Here's what I did. I went to the websites of major mills like Lochcarron, House of Edgar, DC Dalgliesh (new website). I looked at lots of different tartans from clan to district (in the end went with clan). I narrowed the sweep down to a few (realizing that some sites have computer-generated images and not photographs). Then I went to a couple of kilt shops and looked through their fabric swatches. In my case they had Lochcarron, HOE and some Dalgliesh. I felt the cloth for finish and weight. And then looked around for photos of kilts made from the selections of tartan that I had made. This forum is a great resource for that. I talked to my kiltmakers for their suggestions and asked tons of questions. For me it was a matter of the "hand" (a term I learned from Matt) of the cloth, its weight and colour palette. Then, I made my choice. I learned that muted and ancient tones tend to look a little "brighter" than one would imagine. But in the end friend, I'm pretty sure that you will be thrilled with the result. Tartan cloth--quality cloth--is truly beautiful.