Commissioning a bespoke argyll and waistcoat?

[KennethSime]

A couple of outfitters have also used this tweed for stock jackets in the past - so you might get lucky (although it was a few years back and they seam to have moved onto to other Harris tweeds these days).

Tomo, would you mind sharing a few of these outfitters?

I've searched high and low, and it seems like ordering a bespoke jacket may be the only way to go if you're looking for Harris Tweed in a kilt jacket. Kilts4Less has a grey Harris Tweed jacket, but it looks a bit frumpy and I'm not looking for grey.

[ktk1961]

My other Argyll/vest combo was made by Yuen Tailors in Hong Kong, who actually specialize in Highland wear. They used to outfit the Scottish soldiers posted to HK and they apprenticed in Scotland to learn their craft. So that jacket and vest are certainly authentic in style and construction. This outfit is made of a lighter-weight tweed I picked out of one of the sample books in the shop, which is quite practical for the South China climate (hot and sticky most of the year). This jacket is more refined than the Beijing jackets, but comparison shows that my BJ tailor did a pretty good job of copying the look overall.

Thanks, Andrew. If only I was going to be in Hong Kong anytime soon ...

;-)

We have lots of bespoke tailoring options here in Chicago, but I'm sure the price would be astronomical. And I've yet to find any that have experience doing a jacket and vest to accompany a kilt!

[McMurdo]

When I went to get my tartan jacket and waistcoat bespoke made I searched for a local tailor who knew about Highland Wear. I finally went to The Scottish Company here in Toronto for the jacket and waistcoat. I would suggest going to see the tailor in person. I think this is too important to trust online measurements for. I was able to ask for several things that I wanted for my jacket to truly make it my own.

I would suggest checking with any local highland wear shops to see if you can find a highland tailor who is local that you can go talk to about what you want.

I had the jacket and waistcoat done with swappable buttons so I could wear it for day and evening events and a pocket watch button.

[Tomo]

The fabric name is "Gamekeeper" and the colorway is "thorn."

Def. Harris - although it goes by many names. I suspect the "official name" for this pattern is an alpha-numeric code and that retailers apply their own descriptions and names for marketing purposes.

I have seen the same tweed referred to as: Bracken, Taransay, Whitesand and Fawn Herringbone.

If you are looking for fabric then there are 2 other resellers (in addition to The Harris Shop) you could try - they both ship worldwide: Loome Fabrics and Yorkshire Fabric.

Tomo, your jacket and waistcoat are spectacular! How did you manage to "snag" them ...?

Sorry if it wasn't clear - the 2 highland jackets aren't mine.

The first one is from pinterest - it was an ebay listing - the style is similar to one that kilts4less where selling but it doesn't like one of their stock pics. At the time (2 or 3 years ago) kilts4less were selling this as part of an outfit (with a matching tweed kilt) and the jacket was available as either a Crail or an Argyle.

My jacket in this tweed is saxonwear (I hate that term, but it serves a purpose on this forum and in this context). I picked this up from a vintage shop in Lithuania for about 30EUR (along with another Harris sports jacket in a grey houndstooth for the same price).

I love this tweed and find it very versatile. My intention was to convert this into a kilt jacket. However, I started wearing for work with a jeans and casual shirt and decided to keep it as it is. I have since bought another 2 Harris sports jackets from local vintage clothing thrift store in Tallinn for 10EUR each.

In the meantime, I kept an eye on ebay, gumtree and some sales alerts. The Harris kilt jacket I ended up with was a clearance offer from kilts4less and I am very pleased with it.

This is mine - it is a darker herringbone, with an orange and blue overcheck:



The second picture in my earlier post is a more recent listing from kilts4less.

This is their current listing for a Harris Tweed outfit (also on ebay and paired with a Flower of Scotland kilt). I have found kilts4less to be very customer focused and it's perhaps worth while asking if they would supply the jacket and waistcoat on their own rather than as an outfit.

The jacket (the photo is from the current kilts4less ebay listing) is very similar to the tweed you like - the main difference is the overcheck.

Tomo, would you mind sharing a few of these outfitters?

As above - it might be worth reaching out to kilts4less to see if they would supply the jacket and waistcoat on their own - rather than as part of a full outfit.

If you are not wedded to the idea of Harris then McCalls have some good offers on tweed jackets - https://www.mccalls.co.uk/products/j...istcoats/tweed - I have a pale green tweed from them (the tweed is Marton Mills Heath Coffee) only £150 and still on offer.

[KennethSime]

As above - it might be worth reaching out to kilts4less to see if they would supply the jacket and waistcoat on their own - rather than as part of a full outfit.

Hey Tomo,

Thanks for the tip, that was a great idea! Kilts4Less let me know they could have a jacket & waistcoat made for £349 (roughly $500), in any of these Harris tweeds from Kenneth Mackenzie.

For now, I'm going to keep searching eBay, but I might just have to bite the bullet one of these days.

[ktk1961]

Hey Tomo,

Thanks for the tip, that was a great idea! Kilts4Less let me know they could have a jacket & waistcoat made for £349 (roughly $500), in any of these Harris tweeds from Kenneth Mackenzie.

For now, I'm going to keep searching eBay, but I might just have to bite the bullet one of these days.

This is great news! They have the exact Harris Tweed I want ...

Screen Shot 2021-02-11 at 9.55.13 PM.jpg

Thank you so much for sharing this news. I'll follow up with Kilts4Less directly and keep you posted ...

Kevin

[ktk1961]

Def. Harris - although it goes by many names. I suspect the "official name" for this pattern is an alpha-numeric code and that retailers apply their own descriptions and names for marketing purposes.

I have seen the same tweed referred to as: Bracken, Taransay, Whitesand and Fawn Herringbone.

If you are looking for fabric then there are 2 other resellers (in addition to The Harris Shop) you could try - they both ship worldwide: Loome Fabrics and Yorkshire Fabric.

[/IMG]

Tomo, thank you also for kindly sending me links to obtain samples for the exact tweed I had identified! You made my job very easy. I have ordered a swatch to confirm both color and weight. I know the Harris Tweeds tend toward outerwear-weight and I'm a bit leery of something I would only be able to wear outdoors or in the dead of winter, since even here in Chicago I tend toward more medium-weight wools.

Kenneth, I've also sent an email inquiry to Craig at Kilts4Less to confirm that he would make an argyll and vest for me in this tweed.

I hope you both are enjoying the weekend.

[KennethSime]

Kenneth, I've also sent an email inquiry to Craig at Kilts4Less to confirm that he would make an argyll and vest for me in this tweed.

I hope you both are enjoying the weekend.

Same to you, Kevin. I hope you keep us apprised of the process: I may be following in your footsteps.

[Tomo]

It would be great to see the end result - keep us posted.

I don't think the climate here in Estonia is perhaps too dissimilar to Chicago, with cold winters (-20c/-4f or below at the extreme although generally a few degrees below freezing throughout) and warmer summers (up to 35c/95f) and generally pretty dry with most rainfall in spring and autumn.

I'd say my Harris tweed is wearable for about 9 months of the year (barring unseasonal hot weather) although I do have 2 lighter weight tweeds.

[OC Richard]

That looks fantastic Tomo! That darker brown herringbone tweed is beautiful.

I love Harris Tweed, I have hats and Saxon jackets but a Harris Tweed kilt jacket and waistcoat would be the bees knees.