Choosing a Sporran

[OC Richard]

I know you can wear semi-dress sporrans for formal occasions or everyday wear.

As mentioned above, in traditional Highland dress there's no "semi-dress" category. Traditional civilian Highland dress is divided into Day Dress and Evening Dress.

Is there generally a rule on wearing a day sporran to a formal occasion or is is basically personal preference.

I don't know about "rules" but there are traditions. Formal occasions call for Evening Dress, and all the things that go with it, if one is to follow the tradition.

For non-formal things one would wear Day Dress including all the things that go with that.

With many people these traditions are not being followed. There's no law, it's just tradition and fashion.

[MNlad]

Thankfully it's my occasion and I'll be the only one in a kilt. Knowing that very few if any people there will know what a sporran even is, I'll be able to get away with whatever I want on this one!

It seems you've answered your own question. Except for truly formal events like St. Andres and Burns dinners (and the occasional wedding) formal kilt wear, including dress sporrans, is seldom seen on these shores. You will get a lot more mileage out of a good day sporran (and some can be quite hansom) than you ever will out of a silver-cantled dress number. Personally, I think a dress sporran worn at a highland game is much more out of place than a quality hunter model on Burns Night.

[Taskr]

I wore a good quality, black leather sporran that would get a bit of a buffing when needing to be a bit dressy. Found a good quality metal cantle sporran that gets used now, but not for everything formal. I figure if quality, clean shoes fit the bill, so will the plain sporran (or the plain one I faced with mink)

[Good Egg]

As mentioned above, in traditional Highland dress there's no "semi-dress" category. Traditional civilian Highland dress is divided into Day Dress and Evening Dress.



I don't know about "rules" but there are traditions. Formal occasions call for Evening Dress, and all the things that go with it, if one is to follow the tradition.

For non-formal things one would wear Day Dress including all the things that go with that.

With many people these traditions are not being followed. There's no law, it's just tradition and fashion.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. I add all the caveats about there being no right or wrong and no kilt polis and were discussing convention and tradition, not military uniform regulations.

For a start there is considerable confusion over formal and informal and casual. Formal is best bib and tucker, Morning suits in the day and white tie and tails in the evening. Informal is a lounge suit in the day and lounge suit or black tie in the evening, casual is anything else. For reasons of economy Informal wear tends to be acceptable at formal events.

For a formal event in day you should not wear evening wear. You wouldn't wear a dinner jacket (tuxedo) to a luncheon or a garden party, why would you suddenly sprout black bow tie and PC because you're wearing a kilt? For a formal event in the day you should wear a jacket and tie or for the most very formal and if you have the wherewithal a doublet. Although a tweed Argyl jacket is acceptable I favour a black Argyle because it better matches the suits or morning coats that others will be wearing.

[Hirsty]

My general rule of thumb is cantle for evenings, flap for the day, unless you are luck enough to have a mask. I must emphasise that this is my rule.

The sporran is something you can express your individuality with and leather is a great material. I think you should go with your gut. After all, you will be the only kilted person there and thus, immediately, will be the most dapper there.

[OC Richard]

there is considerable confusion over formal and informal and casual. Formal is best bib and tucker, Morning suits in the day and white tie and tails in the evening. Informal is a lounge suit in the day and lounge suit or black tie in the evening, casual is anything else. For reasons of economy Informal wear tends to be acceptable at formal events.

For sure these things are mysterious to most Americans including myself, due to such events being very rare here.

For a formal event in the day you should wear a jacket and tie or for the most very formal and if you have the wherewithal a doublet. Although a tweed Argyl jacket is acceptable I favour a black Argyle because it better matches the suits or morning coats that others will be wearing.

My only observation here is that with traditional Highland Dress the materials of a jacket appears to have been more diagnostic than the cut. So one sees jackets cut like doublets, black with silver buttons, and jackets cut like Argylls, black with silver buttons, both treated as equally formal, both worn with black tie, white tie, and jabot.

Argylls made of heavy grey or brown tweed, though cut the same as the black ones with silver buttons, appear to have been regarded as Day Dress.

I suppose a middle ground would be an Argyll of fine black tweed with black plastic buttons.

(Prince Charlies are a 20th century invention so I've left them out of this talk of tradition.)