An XMTS Game: Ranking quality of Kilt & Kit

[Panache]

On XMTS we often talk about the importance of the quality versus cost in our highland attire. It is easy to say "I want everything to be the best quality". But what about when you have to make choices about what can be best quality vs. lesser quality? I pose this scenario and question to you for your amusement and for us to share what see as most important in our highland attire.

Imagine you are a starving 1st year college student and do not possess any highland attire. Fortune has smiled on you and you have won a drawing for a free highland outfit from a respected Kilt shop. As starving student you will not be able to buy replacements for any of the items until you are finished with college (and you are shooting for a Doctorate). So this gear will be serving as your only highland attire for the better part of the next decade.

The shop owner says you may have your choice of an outfit that includes (1) kilt, (1) sporran (with strap), (1) kilt jacket w/waistcoat, (1) pair of hose w/flashes, and (1) sgian dubh.

However there is a catch.

One item may be of the very finest quality (bespoke to your specifications)
One item will be of very good quality.
One item will be of good quality
One item will be of average quality
One item will be of low quality

What would you choose for your outfit? List them from 1 to 5 with 1 being the highest in quality to 5 being the lowest and add an explanation if you would like as to your reasoning. It will be interesting to see if we all have pretty much the same priorities or if there is some variation. For the fun of it I will send a PM to one of the Mods with my prediction.

Cheers

Jamie

[Paul Henry]

I'll play...

The shop owner says you may have your choice of an outfit that includes (1) kilt, (1) sporran (with strap), (1) kilt jacket w/waistcoat, (1) pair of hose w/flashes, and (1) sgian dubh.


One item may be of the very finest quality (bespoke to your specifications) kilt
One item will be of very good quality. jacket/waistcoat
One item will be of good quality sporran
One item will be of average quality hose, because I'll be making my own
One item will be of low quality as I don't wear one can I put the money from the sgian dubh towards the hose please

[ForresterModern]

1. Hand sewn 8 yd knife pleated kilt in Forrester modern tartan, bespoke by Bonnie Heather
2. Black barathea Argyle jacket and vest, with interchangeable buttons between chrome and black horn or leather buttons
3. HoC Tain hose in Lovat blue
4. Basic dress sporran in grey cowhide with chrome cantle and black leather strap (plain)
5. Faux or low end sgian nonspecific---actually I would like to turn this back in for credit toward better quality hose or sporran

One man's opinion.

[RockyR]

I'd list them in order of price... get the highest price item at the top of the scale and the lowest priced item at the bottom of the scale. As you grow older and can afford it, start replacing items from the bottom up.

[Harold Cannon]

THIS WOULD BE MY ORDER.

One item may be of the very finest quality (bespoke to your specifications)

KILT

A GOOD KILT CAN LAST A LIFETIME AND WILL HOLD UP BETTER THAT A LESS EXPENSIVE ONE.

One item will be of very good quality.

JACKET AND WAISTCOAT

A GOOD QUALITY BLACK ARGYLL JACKET AND WAISTCOAT CAN BE USED AT SEVERAL LEVELS OF FORMALITY

One item will be of good quality

SPORRAN

A GOOD QUALITY MASK SPORRAN OR EVEN A BLACK HUNTER SPORRAN WORK ON MANY LEVELS.

One item will be of average quality

HOSE AND FLASHES

A DECENT PAIR OF HOSE AND FLASHES IN A DARK CORESPONDING COLOR OF THE KILT WORKS WELL FOR MOST FUNCTIONS.

One item will be of low quality

SGIAN DUBH

AS IT IS ONLY DECORATION THIS WOULD BE THE LOW QUALITY ITEM FOR ME.

[Panache]

I'd list them in order of price... get the highest price item at the top of the scale and the lowest priced item at the bottom of the scale. As you grow older and can afford it, start replacing items from the bottom up.

PENALTY!!!!!




That isn't playing the game Rocky! (And a warning for you Paul!)


The point here is that you have imagine that this EXACT outfit is the one you will be wearing for the next almost 10 years. There is no "I'll replace" or "I'll make" allowed. There is no exchanges or barter. You get the 5 items of varying quality and that's it. These are your only options. This is to get you to think about what is really important to you in a highland outfit.

OK (Panache blows whistle)

"Resume Play!"


Cheers

Jamie ith:

[Jock Scot]

I am only interested in the best kilt attire around and nothing else will do. And no, I am not made of money.

[Ryan Ross]

Cool thread idea.

1. Kilt (the best kilt should last a lifetime and beyond)
2. Sporran (an absolute necessity, and a bad looking sporran, which is front and center to the kilt, can ruin an entire outfit)
3. Jacket/vest (I almost never wear one, so it wouldn't be that big an issue- in fact, I'd almost rather trade in this option for a good belt)
4. Hose (even fairly cheap hose don't look that bad)
5. Sgian dubh (it's an unnecessary piece, and at 18 years of age, I already owned several very good folders to serve as my EDC utility blade)

[creagdhubh]

I am only interested in the best kilt attire around and nothing else will do. And no, I am not made of money.

Agreed.

1. Kilt
2. Sporran
3. Tweed Jacket and Waistcoat
4. Hose
5. Sgian Dubh

Cheers,

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Oh, I don't know, Jamie, I think that things such as "I don't need to get high quality socks because I can knit my own" are wonderful. They encourage people who perhaps cannot afford the high quality items they want (maybe because they are a starving college student) to learn to make their own items as an alternative.

But here is what my prefernce would be:

1) highest quality, bespoke item: I'd pick the sporran. I know a lot of folks would be tempted to go for the kilt, but I honestly think that unless you are requiring a custom woven tartan, there is no need to put the kilt in the No. 1 slot here. After all, every decent quality kilt is made-to-measure and pretty much all of the Scottish mills make wonderful quality cloth, all things considered. So I was torn between the sporran and sgian dubh for the number one slot, largely because I knew that I'd never be likely to spend the money needed to get a really nice bespoke version of either, with sterling silver fittings and all that. In the end, I choose the sporran over the sgian because I believe I'd get more use out of it, and it would be shown off more when worn.

So what type of sporran? Probably something with a fully functional hnged cantle in sterling silver, with a design of my choosing etched into it. Maybe goat hair for the body. Or better yet, a detachable bag, like on the MoD brass cantles, so I can get one with goat hair and a second that is plain black leather with braided tassels, for dress down.

2) very good quality slot would be the kilt. To me, a "good" quality kilt means heavy or medium weight cloth, any of the stock tartans by Lochcarron, House of Edgar, or Dalgliesh, hand sewn, and made to measure. A "very good" quality kilt is made from heavy weight cloth and sewn by someone who really knows what they are doing! Such a kilt will serve you perfectly well for many, many years.

3) good quality slot would go to the hose. At first I had the jacket here, with the hose at average quality. Why did I change my mind? Well, I first remembered that for many years I got by just fine with average quality hose. Then I recalled replacing those hose every so often. And since Jamie said we'd be stuck with this outfit for a decade or more, I decided that the hose better be of pretty good quality to last that long. So to me, this means a pair of Lewis or Rannoch hose from House of Cheviot - something from their line with a reenforced foot, which would add to the wearable life of the sock.


4) average quality - the jacket. Generally I find I fit well into a standard 44L, so custom tailoring, while nice, is not really required for me to find a well fitting jacket. And for the purposes of this exercise, assuming I'd be using this as my only jacket for the next 10 years or so, I'd opt for a black barathea Argyle as the most versitile. So I'm not even looking for a custom or unusual cloth here. A jacket such as I would require could likely be found off the peg.

5) poor quality - the sgian dubh. Not that I don't appreciate a really nice, high quality, hand crafted sgian dubh as much as the next man. But of the five items mentioned, this one I see to be the least necessary to wearing the kilt, and is certainly the least visible when worn. So it gets the bottom of the slot, I'm afraid.