Hot Stuff!

[Sean_the_Kilted]

First of all, I'd like to apologize to Matt for helping fuel his frustration... I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and his opinions, and I'm going to disagree with him, respectfully, anyway. I'm feeling very frustrated, myself, because I should be writing an essay about what tasks a nurse can delegate to assistive personnel, instead of thinking about inexpensive v. cheap. And I'd also like to apologize to Nick, because some of what I have to say may sound like a personal attack, and it absolutely is not intended that way.

Now, it seems to me that there are really two issues, here. The first one is, does the stuff that the Gold Brothers (et alia) sell affect how people perceive what a kilt is / should be? And, if so, what should be done about it? This, as we've debated at great length in the past, could probably be handled by truth in labeling. Rather than letting these folks get away with "woven fiber," and "designed in Scotland," the law needs to be changed to reflect the actual fiber content, and the actual point of manufacture. I am not a lawyer, but I believe there are laws in place in the United States which regulate such labels. With "made of acrylic fiber" and "made in Pakistan" (or Taiwan, or wherever) clearly labeled on the garment, it will go a long way towards educating even us ignorant Americans.

The second question really is, whether Matt cares to admit it or not, "is there a place for inexpensive kilts." The complaint that Nick and others have, seems to me to boil down to, "these foreign people with thier inexensive foreign kilts are pushing us out of business!" Well, um, gee. I wonder why that is? Let's take a look... Let's say I'm a tourist, in town to see the sights. Heck, for the sake of argument (and because I am) let's say I'm an American. Maybe one of my grandparents was Scottish, and I'm interested in something of the Old Country to take back with me.

Now, strolling up the street, I can see Store Q, and Store U. I go into Store Q first. They have these amazing garments made of wool, hand-sewn by a bespoke tailor, and my god, they're wonderful! But they're... let's see... multiply by two, and oh! They're five hundred dollars! Wow... that's a lot. And really... when would I wear it? Um... there's a highland games in my town, I guess I could wear it then... and, um... no, that's about it.

Now, I walk across the street to Store U, and oh, look, they have kilts, too. Yes, I can see that the fabric isn't as nice... in fact, it's kind of stiff and plasticy. But they're only $50. I can afford that. And heck, I'm only going to wear the thing once a year, anyway, and probably not even that, if I'm going to be honest with myself. Okay, I'll buy one of these!

Now, there's a phrase for what has just (in this hypothetical situation) happened. It's called "free enterprise." Now, maybe correct labeling would help with some of that, but probably not all of it. Because the reason the Gold Brothers (et alia) are pushing more traditional kilt makers off the mile is that they're making money, and the other lot aren't.

Now, I don't think this is an entirely gloomy thing. One in fifty, maybe, of those fellas who buys that plastic kilt is going to say, "Hey, I kind of enjoy this... it feels good." And he'll get back home, and think, "maybe I should look around on the internet, and find out more about this kilting thing." Or maybe, the next time he goes to those highland games in his home town, he'll think about buying another kilt, maybe something with some nicer fabric. And that guy is the audience you're talking to here on X-Marks.

Let's be honest, here... how many of us bought as our first kilt a SportKilt, or a Stillwater, or even (whisper the name with dread though I may) a Utilikilt? I know McMurdo got his first kilt from his dad, and probably some of you other lads did, as well, but for most of us, a kilt was something we shelled out for, with our hard-earned money, thinking we probably wouldn't wear it all that often. That we got bitten by the kilting bug, later, was fortuitous, and has led us to give our support to kilt makers like Kathy Lare, Matt Newsome, and Barbara Trewksbury, who, despite living in America, are traditional, hand-sewing kilt makers. I, myself, gave Matt Newsome one dollar out of every three I made this summer, and I'm thinking about following that up by making a similar investment in a tank from Kathy Lare.

But none of that would have happened without that first, $100 SportKilt. And I really don't think I'm alone in that situation.

So, you want the "plastic" kilts labeled properly? Lobby for the laws to make it so. I'm 100% behind you. You want to get rid of the Gold Brothers, and anyone who would pull business away from the "proper" kilt makers? I'll shake my head, and think it can't be done, unless those "propper" kilt makers start offering an entry-level product of their own... and having looked at the economics of it, I doubt it can be done.

And now, I have said quite a bit more than I should have, no doubt, and will no doubt provoke some violent disagreement, but I think I've also said everything I have to say on the subject, and will henceforth (at least for the life of this thread) hold my peace.

If you've read all the way down here, thank you for your attention, and your time.

Very well said. I completely agree.