilt is smashing. As is yours, Allen. Barb, another work of art, ma'am. Thank you for the link.

[ASinclair]

Bren,

You may be over thinking it. Here's a picture of me at a Highlands game where the brown and brass shows and a picture of me at our St. Andrews Day dance where you don't even see the straps.

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[Downunder Kilt]

Exactly what I think Allen. If you are going formal, then you will be wearing a jacket, so who will see your straps and buckles.

[Hawk]

I have used brass buckles (with brown straps) on a couple of Hunting kilts. The Buckle Guy sells some very nice ones of both colors.

The Buckle Guy link seems to be bad........just checked it.....

Hawk

[David Thorpe]

Works fine from here.

[Jock Scot]

Bren,

You may be over thinking it. Here's a picture of me at a Highlands game where the brown and brass shows and a picture of me at our St. Andrews Day dance where you don't even see the straps.

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I could not agree more! Just how many people would notice? Just how many people would even look? Just how many people would even think it was important? Just how many people who did notice and cared, would say anything? Its only here on this website where it seems to matter so much, for some!

[creagdhubh]

Hiya Bren,

I think much depends on the colour scheme of the tartan. For example, I prefer silver coloured buckles (only two, mind you) on my kilts in the Macpherson hunting tartans, as opposed to brass. This is purely because I think that silver coloured buckles look far better with the black and grey of the tartan, versus brass coloured buckles. On my red-based Macpherson tartans, especially those in a weathered, or reproduction colour scheme, I opt for brass buckles. Also, I always do black leather straps with silver buckles and brown leather straps with brass buckles.

My latest kilt; an 8-yard, heavyweight tank in the Macpherson Reproduction colours from D.C. Dalgliesh and made by our own, Barb Tewksbury, features two brass buckles and brown leather straps. I am quite fond of this look, even if nobody really sees the straps and buckles except for me.

Macpherson Reproduction tartan (far right)


Macpherson Hunting tartan with silver buckles and black leather straps


Cheers,