I always find threads of this nature interesting, if not at times a bit frustrating. As someone who is involved with kilts on all levels (and by that I mean as a maker, as a retailer of other makers, and as a regular wearer), it is always good for me to hear how people perceive the cost of kilts and Highland dress accessories.

Let's face it. All of us are at different economic levels. Some of us can afford a $600 kilt. Others have to scrimp and save for a $100 kilt. That's just the facts of life. And we can complain about how kilts are so expensive, but there have been various threads already on this forum about why this is so, and again -- that's just the way things are.

I might add that it's not just in the kilted world that one finds such a range of prices. I can go to Wal*Mart and get a pair of $20 blue jeans. I can also go to a posh downtown clothing store and pay ten times that amount for a pair of blue jeans. I don't own a pair of $200 jeans. But other people do. Fine.

One other factor in this equation is the "what is this worth to me?" question. I know people who earn quadruple what I do and yet a single kilt is too expensive for them, because they cannot justify the cost, personally. It's just not worth it to them. I also know people who earn less than I do who scrimp and save for a beautiful kilted formal outfit so that they can attend their annual Clan banquet in style -- because for them it is worth it. Everyone will have their own perspective on this point.

So I don't mind people who like the high-end fully tailored woolen kilts exclusively. And I don't mind the people who purchase the lower-end, off-the-peg, inexpensive kilts, either.

What I do mind are those who want everyone to believe that the less-expensive kilts are every bit as good as the more-expensive kilts. They are not. The old adage is true -- you get what you pay for. I wouldn't expect my $20 jeans to be the same quality as a pair of $200 jeans. To suggest so implies that the higher cost item is a rip off.

And maybe the $200 jeans are a rip-off. I don't know; I don't know jeans. But I do know kilts. And I can attest to the fact that most of your high-end kilts are sold at a price just above wholesale cost. There is a very slim profit margin. While most of your lower-end kilts are sold at a much, much higher profit margin.

In other words, your $500 kilt is problably worth $500. Your $80 kilt may really only be worth $20. One thing I do (and this is me speaking personally) is to look at an inexpensive kilt and try to evaluate it as if it were a lady's skirt. I mean the basic garment is a pleated, wrap around skirt. So I ask myself if this were in a department store being sold as a skirt, with the same material and construction details, would it demand the price it is being sold at as a kilt? My personal opinion is often no, it would not. There are a lot of cheap kilts out there that are being sold at higher prices than they are actually worth simply because they are being marketed as kilts, and people have the perception that kilts are expensive -- therefore a higher price is justified. So that kilt that may only be worth $20 is being sold for $80 or $100 because people will pay it.

Again, it is a question of perceived value. To me, $100 may be too expensive for a particular kilt, because I can look at it and evaluate it and judge it not to be worth $100. Whereas a $400 may not be too expensive because I know it is really worth the higher price.

Another poster on this thread boasted of having 26 kilts because he could take advantage of the less expensive options. If we assume that all of these were at the price point of a Stillwater standard, this would be about $2080 worth of kilts. For that price you could also have four or five really nice made-to-measure woolen kilts. And for most people, four or five quality kilts is more than enough. In fact, for most people, one or two kilts is plenty.

But it is a question of perceived value. Where do you want to spend your money? For some people that may be a lot of inexpensive kilts. For others, that may be only a few more high-end kilts. That's fine. We all know our budgets, we all know what we can afford, and we all know what our personal criteria for quality is.

Just my two cents!