Retail Kilt Shops in Glasgow

[ggibby]

I'll chip in about Geoffrey (Tailor). On our trip last June, my Sweetie was patient enough to allow me to visit the Glasgow and both Edinburgh locations.

Everyone was easy to deal with and willing to call other shops to get answers. Thanks to the help from Glasgow manager, she picked up a couple clan badges and ordered shawls that arrived promptly after our return. The Edinburgh visits yielded an ex-hire pleather kilt and gangster-stripe suit, both from TFCK.

I even got to visit Howie's tiny shop and chatted with himself.

I guess I need a 'Team Nicholsby' t-shirt...

[Jimmy]

I agree. Compared to Edinburgh, some of the Glasgow shops I've been in have had a much lower quality of service.
Any time I've been in the ones here, the sales assistants are always very helpful, even if I'm just having a look around and not really intending on buying anything.
I've been to the Slanj shop in Glasga and two assistants basically ignored me while they had a conservation, then weren't much help when I asked about apsomething.

With the price of new kilts and in the current climate you would think that these asssitants would be falling over you to get a sale, almost every kilt shop that I have been to in Glasgow in the past 2 weeks has been void of customers, it looks like that they are waiting for the wedding season to kick start their business

[chewse]

Jimmy - when my wife and I were in Scotland on vacation (and looking for a custom kilt) two years ago, I visited several kilt shops in Glasgow. Each kilt shop seemed to me to carry the "tourist" type kilts and not any I would feel comfortable purchasing. For instance, one shop owner tried to pass off a machine sewn Black Watch kilt – 10 oz as a higher grade, 16 oz, 8 yds Mackay tartan kilt. I guess he felt I was a typical dumb American with money. I felt pressure from the far majority of the Glasgow shop owners to make some sort of purchase.

When my wife and I traveled next by train from Glasgow to Edinburgh, we stopped off in Haymarket/Edinburgh. I noticed a kilt-for-hire shop in the town square and went inside to look around. The sales staff in this small shop were wonderful and, one in particular, Peter, was excellent at customer service. I ended up ordering a custom Mackay kilt, 16 oz, 8 yds at a very reasonable price. I would not hesitate to purchase another kilt from this shop.
http://www.thekiltstore.com/

[Dale-of-Cedars]

There's a family kilt-maker, A Crawford & Son, south of Glasgow off the A77 at 2 Eastwoodmains Road, who I was corresponding with last year.



/no relation... well, no confirmed relation.

[Jimmy]

Jimmy - when my wife and I were in Scotland on vacation (and looking for a custom kilt) two years ago, I visited several kilt shops in Glasgow. Each kilt shop seemed to me to carry the "tourist" type kilts and not any I would feel comfortable purchasing. For instance, one shop owner tried to pass off a machine sewn Black Watch kilt – 10 oz as a higher grade, 16 oz, 8 yds Mackay tartan kilt. I guess he felt I was a typical dumb American with money. I felt pressure from the far majority of the Glasgow shop owners to make some sort of purchase.

When my wife and I traveled next by train from Glasgow to Edinburgh, we stopped off in Haymarket/Edinburgh. I noticed a kilt-for-hire shop in the town square and went inside to look around. The sales staff in this small shop were wonderful and, one in particular, Peter, was excellent at customer service. I ended up ordering a custom Mackay kilt, 16 oz, 8 yds at a very reasonable price. I would not hesitate to purchase another kilt from this shop.
http://www.thekiltstore.com/

I agree with you for some reason the more touristy city gives a better service than what you get in Glasgow, yet Glasgow is considered a more friendly city.
Somehow I feel that this is only with kilt shops and not with any other part of the retail trade. I find that as someone who has grown up around Glasgow to find my conclusion strange and inexplicable?

[OC Richard]

we hit about 6 kilts shops within easy walking distance of one another, including Slanj and Hector Russell, but did not get to St Kilda as it was across the main highway and a good distance from the rest.

Yes a good distance but the good thing is that it's right by a Glasgow Subway station, called St George's Cross Station. You can hop on the Subway right there at Buchanan Galleries, near the intersection of Buchanan and Sauchiehall.

And for those into folk music there's a cool little folk music shop right across the street from St Kilda. Yes St Kilda has a load of jackets for sale or hire.