Pricing???

[AcuteEnigma]

At the Ventura Seaside Scottish games this past weekend I looked at many kilts for sale and I am puzzled.

Some kilts were over $300 but some were just $110.

That seems like a big difference. Can you explain it to me? The $110 kilts felt like wool but maybe they weren't. I don't know.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Three things affect the price of a kilt:

1) the type of cloth used (16 ounce wool generally being the most expensive)
2) the amount of cloth used (4 yards vs 8 yards)
3) the amount of tailoring that has gone into the kilt (ie the number of man hours it has taken to make the kilt)

Hope that answers your question!

[Downunder Kilt]

As MOR posted so correctly “it all depends”

Cloth – acrylic, acrylic blend, PV, wool

Weight – Any thing from 10oz thru to 22oz

Yardage – 4 thru to 9

Making – production line, machine made, machine/handmade, handmade

Style – off the rack, tailor made (and who the kiltmaker is)

Tartan – stock, special weave

Style - box, knife pleat, double box, kinguisse

And that’s only for tartan kilts

[Laird_M]

Weight – Any thing from 10oz thru to 22oz

22oz!!!! MEEP!
13oz is warm enough! Is that Siberian weight?!

[Downunder Kilt]

22oz!!!! MEEP!
13oz is warm enough! Is that Siberian weight?!

22oz was not uncommon for OR ranks in the Highland regiments, there used to be a different weights for officers. I stand to be corrected but I think maximum weight now is 18oz, with officers preferring 16oz

[M. A. C. Newsome]

In general, I'd expect to pay between $400 - $800 for an 8 yard kilt made in genuine 100% wool Scottish tartan. Within that range what you pay will depend on if it is made from light, medium or heavy weight wool, whether it is a stock tartan or a custom weave, what mill wove the cloth, what kilt maker is making the kilt, and whether the kilt is hand sewn, machine sewn, or a combination.

For a "casual" kilt, made from 100% wool Scottish Tartan, I'd expect to spend between $250 and $350, again depending on the weight of the wool, the specific maker, etc. Most all "casual" kilts will be machine sewn.

If you see a kilt for less than that (unless it is a good deal on a second-hand kilt), expect it to be made from a non-wool cloth, machine sewn, and probably imported from Asia.

Another telling factor is that most quality kilts are not going to be available to purchase off the rack at a Highland Games, but will be tailor made to your measurements from the tartan of your choice. The ones you see at many festival being sold off the rack again tend to be the cheaper Asian imports.

[O'Callaghan]

In general, I'd expect to pay between $400 - $800 for an 8 yard kilt made in genuine 100% wool Scottish tartan. Within that range what you pay will depend on if it is made from light, medium or heavy weight wool, whether it is a stock tartan or a custom weave, what mill wove the cloth, what kilt maker is making the kilt, and whether the kilt is hand sewn, machine sewn, or a combination.

For a "casual" kilt, made from 100% wool Scottish Tartan, I'd expect to spend between $250 and $350, again depending on the weight of the wool, the specific maker, etc. Most all "casual" kilts will be machine sewn.

If you see a kilt for less than that (unless it is a good deal on a second-hand kilt), expect it to be made from a non-wool cloth, machine sewn, and probably imported from Asia.

Another telling factor is that most quality kilts are not going to be available to purchase off the rack at a Highland Games, but will be tailor made to your measurements from the tartan of your choice. The ones you see at many festival being sold off the rack again tend to be the cheaper Asian imports.

You can certainly get wool kilts for less than $250, although you will be looking at something off the peg, machine sewn and probably made in Pakistan. Stillwater have them for $122, for example, albeit in a very limited range of tartans and solid colours. You can also find something hand sewn, but non-wool and again probably made in Pakistan for even less, at KiltMart, for example, again with a very limited range of tartans. I don't think that Sportkilt have their kilts made in Asia, although they aren't wool or hand sewn, and they are definitely under $250.

So what Matt says is almost true, but not quite. That is, it doesn't have to be non-wool AND machine sewn AND Asian to be under $250, just at least one of the above.

As a matter of fact, one of my kilts was fully made to measure in Pakistan for only $30, so they don't have to be ready-to-wear either. True, it cost another $30 to have it mailed it to the US, it's machine sewn and it is not pure wool but some sort of blend of wool and acryllic. Also, it's solid black and the only other choice of fabric was Royal Stewart tartan. There's nothing atall wrong with the quality of the workmanship though, in fact it's a little embarassing to think that the person who made it must have been paid so little for so much time and skill. It was a one-off deal though, so maybe they had a glut of fabric in black and in Royal Stewart! ETA: It's fully lined as well!

[davidg]

So what Matt says is almost true, but not quite.

I think you have misinterpreted Matt a little. He didn't say you couldn't, he said he would not expect. There's a subtle difference

In actual fact it is possible to get a good quality 100% wool kilt over here for around £299 (a fraction over $200) but you have to look very hard. You will probably have to settle for Marton Mills cloth (which is half the price of the other mills) and maybe 7 yards but I have seen them advertised occasionally. Hector Russell sometimes have an offer for these kilts made to measure that may only last a few weeks and last year I ordered a full 8 yard from them at that price but they are machine made, although to a very high standard. However, like Matt, I would normally expect to pay over $300

[RockyR]

I think you have misinterpreted Matt a little. He didn't say you couldn't, he said he would not expect. There's a subtle difference

In actual fact it is possible to get a good quality 100% wool kilt over here for around £299 (a fraction over $200) but you have to look very hard. You will probably have to settle for Marton Mills cloth (which is half the price of the other mills) and maybe 7 yards but I have seen them advertised occasionally. Hector Russell sometimes have an offer for these kilts made to measure that may only last a few weeks and last year I ordered a full 8 yard from them at that price but they are machine made, although to a very high standard. However, like Matt, I would normally expect to pay over $300

David,

I agree with what you're saying, but your conversion is going the wrong way. 299 GBP = $495 USD. If it was only $200, I'd have a LOT MORE stock.

Also, MM is not quite 1/2 the cost of other mills... it's more like 15 - 20% less (depending on tartan as some mills charge more for some tartans).

[davidg]

your conversion is going the wrong way

I hold my hands up to my error. I'm used to converting the other way round and I usually mange to get it right as long as I go USD to GBP. GBP to USD causes me some mental confusion

Also, MM is not quite 1/2 the cost of other mills... it's more like 15 - 20% less (depending on tartan as some mills charge more for some tartans).

Now that's interesting. Whilst there is not quite a full 50% difference it is not quite as low as 15-20% for me either. I guess our pricing bands must be different. Many kilt makers over here are now using MM as their standard cloth but the range is a little limited