Kilt Decisions

[mull]

I have not been kilting (yes, it is a verb) lately as I have three kilts that no longer fit after loosing 40 lbs. The one remaining kilt I wear is a band kilt that I just wear for band activities.

I have been considers a new kilt for a while, but there are several factors that complicate the purchase, and I wonder how other go about making their decisions.

The first consideration is what I want to do in the kilt. I just want a knock around, hiking, casual use, garment. This means I do not want to spend a ton of money, as it will be used roughly.

Second, and this seems to fly in the face of the first consideration, it must be wool. For whatever reason, I have it firmly in my mind that all kilts must be wool. I have seen hundreds of photos here of great looking PV kilts from Rocky and others and I admit I cannot tell the difference from looking, but I cannot bring my self to buy a non-wool kilt.

Third, I am much more flexible about the tartan than I suspect many of you might be. In fact, I almost do not care as long as it is not too bland. Not being tied to a clan leaves me quite a bit of freedom.

Using this as my guide, I end up deciding an ebay find in my size, in wool, with the scottish national tartan (tolerable, but not too bad) will do. It should be here next week.


So what do you consider when purchasing a kilt?

Joe

[New World Czech]

Stillwater still has quite a few Blackwatch Economy Wool kilts. This has been a one time offering for as long as they last and at around $80 I don't think you could go wrong.

[David Thorpe]

I hope your Ebay find really is wool, and worsted. I have seen many listed as wool which, in the fine print, turn out to be "acrylic wool".
Too bad you've ruled out PV. It is virtually bulletproof and ideally suited to your stated purpose.
Good luck with your purchase. Scotland's National is a beautiful tartan, IMHO.

[mull]

Stillwater still has quite a few Blackwatch Economy Wool kilts. This has been a one time offering for as long as they last and at around $80 I don't think you could go wrong.

One of my "no longer fits" kilts is a stillwater and I agree they are solid.

[Rob, ClanMacMillan, NM]

First category: price.

I won my first kilt through a raffle so from one point of view, it cost me $7. When I add in all the accessories (belt, buckle, sporran, hose, sgian dhu, glengarry), it cost more than a wee bit more. This is my 16oz tank in MacMillan Ancient made by Kathy Lare.

Second category: availability (and price). I was wanting another kilt, and found one on XMarks in my size and at a price I could afford. This is the SWK Standard in Leatherneck Tartan. Acrylic - very light weight but not bad. I've received many, many compliments on this one. It turned out to be a bit too large but I tighten the belt and it still looks good. I use this kilt when hiking but I also wear it to work on "casual Fridays".

Third category: applicabiltiy (and availability + price). I recently found a kilt here on XMarks which was my size and one of my ancestral connections to Scotland. I didn't have any funds available for this one but my wife and daughter decided to buy it for me. This one is a Gordon Red PV by Skye Highland Outfitters. It is a very, very nice kilt that has all the swish of my "tank"- or so it seems. I'm looking forward to putting this one through its paces .

Rob.

[RockyR]

SNIP...

Second, and this seems to fly in the face of the first consideration, it must be wool. For whatever reason, I have it firmly in my mind that all kilts must be wool. I have seen hundreds of photos here of great looking PV kilts from Rocky and others and I admit I cannot tell the difference from looking, but I cannot bring my self to buy a non-wool kilt.

Using this as my guide, I end up deciding an ebay find in my size, in wool, with the scottish national tartan (tolerable, but not too bad) will do. It should be here next week.

If you'd like a swatch of Scottish National in the PV that we carry, send me a SASE (Self Address Stamped Envelope) with a note of what tartan you'd like and I'd be happy to send you a swatch for a side by side material comparison.

[Ryan Ross]

Like the OP, I really tend (or have, thus far) to only go with wool kilts. I have four, currently:

-My first kilt, Ross Hunting in the Modern colors, is an 8 yard tank that was originally sewn up by Lochcarron, and has been taken in twice by Matt Newsome; this kilt was bought in the days before Matt had learned to make kilts).

- Second kilt, Ryan Ross tartan woven my Dalgleish, is a five yard Kingussie by Matt Newsome, which has also been taken in once by Matt.

- Third kilt, Ross tartan in the weathered scheme, is a four yard box pleat by Matt and was initially made to the correct size (hooray!!!).

- Fourth kilt, R'lyeh sett, is a six yard box pleat by Matt, which was also made to my current size from the beginning.

So it looks to me, upon reflection, that I have a kiltmaker I'm extremely happy with and I tend to stick to him. That being said, I like a variety of tartans, though I mainly stick to Ross tartans, and I like variety in pleating options... though I'll probably stick mainly to four yard box pleated deals, in the future.

I wear my kilts for formal dos, but mainly for everyday functions, including hiking and such. I find that a well taken care of kilt, so long as it's built like a brick $h!thouse to begin with, will serve almost all needs.