Kiltmart: a naive review

[CDNSushi]

I am very much a kilt n00bie -- only started wearing them a couple months ago... For this reason, I've prefaced this posting with the fact that this is a naive review... Much in the same spirit as naive art, I may not be a kiltmaker nor a seamstress (though I actually come from a long line of them. lol and thus have had many articles of clothing custom-tailored for me by members of my fami*ahem* clan).... However, I do know the difference between good and shoddy workmanship and where corners may have been cut, or by opposing, where care has been taken.

I am comparing my recent Kiltmart purchase to one I made a few months back at Stillwater. They are certainly not the standard measuring stick by which to judge, but it may help others understand where I'm coming from.

Anyway, here's the scoop:

My purchase from Stillwater included: an SWK Standard (Nightstalker), black, three-tassled sporran, hose.

My purchase from Kiltmart included: an Affordable kilt (Hunting Stewart), kilt pin, kilt belt, 2 Ghillie shirts (white and black).

First, the preliminaries. Since I live in Japan, the first question I have to research on ANY website is whether or not International shipping is available, and if so, how much. Both SWK and Kiltmart (henceforth KM) touted this option. SWK was no problem, automatically calculating shipping costs and the transactions went super-smoothly with no glitches or hiccups. KM, on the other hand, got onto a rocky start, as all Asian countries were listed as unavailable when I tried to place my order. I canceled the whole shebang, and wrote a somewhat frustrated e-mail to them regarding the issue. To their credit, I received a quick, polite, yet apologetic response within 24 hours that the problem had been resolved. Round 2: selected my items, went to check out, only to find out that the Paypal button was munged. Sent a second e-mail. Received a response that they were looking into it but provided a simple alternative to getting things done. In the end, I decided to try it "just one more time" and everything worked fine.

Conclusion: SWK was smooth sailing from A to Z. KM was not, but they were very quick to make things right. For this reason, I would not hesitate to do business with either in the future. Shipping costs were comparable for both companies.

Shipping time: I received my goods from SWK with incredible speed. About 1 week even. KM took roughly 1.5 weeks. Still respectable though.

Edge: SWK

Packing: I received SWK's shipment in a USPS box, everything was in good order, the kilt was shipped loosely but with no lasting ill-effects. A few creases worked themselves out when I first wore it. The pleats were properly basted at the bottom. KM shipped their products in a large, padded manila envelope. Everything was also good as far as I could tell. The whole affair (ever so slightly) smelled of naphthalene (mothballs) but nothing too horrible. The kilt was shipped in thin plastic, with two lines of basting stitches -- one in the middle and one at the bottom. The basting on the KM kilt was easier to remove than that of the SWK.

Edge: tie

The next bit I can't compare SWK and KM, as I only ordered shirts, a belt and kilt pin from KM, but here are my impressions. The kilt pin is fine. No comments... The belt is alright too, but I wish it hadn't been sent folded (clearly the way it gets sent from the manufacturer) as it makes the leather look rather worn at the bends. Further, the size adjustment is done by velcro. Not really a problem for me as I will not be adjusting it often, but still, I've not owned a belt quite like this before. The sizing was accurate -- although I was surprised that I would be a size 'M' when most of my clothing is generally 'L' and sometimes even 'XL'. The shirts.. Wellllll.. This is where things start to get interesting. I ordered two -- one black and one white. As soon as I unpacked the black shirt, a button from the cuff came right off. Hate that! One other strange thing... Even though both shirts were supposed to be the same (except for the color) my white shirt seems to be made of cotton broadcloth (kinda like a linen bed sheet) and the black one seems to be made of a smooth, almost silky polyester. Both are sized appropriately and look good, but neither have any sort of washing/care instructions labels anywhere -- only a size tag with "Made in Pakistan" written on the back. Thing is, they were cheap! At $25 per shirt I have little to complain about when most other comparable ones start at $10 more. One additional note, even though both shirts came sealed in plastic, the white one had dirty smudges on the inside... (Thankfully nothing is visible on the outside)...

Overall grade for accessories: B

Now the main course. Everyone must be yelling by now, "But what about the friggin' KILT?!?!" Well, alright. Even though the kilt wasn't the main point of my purchase, believe it or not, the accessories listed above were, I couldn't pass up a Hunting Stewart for $39 even though I knew that it wouldn't be anything but a cheap thing to knock about in.

Comparing the SWK Standard to KM's Affordable is a bit like comparing a Camaro to a Yugo. Sure, both will get you from A to B but the question is HOW. The workmanship in the SWK Standard is noticeably superior and far greater care has been taken to produce a quality product. I'm not going to get into the qualities of the SWK too much except to compare it to the KM kilt. First of all, SWK's pleats start about 1/4 of the way down from the top. The top portion is stitched. KM, by contrast, leaves its pleats free all the way to the waistband which is roughly 3 to 3.5 inches wide. This wouldn't be a big deal EXCEPT... the lining. SWK stitches down the top 1/4 of the kilt where the lining is... KM also has this lining on the top, inner portion of the kilt and this lining is hand-stitched to the kilt from the inside... Unfortunately, because the top 1/4 isn't sewn down like it is on the SWK, and the pleats go all the way to the top, whoever did the stitching failed to notice that they were also snagging portions of pleats along the way, as they were stitching in the lining, giving the pleats a sort-of half-basted effect but only in some places. Some pleats are fine and the stitch passes harmlessly through the inside, whereas others are half-attached to the pleat next to it. This results in the kilt not hanging quite right when you put it on, and the pleats not swinging quite right either. The only solution I can see to this would be to either remove the lining and stitch it back in CAREFULLY, making sure not to muck up any of the pleats, or to stitch down the pleats just like the SWK, and then it really doesn't matter... Either way, I'm afraid this kilt is going to hang funny until I get that little matter resolved. As for the fabric, both the acrylic used in the KM and SWK seem to be alright. The KM seems just a tad lighter weight though. Both use traditional selvedge and are not hemmed at the bottom. SWK has a fringe on the apron edge, KM is hemmed. Further, SWK Standard is 7-8 yards whereas KM Affordable is about 6. I would wear the KM on a hot day before I'd wear my SWK -- and recently we've had a few scorchers. Also, the SWK Standard has nice, wide belt loops -- the KM's belt loops are barely wide enough.

Conclusion: KM's affordable seems good enough to putter about in, but I certainly wouldn't wear it to a formal occasion... I'd rate them about a C or a C+ and under the right circumstances would do business with them again, but I wouldn't be going there if I were after something of superior quality. For that we have other fine purveyors of Highland garb...

[Dirk Skene]

I have 4 from Kilt Mart and am pleased with them. My niece got some material from them. It looks good, but she has yet to do anything with it.

[CactusJack]

Thanks for the very detailed review, I hope you enjoy all your purchases..

[Finn]

Thanks for the review. My next is an SWK Standard.
Haven't been much inclined towards KM, but its good to know.

[Ayin McFye]

That was a great review, but like you said there is a slight problem with comparing a SWK Standard to a KM affordable.

It would be kind of like comparing a SWK Standard to a SWK Thrifty. The Standard is of course the better product. I think the amount of detail that you put into your review was excellent.

I own two KM kilts, but both are the affordable ones that I bought when I first starting wearing kilts. Lucky for me they are located here in Arizona where I live, so I can just go down to their shop and buy one (when they decide to open).

I completely agree with you though, as long as you know the product you are buying and ok with the lack of professional quality, then purchasing these cheaper kilts is perfectly acceptable. As long as people don't think they are getting a scottish custom handmade kilt for $50 then it's ok.

Once again, great review and thanks for sharing!

[Carolina Kiltman]

I completely agree with you though, as long as you know the product you are buying and ok with the lack of professional quality, then purchasing these cheaper kilts is perfectly acceptable. As long as people don't think they are getting a scottish custom handmade kilt for $50 then it's ok.

Once again, great review and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the review, well done! Once again, the truth is, you pretty much get what you pay for! I remember an ad several years back by the Pella Company, which had a man saying to his wife; "For once Lydia, will you look at something other than the price?" The implication being that the Pella product was of superior quality to the "El Cheapo". the equivalent of one of the better, not necessarily the hand-made, kilts (actually a combination of machine stitching and hand stitching, which is the norm in a good tailor made suit). The same is true of almost everything. I own a set of chisels which would cost nearly $1000 to replace, and they are superior to the "Big Box" specials in every way. Yet, if I am cutting into a piece of salvage lumber, I'll use the cheap one, then if I hit a nail and ruin the edge, no problem. Thanks for your most thoughtful review.

[O'Callaghan]

That was a great review, but like you said there is a slight problem with comparing a SWK Standard to a KM affordable.

It would be kind of like comparing a SWK Standard to a SWK Thrifty. The Standard is of course the better product. I think the amount of detail that you put into your review was excellent.

I own an SWK Thrifty, and although it has velcro instead of buckles, no lining, and fewer pleats/less yds of fabric, it still has sewn down pleats and a fringe, and was still shipped with basting stitches in it. SWK also do an Economy which is priced inbetween the Thrifty and the Standard, and in fact within a buck of the KM Affordable. The Economy has buckles, but I'm not sure if it's lined, although I assume it has sewn-down pleats and a fringe because even the Thrifty has them.

Probably one reason to choose between an SWK Economy and a KM Affordable for about the same price is tartan availability. Neither offer very many, but they are not all the same ones.

[CDNSushi]

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad that I wasn't accused of being TOO verbose -- I approached this kilt review the same way I approach the restaurant review website I created for our local area... The devil is in the detail, as they say.

Regarding the people who have commented that you get what you pay for, I couldn't agree more. I used to be a computer salesman at Future Shop in Canada (that is the Canadian equivalent of Circuit City) and when we did our sales training (because those poor buggers DO work on straight commission) they taught us tactics to counter the "it's too expensive!" defense from customers. It wasn't just a tactic -- it's something that I still believe: the cost of an expensive product EQUALS the cost of a CHEAP product, PLUS what it costs to repair or replace it when it breaks.

Also, the law of work: You can have something CHEAP, FAST, GOOD but you may only pick two of the three...

I will be taking my new KM kilt to my favourite seamstress for a price quote to sew down the pleats today. If it's not too much, I'll let them do it. Otherwise, I'll just do it myself. I'm very much a DIYer, but I also have to balance my free time with other obligations.

[Big Mikey]

A very concise review. Well done and good luck with your future purchases.

[IrishGodfather]

Great review man, I've been thinking about buying some accessories from kiltmart, and I hope I have a good experience like you did.

Does anyone have a chanter from KM? Becuz I'm thinking of buying one to start learning the pipes.