Caledonia Kilts: Holyrood Modern kilt review

[Alan H]

I got my kilt from Caledonian-Kilts today. I got one in the Holyrood tartan, just like Alan.

First impression: It looks very nice. Pleated to the stripe looks very sharp.

After trying it on, my mood sank a little. If this is the 42w I ordered, it's barely a 42. Tight across the cargo hold, if you catch my drift. Not uncomfortable or unwearable, just not as...spacious...as my other 42w kilts.

Wear it for a day. I have mine on again, right now. It stretched out a fair bit after wearing it for a few hours. What was uncomfortably tight on the first stap/buckle hole when I first put it on, as now comfortable on the second strap/buckle hole. Try unbuckling the lower, hip belt on the right side, too. I'm becoming convinced that I'm not going to use that on my kilt.

The material is on the light side, but not prohibitively so. Might be cool in winter. The sewn down pleats would save the day in a breeze.

Yeah, the material is roughly the same weight as the PV that gets used for "casual" kilts. It's not as heavy as the 14 ounce wool I have for the XMarks tartan kilt. I remember when I first pulled a USA Kilts philabeg out of the box, after my first kilt was the Stillwater. The difference in weight is tremendous, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. It's just different. NOTE to readers: The fell is sewn down (unlike the stillwaters through 2005, where not even the fell is sewn down) but the remainder of the pleat is not. For example, on the USA Kilts philabeg model, the knife-edge of the pleats is kept in place by having the pleat edge sewn the ENTIRE height of the kilt...from hem to waistband. Utilikilts are like this, and it can be a handy feature. Traditionally-styled kilts are not stitched down like this, though...only from the waist down to the bottom of the fell.

The (not) belt loops are huge. Easily allowed for my largest belt. Probably 3", although I haven't measured them.

The tragic flaw of the garment, tho, became apparent to me as I looked in the mirror. To top "hem" of the kilt is about 1/4" wide. On the front side of the kilt, above the apron, the tartan's stripes do not link up from apron to "hem". They are one stripe off. It was fairly obvious looking in the mirror.
It is not so bad, tho... Wearing my belt high obscures it, and more times than not I'm wearing a sweater or loose shirt that would cover it.

NOOOOOoooooo!!! The waistband tartan doesn't match the over-apron tartan? It's not lined up? OWWW!!! Not good! It almost certainly won't match in the under-apron, that's normal, but in the over-apron? ACK!

I gave Caledonian-Kilts positive eBay feedback, and I'd grade the kilt/cost relationship at ~ B/B-. I will likely order another kilt (in a 44w!) from Davey in the future, if I see a tartan I must have. I would definitely recommend them to others looking for a casual/lower cost kiltmaker.