Kilt Shop Employee Not Allowed to Wear Kilt to Work

[Paul Henry]

So if you head out to Harrods you wouldn't mind seeing the man selling you a suit wearing cargo shorts a t-shirt a hat and flip flops?
snip

help me out here, why would one imagine that the sales staff at Harrods would be wearing shorts and flip-flops, I don't get the connection

[McClef]

Phil - I have seen male staff wearing kilts in two branches of one quality kiltmaker - one branch on Princes St and the other branch on the High St.

Perhaps I was lucky but have been to both branches several times and seen them.

[davidg]

Phil - I have seen male staff wearing kilts in two branches of one quality kiltmaker - one branch on Princes St and the other branch on the High St.

Perhaps I was lucky but have been to both branches several times and seen them.

I suspect you may be challenged on the question of whether they are a "quality" kilt maker or not. Actually, they have two branches on Princes Street (one is a concession in another Princes Street shop) but whilst they are most definitely not "tat" they do cater more for the tourist market than they do for anything else. That means much of their stuff is cheaper and mass produced and, whilst OK and fit for purpose, is not the same sort of quality as, say, Kinloch Anderson. Of course, you need a second mortgage to buy from them

[Jaggy thistle]

If I owned a highland dress shop in Edinburgh or any where else kilt wearing would be compulsary a shop should always be proud of its product and for the staff to wear kilts would show the quality and wear ability of highland dress there is a highland dress shop farther North which has its own tartan which all the female employees wear the men however all wear trousers!!

[Phil]

Phil - I have seen male staff wearing kilts in two branches of one quality kiltmaker - one branch on Princes St and the other branch on the High St.

Perhaps I was lucky but have been to both branches several times and seen them.

You are obviously referring to Hector Russell,Trefor, well established and reputable highlandwear shops. They are, however, firmly focussed in the tourist market and not really the type of clothing outfitter I had in mind. Forgive me for any misunderstanding about my earlier post but these type of touristy shops are not those that I, as a local, would go to for a kilt.

[McClef]

Yes I am Phil.

But I would not call HR any more "touristy" than any other non tat shop. To an extent all rely upon the tourist trade as otherwise local trade could not support the numbers that there are.

Naturally tourists are expecting to see people in kilts and are so frequently disappointed outside of the tat shops. There is a gap between expectation and reality and IMHO the more quality shops are only contributing to it with such no kilt policies.

Anyone who has walked around Edinburgh while kilted will know how difficult it is to get round without being asked to pose,

[Phil]

Naturally tourists are expecting to see people in kilts and are so frequently disappointed outside of the tat shops. There is a gap between expectation and reality and IMHO the more quality shops are only contributing to it with such no kilt policies.

I think tourists may often be disappointed when they come to Scotland only to find that virtually no-one is wearing a kilt. So why the shops that cater specifically for them don't "play the game" and dress up accordingly is a bit of a mystery. I know when I go to Wales I expect to encounter ladies in tall hats and aprons around every corner and in Ireland every second man should be wearing a green suit with shamrock in his lapel, and a green bowler hat on his head as he walks along brandishing his shillelagh. I went to France recently and, would you believe it, not a single individual did I see wearing a striped jersey and beret with a string of onions draped around his neck.. On that subject, by the way, when did you last see an "onion johnny"? I think it must be twenty years or more since I did. I wonder if the EU banned them.
Sorry for delving into some national stereotyping there and I do think the tourist industry of all people should be filling that gap.

[davidg]

Yes I am Phil.

But I would not call HR any more "touristy" than any other non tat shop.

There I disagree with you. As I said in my earlier post they have TWO outlets on Princes Street, the outlet being the upper floor of Romanes & Paterson a couple of blocks along Princes Street

Hector Russell is aimed at tourists and has a preponderance of souvenir type items. Yes, they sell kilts, but at the lower end of the market

The main highland outfitters, the ones I would refer to as up market, sell highland outfits but do not sell the souvenirs. There is a marked difference between the two

Having said that, Hector Russell kilts are not at all bad, but their stock tweed jackets can leave a little to be desired in the quality department

The difference between souvenirs and tat is a fine dividing line. When I was in full blown business I simply refused to sell the souvenirs. I don't believe anyone who does can be taken seriously as a real (i.e. quality) highland outfitter as most of those "souvenirs" are not even made in Scotland

[tpa]

I'm sure it is more expensive to kit employees out in kilts than polo necks with the shop name on them, but as ever in business it is a question of working out what gives the best return. I am always disappointed not to see staff in kilt shops wearing kilts as i feel it is a missed opportunity, but it would be interesting to hear from anyone who has tried both scenarios and quantified the results.

That said, the sense in banning an employee from wearing his own kilt in a kilt shop rather depends on what the options are. If all employees are identically and smartly kitted out in attire which clearly marks them out as a shop staff member, then it is understandable, provided the decision has a sound financial and marketing basis. If they are all wearing different outfits, then it makes no sense at all.

If people are going to buy tat, they will soon find their way out of a quality shop, however if they are are in a position to buy quality goods, then a good example of the wearing of the kilt might just tip the balance between a sale and no sale, especially if the purchaser's partner is involved in the decision.

[McClef]

I don't want to get into love or hate Hector Russell arguments I was merely trying to show that it's not only the GB empire that has kilts on its employees.

The level of expectation for Welsh pointy hats or onion sellers on bicycles is somewhat less, I would contend, than it is for seeing kilts being worn in the Capital city of Scotland.

All I know is that I always get asked to pose with visitors when kilted there. I somehow think that my handsome features and magnificent physique are only secondary reasons why.