The expense of kilts!

[frank_a]

What I have been trying to reconcile in my itty bitty brain is how on earth the famously stingy Scots ever got involved in clothing that is so darned expensive? Mind you, I understand we live in a different world today, and hobbies and addictions can cost whatever, but my word! This kilt stuff is expensive!

My dad's mother was a full blooded Scot (as was my mom's mother) and she was about as tight as they came. My dad pretty much took after her and was an accountant on top of it. My mother, God rest her soul, used to say my dad "Would not pay a nickel to see an earthquake." She had other quaint sayings about his stinginess, but that is how I was raised. Now I look at buying a kilt that costs twice as much as I would pay for a normal decent wool business suit! I guess those of us of Scot heritage have to unlearn this stinginess thing eh?

Maybe I'm the only one with this question?

I'm trying, honest...

Frank

[McElmurry]

One approach is to buy the very best kilt you can afford and wear it for all occasions. By the time your great-great-grandson is wearing it, it will seem like a bargain.

[frank_a]

Yes, but it will only be a bargain for him, the little thief!

Seriously, this is what I mean - buy the very best kilt I can afford?!? Basically, I can't afford a kilt, let alone the accessories that should go with it. It's not that I don't have the money, it's that I am SO reluctant to spend it, especially for clothes I will only wear on weekends or at home in the evening. And prices just seem to be so high. Don't get me wrong, this is not to say I am being critical of the quality work that goes into kilt wear. I just wonder how the stereotypically stingy Scots ever got enamored with such expensive clothing! It's bad enough buying suits for the office, but I wear them most every working day, take exceptional care of them and they last a long time.

Hmmmm.....

Frank

[cessna152towser]

Mind you, I understand we live in a different world today, and hobbies and addictions can cost whatever, but my word! This kilt stuff is expensive!

I am so glad I put together my kilt collection before the recession.

I guess those of us of Scot heritage have to unlearn this stinginess thing eh?

As a Scot I have had to relearn the stinginess thing. Money is too hard earned nowadays to spend on kilts. However now that I already have the kilts, accessories such as kilt hose wear out and need replacing so I can always justify continuing to spend money on new kilt hose.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Think about how the kilt evolved. The original kilt was a length of cloth -- nothing fancy, just something you could purchase at your local weaver's, made from wool (commonly available in the Highlands, nothing imported, mind you), whatever pattern he had on hand that suited your fancy. You wrap it around your waist, maybe have the missus put a few stitches in it to keep things in place, and you are off!

No arguments about it: a very economical garment.

Today, however, the kilt is very much in the realm of specialty wear. People who wear the kilt generally don't want to wear just any kilt. It has to be in a very particular tartan. So we are talking about cloth which is woven in very small batches for a rather limited market. Most of our clothing today is as cheap as it is because it is made from fabric woven in third-world countries by people being paid pennies-per-hour, in batches of thousands of meters at a time. You cannot do that with tartan. Even the cheap kilts sold on Ebay that are made from cloth woven in Pakistan or China are pretty expensive when you think about what you are getting for your money.

Furthermore the "standard" for a man's kilt today is to be made from eight yards of cloth, meaning lots of very tiny little pleats in the back, all of which need to be hand stitched, which means 20 plus hours of labor for a kilt maker to complete. Looked at with that in mind, it's a wonder kilts don't cost more than they do.

So, the long and short of it is that a kilt today is a different garment than a kilt 200 years ago, and our economy today is a different economy than it was 200 years ago.

[Tobus]

Most of our clothing today is as cheap as it is because it is made from fabric woven in third-world countries by people being paid pennies-per-hour, in batches of thousands of meters at a time.

This. We Americans (and most of the western world) have gotten spoiled by modern technology and global sources of cheap labour. We seem to think that clothes should be inexpensive, or that they have always been inexpensive. But this is actually a recent trend... only in the last couple of decades has this been the case. Up until the rise of Asian manufacturing, clothing was actually a rather expensive commodity. Which is why so many people made their own 'homespun'. They simply couldn't afford to buy clothes made by others!

Kilts have followed along with other clothing lines. You can buy cheap off-the-rack stuff made in Asia at prices that are more in line with clothes you'd buy from Walmart, or you can buy quality hand-made kilts that are tailored to your measurements, made from high-quality materials. There's really no difference between that and other styles of clothing. The full range of quality and price is there.

But building a 'full kit' isn't something you should just rush out and purchase anyway. For most of us, it takes years of buying one thing at a time, or working our way up in quality. The same is true of the Scots too, unless they happen to inherit it from within the family.

[creagdhubh]

But building a 'full kit' isn't something you should just rush out and purchase anyway. For most of us, it takes years of buying one thing at a time, or working our way up in quality. The same is true of the Scots too, unless they happen to inherit it from within the family.

***

[frank_a]

This. We Americans (and most of the western world) have gotten spoiled by modern technology and global sources of cheap labour. We seem to think that clothes should be inexpensive, or that they have always been inexpensive. But this is actually a recent trend... only in the last couple of decades has this been the case. Up until the rise of Asian manufacturing, clothing was actually a rather expensive commodity. Which is why so many people made their own 'homespun'. They simply couldn't afford to buy clothes made by others!

Kilts have followed along with other clothing lines. You can buy cheap off-the-rack stuff made in Asia at prices that are more in line with clothes you'd buy from Walmart, or you can buy quality hand-made kilts that are tailored to your measurements, made from high-quality materials. There's really no difference between that and other styles of clothing. The full range of quality and price is there.

But building a 'full kit' isn't something you should just rush out and purchase anyway. For most of us, it takes years of buying one thing at a time, or working our way up in quality. The same is true of the Scots too, unless they happen to inherit it from within the family.

I fully understand what you're saying, but nevertheless, I look for bargains. I buy my winter suits in the Spring and summer suits in the Fall. I don't buy any clothes of any kind that are not on sale. As a commercial lender for decades, I intimately understand cost of goods sold, break even points and profit & loss statements. Trust me, it's all I think about when I buy anything.

You may notice I only joined up here recently, and that was because I was able to buy my first kilt (and sporran and sporran belt) for 89 dollars. That purchase was one of long time latent demand, i.e. I have lusted after a kilt for a very long time, and her was one for less than 90 bucks. I couldn't believe it. That led to my joining XMarks, and now looking at the next step for a better kilt. I'll be 60 next month, so it's not like I have loads of time to buy this and that expensive sorts of garments and accessories. In fact, after I retire I intend to live like a monk! Or at least, if the little woman allows me to...

Thanks to all for the comments. I appreciate it!

Frank

[Jock Scot]

Now can you see why many Scots wear their one kilt-------it will be more than likely expensive------- for just for best?

[Peter Crowe]

But building a 'full kit' isn't something you should just rush out and purchase anyway. For most of us, it takes years of buying one thing at a time, or working our way up in quality. The same is true of the Scots too, unless they happen to inherit it from within the family.

Tobus is absolutely right about this!

Speaking as a native born Scot who was brought up to wear the kilt, I have spent years adding piecemeal through purchase and inheritance to have enough kilt gear to have Traditional Highland Civilian Dress (THCD) day-wear and semi-formal (black-tie) evening wear as a middle aged man of almost 46. When I was a boy it was kilt and argyle jacket with basic accoutrements (sporran. hose, and flashes). I was in my late 30's before I owned a Prince Charlie coatee and vest with an evening dress sporran. You find that these are special clothes you pay good money for and take care of appropriately.

Not that I am unhappy with what I have, but I would still like to have a tweed Argyle day jacket with matching waistcoat. However, I doubt I could justify such an extravagance for at least another five to ten years.

By the way Scots are canny which means careful not stingy. I know many of my ain folk who would give you the shirt of their back provided you earned their friendship and good esteem. They may be slow to warm to strangers but once you have their friendship, you have a real friend for life.