I pulled the proverbial trigger. Jones time.

[Alan H]

I've been watching the prices on the Capercaillie medium-weight tartan drop at Scotweb over the last week and a half. They finally fell to the point where I had said I would wait...I wouldn't let myself buy the tartan until the total cost (no counting shipping or VAT) was <$200. Well.... that happened this morning. If I opt for their economy shipping, there's actually no charge to France, so the total including shipping is just $203. That's still a LOT of cash for a frugal sort like me. This is my last kilt for a LONG time, and I've wanted this tartan for almost four years..

It's ordered.

It's on it's way to Lady Chrystel.

I've never actually bought a kilt for myself, custom-made by someone else, before.

Now to pinch some pennies in June and July to pay M'Lady for her phenomenal crafts-womanship. This sounds completely stupid, but honestly, one of the reasons I chose Lady Chrystel is all the photographs that Ancienne Alliance has posted of their breathtaking home. I LOVE their house...the inside, the setting, the mountains, their lovely daughters, everything. It means something to me to have my kilt made by hand in a setting like that.

Initiate Jones.

[Alan H]

Why the Capercaillie tartan? I've written about this tartan before, but I will take this chance to do it again. Look over this old X-Marks thread from 2006

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-tartan-20027/

The Capercaillie is a grouse. Capercaillie live all over northern Europe, but they used to live in phenomenal numbers in England and Scotland. The Capercaillie population has plummeted to the point where UK birdwatchers are actually, now, excited to see one. There are other grouse in Scotland, but the capercaillie is in big trouble. They are a spectacular bird, especially in mating season when the males set up leks and display for the females.

Why such a drop in numbers? Well, overhunting and so on of course are part of the issue, but the big problem is loss of habitat. It's a worldwide problem. There are so many people that modify the natural landscape so much, that natural habitat is disappearing. In a country like Scotland, and even more so in a more densely populated country like England, that has been populated for thousands of years, natural habitat is *extremely* rare.

A proportion of the sale of the Capercaillie tartan goes back into habitat preservation for the birds.

OK...so my Scottish clan connections are slim at best. I wear the Hall and MacNaughton tartans, but honestly, those ancestors are far, far back in my lineage and the link is tiny. I could wear the Navy tartan to honor my father, but ..well, that's my FATHER. Most of my other kilts I own simply because I like the colors: Lindsay, Holyrood, MacNicol. The one exception is my California Tartan box pleat kilt.

But the Capercaillie tartan stands for something I believe in....habitat preservation and living wisely with the Earth. I can wear a tartan that signifies that ethos, and be proud of it. A kiltie for a cause, as Riverkilt put it. Yeah. I can do that.

AND BESIDES...it's a flipping beautiful tartan, IMHO.

[cessna152towser]

That's a beautiful tartan Alan with lovely subdued colour.
Such a beautiful place to have your kilt constructed too.
I can highly recommend Lady Chrystel's craftsmanship, she created an absolutely fabulous kilt from the Weathered Hunting Cunningham woven by Lochcarron which I shipped to her.
Looking forward to seeing piccies of you wearing your new kilt, and perhaps you will wear it when you come to Scotland.

[Detroitpete]

Sweeeeeeeet!

[GDub]

Very cool! Beautiful tartan, good cause and sewn by Lady Chrystel--doesn't get much better than that! Wise choices all around!

[string]

That is a lovely tartan, I really like the colors.

[English Bloke]

Alan.
I have a Lady Chystel double box and I absolutely love it. Mine is an example of kilt making at it's finest. You will be knocked out I promise you.

Your tartan choice is spectacular too and I greatly admire your reasoning and you can see where the person who designed it got their inspiration...

Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[Jock Scot]

There you go Alan, taken a few weeks ago outside our window.

The hen is lurking to the far left of the picture.



The Hen.




"Himself".

[xman]

Such a sound argument and beautiful tartan may just push a few others off my list. Thank-you for bringing it to my attention and I can't wait to see the results. Excellent choice!

[Bugbear]

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