Kilt Outfit Walkthrough - Part 4

There are many ways to accessories a kilt, you can use different accessories with the same kilt on separate occasions as these highlight the occasion. The main kilt accessories and the belt and buckle, the kilt pin and the sporran. This blog post will focus on what a sporran is and the different types there are available.

Firstly we look at what a sporran is and why they are worn as part of a kilt outfit. A sporran is a traditional Scottish pouch that is worn over the front of a kilt. It is typically made of leather or fur and is used as a pocket to hold small items such as a wallet, keys, or a handkerchief.he word "sporran" comes from the Scottish Gaelic word "sporan," which means "purse" or "pouch."

There are three main types of sporran, the most basic is the leather day sporran, which as the name suggests is made entirely from leather and does not feature any fur. These can be decorated in many ways, from weaved tassels to embossed sporran bags and lids, there are plenty of ways to have a unique twist on your leather sporran.

The next sporran we will look  at is the Full Dress Sporran, these sporrans are made usually with fur and has a metal cantle across the top, the bag is accessible from the back unlike the other sporrans and these are seen as the most formal of the traditional sporran. The cantles on these sporrans are made with varying celtic designs across them and finished usually in a shiny chrome or duller antique finish. The fur used on these sporrans is more commonly calfskin or rabbit but can also be made from many furs such as seal, fox, or musquash. Some regimental sporrans are even made from Horsehair, these are extremely decorative and look a lot larger than a traditional sporran.

The final type of sporran we are going to look at is the Semi Dress sporran which is a blend between the previous types of sporran as it combines the shape and style of the leather day sporran and incorporates the fur over the bag similar to the full dress sporran. These also can include decoration on the lid of the sporran like the leather sporrans or even small metal finishes to add to the design.

There are three main ways to hang a sporran from a kilt, these are the standard sporran chain, the sporran strap and sporran suspender. The sporran chain attaches through the loops on the back of a kilt and hangs down around the waist and attaches to the metal loops on the back of a sporran. The sporran strap is basically a long thin belt which also wraps around the waist but instead threads through the back of the sporran and back round the waist. Both of these are adjustable methods using the buckles on the back. The final option are sporran suspenders which are a more unconventional way to attach the sporran, to use these you must be wearing a kilt belt and you slide the sporran suspenders onto the belt and attach them to the back of the sporran, thus suspending the sporran from the kilt belt.

Here are a selection of some of our favourites and some of our more unique sporrans;

Leather Day Sporrans;

Full Dress Sporrans;

 Semi Dress Sporran;

 Unusual Sporrans;