not like anything else

[MacLowlife]

Here is something I have never seen otherwise, a Man's silk kilt:


http://cgi.ebay.com/COMME-DES-GARCON...item518e264c06

The tartan looks to be close to Wallace, but the fabric seems to be silk gum twill. Like an Hermes scarf...

And, of course, in addition to any other drawbacks, it is too small for me. I'd love to hear or read others' comments.

[Dirka Skene]

Sounds a little fragile.

[bricelythgoe]

I saw that today. Kind of weird. I don't like silk shirts. Can't imagine a silk kilt.

[CDNSushi]

I saw that today. Kind of weird. I don't like silk shirts. Can't imagine a silk kilt.

Probably not what you think. Silk is an interesting fabric. It's hard to characterize the "feel" of it because that all depends on how it's woven and how the garment is made. The kilt probably feels nothing like a silk shirt -- I bet it feels much like a kilt.

I say this as I own a lot of silk items. Japanese kimono, silk socks, silk boxers, silk Japanese underwear (fundoshi), just to name a few. And they all feel different. Especially the silk socks. They feel very much sock-like, and aren't "slippery" whatsoever.

[pdcorlis]

Gee I wonder how their "NAUGHTY MONKEY OUT OF LINE LEATHER SHOE RED LEO" shoes will go with that "vintage" silk kilt...

Sheesh.

[Nighthawk]

Personally? I love it! I like the way the tartan is trimmed. But then, I'm a bit of a non traditionalist. My wife puts up with it (she's a traditionalist) my dad loves it (he also, oddly, is a traditionalist) and my mom (also a traditionalist) hates it! Modern kilts=bad to my mom. So I would love to have that, if it were my size. Ah well- such is life.

[GDub]

Personally? I love it! ...my mom (also a traditionalist) hates it!....

You should listen to your mother!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Silk kilts we not all that uncommon before WWII, especially among those Scots who had spent any time in India. Tartan was also woven in India (at that time) as a silk-wool blend, and was very popular for kilts intended for evening wear. As CDNShushi has pointed out the "feel" and the weight of a silk kilt would be a million miles removed from that of a silk shirt. If I had the money...

[hospitaller]

what I find hilarious is that 1999 is considered 'vintage', LOL

.

[Rex_Tremende]

what I find hilarious is that 1999 is considered 'vintage',

Well, it's Comme des Garçons, which means that it's a fashion piece, and if it's fashion, last year's stuff is, like, sooo last year.

Comme des Garçons is a label created by Rei Kawakubo (who happens to be Japanese), who I've mentioned before here on these boards before. She was inspired by- and working with a lot of tartan for a while, but I don't know if she still is. (Her Fall 2009 collection seems to indicate that she's largely moved beyond that, though there are a few skirts that appear to be made out of tartan fleece picnic blankets.) Most of what I've seen her design is just a mess (to my eye), including the "Shilt" (that was my term for it), and the "Wad" (also my term) that ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's fashion collection.

The piece for sale today on ebay could be a one-off, but it looks more like it might have been one of the few designs that ended up in limited production, seeing how the silk is printed. It's pretty clear that it is NOT the sort of silk/wool kilt that Rathdown has described.

I occasionally try to have a discussion on the influence of kilts and tartans on modern fashion, but that usually doesn't end up going much of anywhere here, as there is much derision of the concept of "fashion" on XMTS, and not much understood.

Regards,
Rex.