Kilts, The Wise Financial Choice

[arrogcow]

Is not one of the conclusions gained from the above points is that many people in the US are not prepared to spend as much on clothes as their European counterparts and are not so influenced by matters of style and quality - or have I missed something? Were we not saying this is why the Utilikilt and pretend kilts are more popular as there is a resistance to the price of a traditional kilt despite the fact that it is in effect better value?

Again I'm not sure this is true.

I have spent time in Edinburgh, and didn't see any signs that the average person was wearing more expensive clothes that the average person I live around (Clothing prices that I saw were about 10% higher for the same US item, but hardly 5 times more).

As for not being influenced by matters of style, ask any high school student. People are derided for not wearing the "Right" shirt or jeans or shoes. You may not like the style (and I don't), but dressing like a gangsta rapper is not cheap.

Adam

[kiltedpride]

Is my $200 suit only a "pretend suit"?
Adam

Well a £100 suit here would not last more than a year's wear. However a suit tends to follow the same construction whether it is £100 or £700 so I am not sure that one can classify the cheaper one as a pretend suit - there is not a vast amount of difference. The comparison I suggest with respect does not work.
A traditional kilt uses 8 yards 100% worsted Scottish wool in medium or heavy weight 12-16oz and hand sewn. The sixteen/seventeen ounce material is sometimes known as strome or kilt-weight. Worsted fabric is a relatively hard material that looks good, holds the pleats very well, and wrinkles very little. The kilt is not meant to be worn like jeans, down around the waist near the hips. The top of the waistband should be at your navel; military-cut kilts rise high enough to come to the wearer's bottom rib - this guarantees the correct hang and swing of the pleats.
The other garments which one might classify as pretend kilts are vastly different in construction and material. Some are soft, lightweight poly/viscose fabric and are machine washable. They are not usually made of finest wosted or with weight or amount of cloth and often hang from the hips - they are different beasts. But as mentioned time and time before we would rather have a guy start off in one of these than not at all.

[kiltedpride]

TLooks like kilts are becoming a sound financial option that provides solid value over designer jeans and even dress pants.

Ron

Reverting to basics ie the point of the original poster - I endorse the view that a £270 kilt (traditional) being similar to the price of an average priced suit and almost three times the price of good quality jeans is in my humble view excellent value given that it remains in fashion, it will last a lifetime, it can be worn formal and informal and always keeps its shape. Its a trusty friend that outlives every suit and pair of jeans in the wardrobe. I think I should now bow out gracefully.

[MacConnachie]

Geez, we must have some pretty wealthy people in this discussion. I've never paid more than $20 for a pair of jeans in my life and it'll be a cold day in Hell when I pay over $700 for a waistcoat, leather or not. as for what constitutes a real kilt, our forefathers would laugh themselves sick over the pretentiousness of the whole debate then take away our whisky and tell us we can have it back when we grow up.

Och, no the whisky!!

Bubba, I have to be careful, when reading some of your posts, that I haven't just taken more than a sip of coffee. The snorting and coughing from my cubicle tends to alarm some of my co-workers.
================================================== =======
There are plenty of opinions here, some held more strongly, and defended more vehemently, than others.

As a nitpick, there are many types of "kilts" around the world -- past, present and (most likely) future. Even though "Scot" appears in the name of this website, I, for one, refuse to limit my discussions here only to traditional Scottish highland dress. So, if one feels that the word "kilt" is synonymous with Scotland in this cosmopolitan Internet-linked day and age, that's fine. Just be aware that others' world views and awareness levels may not be on a par with yours.

Speaking of par, and focusing on that sport, for a moment, I'm certain that the old-timers' jaws would drop if confronted with sculpted greens, elevated tees, and intentionally created landscapes sustained by irrigation and petrochemical fertilizers and weed/pest control substances. They'd likely take their "featheries" and their "mashey" and wander off, shaking their heids and seeking out more than just a wee dram o' 't.

Oscar Wilde said that, "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we must alter it every six months." I respect the traditions of those from whom we are descended -- I may well be the first in my direct family line since the days of the American Revolution who has gone kilted, although I cannot speak for my many 3rd, 4th and more distant American cousins, of course. When these discussions seem to me to tend more towards what constitutes a "proper" and fashionable "form" of Highland wear, rather than the practical functionality for which our ancestors first spun and waulked and dyed and wove tartan fabric, then I see a bemused ghostly Mr. Wilde pondering what in blazes may have brought his Celtic cousins to such state.

[bubba]

I have to say that the snobbishness over what constitutes a kilt is no different than over what constitutes art. As an illustration, a friend of mine is a working artist. We were discussing it one night over some brews and I said you could pawn off nearly anything as art and someone will go for it, all you needed to do was maintain a certain air of pretentiousness. As an experiment we made a plaster model of a burnt kitchen match 6 feet tall. We displayed it at a local art fair and Gary was shocked at the responses. It actually sold for $800 and gave me lots of told you so rights. What it comes down to is you can make a very general definition but as soon as you try getting too specific you've lost the debate. Nobodys personal opinion is going to carry any weight with someone else and arguing it is an exercise in futility.

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

Looks like the thread continues. Been wrapped up in meetings and demos all day.

Mike, I don't think that we were getting too heated, I thought it was just a very spirited discussion. If I went over the line, let me know. In the final analysis for me, we each have different opinions to share, and this thread which started about the financial value of jeans vs. kilts (remember way back then) morphed into a very good airing and discussion on how we categorize a kilt.

KP, thanks for the response regarding your interaction and participation with the bulletin board and web site. While it may not make you an expert, at least you are speaking from the experience of being an active participant on this topic. But I resemble the remark that you don't want to be thought of as a nerd running the technology! What is wrong with that? That is part of my life!

RJI

[Mike1]

Mike, I don't think that we were getting too heated, I thought it was just a very spirited discussion. If I went over the line, let me know.

It was just a dose of preventative measure was all. Nobody has been over the line, the thread is an interesting one and I just didn't want to see it deteriorate. Carry on, carry on... ;)

[arrogcow]

Well a £100 suit here would not last more than a year's wear.

Well one problem seems to be that all the good tailors in Scottland are making kilts and nothing else if a $200 suit only lasts a year (I have two, one over ten and one nearly 10 - granted in the last 4 I've worn a kilt most of the time I would have worn a suit in the past.

Adam

[kiltedpride]

Well one problem seems to be that all the good tailors in Scottland are making kilts and nothing else if a $200 suit only lasts a year (I have two, one over ten and one nearly 10 - granted in the last 4 I've worn a kilt most of the time I would have worn a suit in the past.

Adam

I was bowing out but I can't let this one go - I assumed for the purpose of my illustration that the wearer would be wearing the suit for the office and might be wearing same 1 -3 times a week. In my humble view (and I know this from experience) that a £100 suit looks extemely sad after a years wear. It also after a couple of years tends to go out of fashion. Unlike a trad. kilt that will last a lifetime and not go out of fashion.

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

I was bowing out but I can't let this one go...

You can't bow out now, you have been sucked into the vortex that is Xmarks!

RJI