Jackets & Vests

Three cover almost everything. The Argyll is the versatile daytime jacket, worn open or closed with a tie. The Prince Charlie is short and cut away at the front, worn with a bow tie and a three button waistcoat, and it is the black tie equivalent. Tweed jackets sit below both and read casual and country.

Argyll for daytime, Prince Charlie for evening. The Argyll's longer body works open at a relaxed reception and closed at a ceremony, so one jacket covers the whole day. The Prince Charlie only reads correctly after dark with a bow tie. Daytime grooms almost always take the Argyll and are right to.

With a Prince Charlie, yes, and it is almost always a three button waistcoat sold with it. With an Argyll it is optional, and a waistcoat lets you take the jacket off at a reception without the outfit falling apart. A five button waistcoat is the usual pairing. Remember that a waistcoat replaces the belt rather than sitting over it.

Black is the default and works with every sett, formal or not. Charcoal and midnight blue read slightly softer and photograph well against bright tartans. Tweed in green, brown or heather is for daytime and country wear only. If you are buying one jacket to cover everything, black Argyll is the answer.

Shorter than an ordinary suit jacket, finishing at the top of the kilt waistband rather than covering it, because the jacket must not hide the top of the kilt or the sporran chain. Sleeves should show around half an inch of shirt cuff. Get the chest measured over a shirt, not over a jumper.

Acrylic suiting cloth for black and charcoal formal jackets, chosen to hold a pressed line through a long evening, and our own tweed cloth for daytime and country jackets. Buttons on Highland jackets are usually chrome or antique finished metal, so match them to your belt buckle and sporran cantle.

It will not sit right. A suit jacket is cut long enough to cover the waistband, which on a kilt hides the top of the garment and the sporran chain and shortens the whole line. Highland jackets are cut deliberately short for that reason. If you must, an unbuttoned short blazer is the least wrong option.

Hang it on a broad shouldered hanger immediately after wearing and let it air for a few hours before it goes into a wardrobe. Brush it down rather than washing it. Have it professionally cleaned rarely, since repeated cleaning wears the cloth and dulls the buttons faster than wearing it does.