Can you buy a good kilt for $400usd

[ccga3359]

Please don't get me wrong in my post. Matt Newsome's Kilts are perhaps the most Historically accurate and well researched Kilts in the world today.
His craftsmanship is the highest. And I heartily recommend them.

I took nothing less than that from your post. I too whole-heartedly recommend Matt's kilts. each hand-sewn to exacting and historic standards. The only reason that you could squeak in under $400 is because his kilts require only 4 yards single width. Be prepared to wait several months though.

[Bugbear]

Please don't get me wrong in my post. Matt Newsome's Kilts are perhaps the most Historically accurate and well researched Kilts in the world today.
His craftsmanship is the highest. And I heartily recommend them.

I thought though that bug_n_67 was asking about an 8 yard Knife Pleated Hand-Sewn "Tank".

No, you explained it very well, Wizard. I think we all just looked at the price range and said to ourselves eight yard knife pleats etc are off the table unless they are quite used.

I know I had to put my plans on the back burner after last year's roller coaster ride.

[DWFII]

Well, earlier this year I ordered a 16 ounce machine and hand sewn kilt from Scotweb. It cost me $369.00 if I recall correctly. And ended up being 10 yards because I requested a custom pleating arrangement. Scotweb did not charge me extra for the additional yardage. By the time I got it...with shipping and so forth it cost me about $440 or something like that.

There was a catch though...I was limited to "universal" tartans (I chose the Scotland's National) and my family tartan probably would have cost me in the neighborhood of double that.

Beyond that I love the tartan and the colours --unique to Marton Mills, I think--and the workmanship is very, very good.

The downside? Well, fit is a bit problematic...a little too big although I took extreme care measuring. Now try returning a kilt to Scotland for alteration. I guess I would have incurred roughly another $150.00 round trip shipping and handling and would have been without a kilt that I had been jonesing for for months.

And although the people at Scotweb are universally friendly, generally helpful and solicitously attentive, when I brought this to their attention they wouldn't even provide me with enough extra tartan to make moving the straps feasible. So that part was a bummer.

It is easy to blame this on the customer, and I would be happy to shoulder the blame if it were indeed carelessness on my part. But I later provided the exact same measurements to Matt and got a much better fit. ...if fact, even though Matt never saw me or measured me, I might go so far as to state I got a perfect fit from him.

Would I order from Scotweb again? Yes, especially if I wanted a Balck Watch or a Stewart Hunting. But I might give them measurements an inch smaller than what is correct according to their own instructions. Maybe the Scottish inch is bigger than the US inch?

[The Wizard of BC]

Do you want Pockets in that Kilt?

[ForresterModern]

First of all you have not given us any idea if you are desiring a specific tartan or are willing to accept common tartans like black watch, stewart, etc... It makes a difference in how available and therefore how expensive your tartan and kilt end up being. But Scotweb has their Balmoral kilt, a mixture of machine and hand sewn finishing, at a really decent price right now when you combine the xmarks discount with the excellent exchange rate. I could order an 8 yd custom made Balmoral kilt in 16oz MacDonald of Glencoe tartan by Dalgleish (not a common tartan at all but still very high quality) for around $285 shipped, then whatever customs you get dinged with assuming you live this side of the pond and are ordering from Scotland (probably around $25). That beats the dickens out of your $400 limit, but only if you choose a tartan that is not outrageously expensive. Lots of decent quality tartans out there for not a lot of money, and when you combine it with the Scotweb price, discount, and quality I think you should be more than able to make your $400 goal.

[bug_n_67]

Thanks for all the help guys. No I don't need pockets. I still like the Grey Sprit from The Highland Store which is a 13oz 8 yard worsted wool for $397usd plus shipping, there is also one from The Scottish Tartans Museum in the US 8 yard worsted wool for $495. or a 5 yar by Matt for $430

[Bugbear]

Well... Maybe if you can squeeze four-hundred out of the turnip... You could squeeze another hundred...

[ForresterModern]

I believe the grey spirit tartan you speak of is a fashion tartan that is probably mass produced either overseas or by one of the scottish mills on a special order basis, as I cannot find it in anybody's normal tartan stock lists. Shops will buy large amounts on the cheap then sell either stock sized or custom kilts made from it. Not knowing who made it makes it tough to guarantee the same kind of quality as the tartan from mills who put their names on the line with their product every day.

If it is a grey-black tartan you seek Scotweb has a search by color capability that may lead you to something in a standard stock tartan that would be as attractive if not more so, and that could come in a bit cheaper on the whole. For example, I have a Black Isle 16oz tank from tartan made by Marton Mills, a reputable UK mill, that was only around $300 for the whole kilt machine sewn about a year ago when the US$ to GBP exchange rate was 2:1 instead of the 1.36:1 it is now. Lots of other nice looking grey black tartans out there.

[Riverkilt]

You don't indicate where you live.

Regardless, you'll save money if you deal direct with your kiltmaker. No other merchants in the middle to pay.

Obviously the price of your kilt depends on the price and amount of the fabric used to make it.

My Kiltmaker is Kathy Lare in Albuquerque www.kathyskilts.com I'm a big guy so need a bunch of cloth. I've paid in the range of a low $410 in the olden days to currently $511.00 for my hand sewn kilts from her. She charged me $225 to sew up my X Marks kilt from the fabric I provided her.

Those prices don't include the shipping stuff, but no hidden charges. Kathy's prices were so low that her friendsin the Traditional Kiltmaker's Guild confronted her a couple years ago and pointed out that she couldn't possibly be making any money. Being a full time kiltmaker she hadn't paid a lot of attention to the books. So she looked things over and found that increased costs of fabric, shipping the fabric over from Scotland, and shipping the completed kilts to customers had all gone up. So she raised her prices a little. Quality kiltmaking is hard tedious work. It would be nice to make a fair profit at it.

You can check Kathy's current prices on her website. Whoever you select to help you bring in the tartan fabric you want and sew up your kilt you'll do best financially dealing direct with your kiltmaker.

Whoa, I got curious and went to check myself since I hadn't done that in a while. Of course there's a warning that changes in the Pound and Dollar would affect pricing. Here is Kathy's estimated price list. Ain't no secret, its on her webpage.

Men's Regular /Box Pleat Price

11 OZ. Light Weight - 8 Yard .................................................. .... $425.00
13 OZ. Medium Weight - 8 Yard .................................................. . $445.00
16 OZ. Heavy Weight - 7 Yard .................................................. .. $495.00
16 OZ. Strome Kilts - 7 Yard .................................................. ..... $521.00

So it sure looks like you're in the ball park. I have an 11 ounce from her that's no different than my Stromes other than in weight. Got it because it was the only weight the tartan I wanted was available in.

And, don't forget, Kathy takes a down payment deposit with balance due on completion of the kilt. So, say you wanted the top of the line Strome and only have the $400 you can make a deposit then go scrape up the rest while she's ordering in the material and you're waiting your turn in line.

Ron

[Bugbear]

I think those box pleats are the rolled, military box pleats, which are like a knife pleat with the edge turned back on itself. Just to make sure they aren't getting confused with Matt's box pleat kilts, Riverkilt.