Quote Originally Posted by GG View Post
I never understood this hostile attitude towards cheap kilts.
I'm not convinced there is a hostile attitude towards cheap kilts as such except in rare instances. I can, for example, understand why Edinburgh's oldest sporran maker might rant about cheaper sporrans imported from Pakistan taking away his trade. Or I can understand why Geoffrey (Tailor) or Hector Russell even, might complain about the Gold Brothers literally setting up shop next door to them and taking trade away with their cheap imports from Pakistan. That kind of hostility is quite understandable where it exists. The rest of us, I believe, are more hostile to the almost fraudulent way these cheap imports are marketed rather than towards the product itself

In Scotland, especially in Princes Street or the Royal Mile, tourists largely expect to see Scottish goods. Kilts made in Pakistan woven from cloth woven in Pakistan are clearly not Scottish made, but all the advertising screams out to the tourist that this is an "authentic Scottish product". It's not, and it is the lies and misrepresentation that upsets most of us

An acrylic kilt is not going to last or wear the same way as a woollen one. But that is perfectly OK if you know what you are buying. What is not OK is to be deceived as to what it is and be misled into thinking that the genuine article is merely the same but sold at rip off prices by the "quality" outlets. More honesty about the imported product would, surely, equal less hostility and give it the respect it really deserves, rather than the bad name it does not. In other words it is not the product itself people are hostile to, it is the people who sell them