What is a sporran for?

Traditional kilts don’t have pockets, so a sporran works as a very convenient accessory in Scottish Highland dress, serving as a closing pouch that functions creatively as a storage vessel and personal statement for the wearer. This makes them both functional and decorative.

Generally crafted from good quality leather, sporrans are sometimes dressed up with hair-on-hide/fur elements in the traditional style and often embellished with silverware (the cantle) which may feature Celtic knotwork designs that include typically iconic Scottish emblems such as the thistle, rampant lion, Highland stag, the Saltire and so on.

The kind of personal items this may hold would be pretty much what most people carry in their pockets such as keys, mobile phones, a wallet and perhaps a hip flask.

Sporrans are particularly useful amongst the pipe band fraternity as repositories for – again – a hip flask, cash and keys, a hand wipe, drone corks, drum keys and suchlike.

There are various types of sporrans for different occasions and tastes:

Day Sporrans: Simple, unadorned (other than perhaps with some exquisite hand tooling or the odd cap or clan badge badge) and sometimes even without tassels, are made of leather and suitable for casual wear.

Semi-Dress Sporrans: Taking it up a notch, these keep traditional styling, but may include a hair-on-hide/fur panel and a silver plate and are generally worn for semi-formal events. In this group, we often find a class called ‘hunting’ sporrans, with their studded detailing and tied-in tassels.

Dress Sporrans: These can be highly ornate and often feature a quite flamboyant or plainly striking metal cantle and tassel cones. The casing will likely be leather with a full hair-on-hide/fur front. These are commonly reserved for special formal occasions such as weddings and black tie dinners.

TIP. Choose according to your personal taste and style and tie this to the tartan you're wearing and the type of event you most commonly attend. 

ALWAYS buy from a reputable sporran craftsperson or retailer.