Is this Sporran too formal for daily/casual wear?

[Father Bill]

I concur... I got this nice McRostie sporran (as favored by Jock Scot!) on eBay for a song! Keep your eyes peeled... Nice stuff comes up frequently!

Well darn you anyway, Shaun - it's identical to mine and I had to pay a whole darned opera for it, not a song!

[OC Richard]

Since this is the Traditional forum, yes traditionally a sporran is worn with the kilt regardless of the formality of the event. This is for a simple practical reason: a kilt has no pockets!

The sporran in the OP's link is an Evening Dress sporran.

As I've pointed out, Highland Dress was more free/loose in the 19th century but in the early years of the 20th century sorted itself into two clear-cut modes, Day Dress and Evening Dress. Highland Dress hasn't yet gone through another such transformation since that time. Perhaps it's about to do so now, who knows.

So for Day Dress (which I suppose could be called 'informal dress') certain sorts of sporrans have been worn over the last 100 years or so: fairly simple pocketlike leather things. From the get-go these sometimes had fur fronts, but this didn't change their role as being ordinary Day sporrans.

Evening Dress sporrans, over the last 100 years, have been the same small pocketlike things, but usually done in sealskin, and with a semicircular silver cantle (top).

About the leather jacket, it falls outside traditional Highland Dress.

Here's the Day/Evening dichotomy in a nutshell, from 1930. Nothing has changed much, since that time. If you go to a Highland Games in the Highlands today you'll see men dressed like the man at right, if you go to an Evening event in the Highlands today you'll see men dressed like the other two, more or less. (They probably wouldn't be wearing the plaids, nowadays.)

[Piobair]

As said above - that's a formal sporran. Get a hunting sporran if you want a little pizazz (not with the cantle though - ugh), or a basic brown or black three tasseled sporran (or even a plain one).

And pull your kilt up!

[tpa]

In my opinion, jacket is fine if you need it outdoors, but both sporran and belt are more formal than I would wear casually. There are lots of examples of good casual kilt wear on this site, just search around. I could add to them, but I tend to be more casual than many would consider correct, so just look for images with plain sporrans and belts.

[triolamj]

In short, no. Depending on how often you wear your kilt, you'll eventually want to get a leather targe sporran in black or maybe a brown flap-front sporran. I've got 4 sporrans including: brown embossed flap-front leather, black targe top-cantle, medium gray top-cantle rabbit fur, and a white top-cantle rabbit fur with black tassels. The medium gray replaces my black top-cantle rabbit fur which was my go-to sporran for years. For the casual outfit you're wearing, your sporran is fine ... except for the white tassels. I'd dye them black to match the sporran (you can usually undo them from inside the sporran through holes hidden by the fur). The top-cantle opening is so much easier to get in and out of and it's easier to fasten back up. You really only need a leather sporran if you're going to work a Highland Games or volunteer at an event where a fur sporran might get messed up. Targe sporrans are a good compromise there and they're generally less expensive too. Good luck.

[triolamj]

To be honest, you look to be a young guy and the best accessory you can add to a kilt is a set of six-pack abs. You look good for a night out at the pub, a house concert, or dancing at the club. Besides the tassels, the sporran looks like it's hanging a little low. One of the rules of thumb about wearing a kilt that I always violate is that if you're wearing a sporran, don't wear a belt, or at least a wide belt. The top of the sporran should fall two inches or two fingers below the top of your waistband. Word of warning: kilts and their accessories are addictive and expensive.

[Randy McIntosh]

One of the rules of thumb about wearing a kilt that I always violate is that if you're wearing a sporran, don't wear a belt, or at least a wide belt. The top of the sporran should fall two inches or two fingers below the top of your waistband.

When and where did this rule of thumb come from? Not to wear a belt while wearing a sporran?

I would never ever wear a sporran 2" form the top of my waistband.

[bikercelt1]

One of the rules of thumb about wearing a kilt... is that if you're wearing a sporran, don't wear a belt, or at least a wide belt. The top of the sporran should fall two inches or two fingers below the top of your waistband.

Did you misstate this? I've heard lots of people say you shouldn't wear a belt with a waistcoat but I've never heard anybody say you shouldn't wear a belt and sporran together. As I said in another post, a sporran with a metal cantle tends to clack against the waistplate of a belt when I sit down so I don't usually wear a formal sporran unless I'm wearing a jacket and/or waistcoat, sans belt. I wear my sporran four fingers (approximately 3 inches) below my buckle or waistplate (or where the buckle would be when I'm wearing a waistcoat. Two inches below the top​ of your waistband would be high indeed.

[SimplyStuart]

your sporran is fine ... except for the white tassels. I'd dye them black to match the sporran (you can usually undo them from inside the sporran through holes hidden by the fur).

is there any reason to not remove them, and leave them at home?

[triolamj]

Replacing lost tassels is a pain, pricewise. Lost a tassel off my black rabbit fur and minimum cost of just one replacement tassel was around $12 not counting S+H. Rearranged tassels, one on each side and none in the middle. You want to keep everything together.