Help CMcG With Formality?

[slohairt]

Looks good to me!

The only recommendations I could think of were to maybe wear the dirk a bit more parallel to your leg and press those red flashes flat ;)

[CMcG]

Unless planning murder of people/haggis, dirk best left at home?.....

Nice look. I too am not a dirk man but it does look at home with this outfit

Looks good to me!

The only recommendations I could think of were to maybe wear the dirk a bit more parallel to your leg and press those red flashes flat ;)

The dirk is certainly an interesting accessory, eh?

In my neck of the woods, it is legal to carry one in appropriate situations. Outfit 4 is maximum formal, and my opportunities to get that dressed up are few and far between. I don't think I would choose the dirk for normal evening wear.

Slohairt, I swear the dirk has a mind of it's own... maybe a more robust "frog" would help it to stay parallel to the leg. And yes, those flashes really do need a pressing!

[CMcG]

This thread has been extremely helpful to me and hopefully to others as well. The Devil is truly in the details and the rabble have helped me sort a few rather important things

I've been reflecting on MacLowlife's and Davidlpope's comments about jacket and vest combinations. A look through the style thread on Xmarker's Formal Pics has confirmed that a peak-bottomed jacket looks much more put together if the peaks line up with those of the waistcoat.

My Spencer jacket doesn't line up with the bottom of my unadjustable, 3 button, black waistcoat. This leaves the option of the Spencer jacket worn without a waistcoat.

I've also tried out David's suggestion to pair my Braemar jacket with the 3 button, black waistcoat.

MoR's suggestion to pair the stock tie with a higher cut, black waistcoat does work better than the slightly more open throat of my tartan vest. I put it together in a slightly different outfit (tartan kilt rather than solid) because I think it would be more suitable for an upcoming Burn's night.

Finally, the kilt pin on my Douglas that was askew before has been straightened and secured with rubber "locks" under the apron.



5) formal aka "the davidlpope"

Douglas modern tartan kilt, black Braemar jacket, 3 button black waistcoat, lay down collar pleated front white shirt, black self-tie diamond tip bow tie, black shirt studs, cap-toe black oxfords, horsehair sporran, purple jewel topped sgian, argyle hose, red flashes, purple stone topped kilt pin, gun metal monogramed cufflinks

6) formal aka "slightly more than less is more"

Douglas modern tartan kilt, black Spencer jacket, lay down collar pleated front white shirt, black self-tie diamond tip bow tie, black shirt studs, cap-toe black oxfords, bovine evening sporran, black horn with silver celtic knots sgian, argyle hose, green flashes, purple stone topped kilt pin, gun metal monogramed cufflinks

7) formal aka "the MoR"

MacQuarrie modern tartan kilt, black Braemar jacket, wing collar plain front white shirt, white stock tie, silver harp tie pin, cap-toe black oxfords, horsehair sporran, black horn with silver celtic knots sgian, argyle hose, red flashes, plain "safety" kilt pin (waiting on another from eBay), gun metal monogramed cufflinks

[Bee]

I would take the top half of 5 and the bottom half of 6!
(I'm not too much of a fan for the horsehair sporran )

[davidlpope]

5) formal aka "the davidlpope"

Douglas modern tartan kilt, black Braemar jacket, 3 button black waistcoat, lay down collar pleated front white shirt, black self-tie diamond tip bow tie, black shirt studs, cap-toe black oxfords, horsehair sporran, purple jewel topped sgian, argyle hose, red flashes, purple stone topped kilt pin, gun metal monogramed cufflinks

Splendid!

PM me with your address. I have a pair of J. Higgins green/red diced hose that I will mail you so that you can also wear the MacQuarrie kilt/MacQuarrie waistcoat/red-green diced hose with this arrangment. That gives you two really sharp-looking black tie options- one dark and one "vibrant"...

[CMcG]

Splendid!

PM me with your address. I have a pair of J. Higgins green/red diced hose that I will mail you so that you can also wear the MacQuarrie kilt/MacQuarrie waistcoat/red-green diced hose with this arrangment. That gives you two really sharp-looking black tie options- one dark and one "vibrant"...

That sounds AWESOME, thanks! PM sent!!!

[MacLowlife]

Artificer, you have set my mind a-spinning. I believe the ideal bow tie shape may actually be composed of two equilateral triangles. I could be wrong, of course ( and hope to have my problem elucidated ) but the ratio of height to width of such an hourglass shape is certainly closer to the Golden ratio than it is to 2:1. Still, I believe a Platonic ideal is not bound by anything so mundane as geometry.

Somewhere, someone is formulating an entire Geometry lesson based on tartans. I am glad to be far away from that place.

[azwildcat96]

Wow!!! And I thought that a black cloth matching your lapels (i.e. satin with satin, baratea with barathea, etc.), slightly imperfect to show it was hand-tied and giving it some 'character', was the right way to do it. Don't get me wrong, I love a good math quiz as much as the next guy.

Now, if we're talking about the shape of the tie, that's another thing all together...Bow ties come in a number of shapes, from thin 1 1/2" "bat-wings" to wide 3 1/2" "butterflies", and several in between. There is also the issue of flat vs. pointed ends.

I'd say the ultimate goal is to make sure that the tie is proportionate to the wearers face...and I think CMcG has achieved this goal.