Mixing Metals

[azwildcat96]

I'm not sure how a sporran with brass hardware will look with a buckle, pin, or other accessories in silver. Do you go all brass, or all silver, or can you mix it up without looking foolish? Any suggestions?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I wouldn't loose any sleep over it.

[fluter]

I wouldn't loose any sleep over it.

Agreed. It's very easy to over-think it. If it's what you have, it'll be fine!

I personally like white metals, but I've gone decades at a time wearing glasses with yellow frames. I never changed my jewelry habits, I assure you.

We made a neat coup with our wedding rings: they are white, yellow, and rose. I'll match anything now.

[Jock Scot]

I wouldn't loose any sleep over it.

Sleep very soundly.

[OC Richard]

I usually look to the traditions in the Scottish Highland regiments as a guide or as a "reality check" and in those the mixing of metals is nearly universal.

For example let's take the uniform of the Pipe Major of the Black Watch.

The crossbelt and waistbelt hardware are silver, the braid on the doublet, the cantle of the sporran, the sgian dubh, and the dirk are all gold/gilt.

The only Pipe Major's uniform to have all the metallic elements in one matching colour is that of the Scots Guards where everything is silver (though the dirk has brass regimental badges upon the silver hardware).

The other regiments are in between these extremes, with all or most of the actual metal things being silver, but the braid on the doublet being gold.

[auld argonian]

I heard a woman on a radio show who fondly remembered her grandfather telling her, "Don't be so obsessed with the way you look...nobody else is as concerned as you are because they're all busy obsessing about they way that they look." It'll be fine...

Best

AA

[azwildcat96]

Growing up I was taught that you wear a black belt with black shoes, or brown with brown. I though this might be a similar situation.

auld argonian, That sounds like one wise grandfather! It puts things in perspective though, doesn't it?

I know a lot of this is in personal preference, but I take pride in my appearance, and being a new kilt owner/wearer wanted to ask before acting.

Thanks for all of the advice.

[piperdbh]

If you go back in history to the days before everything was mass-produced, a person would wear whatever he/she could make, buy or barter.
You have the option of accessorinzing with everything matching perfectly. You also have the option of mixing things up, and no one will fault you for it, unless, of course, there are no pictures.

[MacLowlife]

The only place I can think of where people are more religious about such things is church. I haven't darkened the door of my church for nearly two years now, but I remember distinctly that they had a bright brass altar rail, brass lecterns, and silver pieces on the altar. If I were you, I wouldn't slap a big golden brass sporran cantle up against a big silver-chrome 3X5 card belt buckle, but anything else would probably do just fine. If it worries you, you can do as one old girlfriend of mine did- get a few pieces that are both "yellow" and "white" and then wear everything else to match them, either the yellow OR the white part. It would be fairly easy to add a brass badge onto a chrome buckle. Then you would be set for whatever came your way.

[MacLowlife]

There is an earlier (closed ) thread on a related subject, from August of 08, entitled Gold Buttons and Silver Accessories. It might be helpful.