Thanks Jock for your explanations and photos.

I will say that, going back into the latter half of the 19th century, jackets more or less like our black Argyll were worn with the full formal attire of the time (dirk, dirk belt, crossbelt, plaid, long hair sporran, tartan hose, buckled shoes). Then, anyhow, the cut of a jacket didn't seem to matter much, and you'll see jackets cut like Argyll jackets and jackets cut like doublets worn with otherwise identical costumes. The important thing seemed to be that it was black.

I've carried over the same attitude (wrong as it may be) and would see a black Argyll with silver buttons and a black Prince Charlie with silver buttons as being equally suitable for an Evening occasion.

Pipe bands all got on the black Argyll bandwagon in the 1980s and have never looked back. It's easy to see why: it gives a crisp professional look but with simplicity and comfort. For 30 years the black Argyll has been pretty much universal piper's dress the world over and I don't see it changing anytime soon. Pipers and pipe bands have always 'done their own thing' as far as dress goes and they wear the black Argyll for any occasion, any time of day or night.

I will say, as far as the dichotomy/disconnect between 'the ways things are done in Scotland' and 'the way things are done outwith Scotland' goes, that I was hired to pipe at a noontime wedding on a typical sunny Southern California day, and wore a charcoal grey tweed jacket. At the wedding I looked out of place, because all the Scots in attendance, the ones now living here and the ones who flew over from Scotland for the wedding (a large number) were wearing black Prince Charlies.