Poly/Viscose Acrylic Kilts

[Jon1975]

I can't imagine why you wouldn't just get a semi-trad from USA kilts. You won't get a better kilt for the money.

[O'Callaghan]

Stillwater make the cheapest wool kilts I have seen ($122), and deliver faster than anyone, period, although their choices are extremely limited. For an Irish kilt, either solid green or solid saffron are more traditional than tartan, and Stillwater have both of those in wool (their 'heavyweight' range), albeit with a 'shadow tartan' pattern, i.e. green-on-green or saffron-on-saffron check that shows only when the light catches it. The only question I would have is whether your best man might be concerned that a non-tartan kilt looks too much of a skirt.

Stillwater also offer the Irish National tartan in acryllic in different price ranges, but you would have to go for the 'standard' range to be atall comparable with your own kilt, and I think that's $80. I have the cheaper version of this in their 'thrifty' range, which was only about $30, but it uses Velcro and has no buckles, so it's not appropriate to wear to a wedding. They also do a plain saffron kilt in the 'standard' range for slightly less than a tartan one, only $70. I recently bought a used one of those from a member here.

As for Frugal Corner, the only Irish kilt they offer is a solid green one in a very thin acryllic. I have one, and it looks good enough. They also offer custom length, which Stillwater don't ($61 for standard length, $81 for custom length). This could be useful if your best man is particularly tall or short. However, mine is slightly the wrong size, and took twice as long to come as they said. Sadly, there are many similar stories about them. I could not honestly recommend ordering from them when you must have the item by a certain date, such as for a wedding.

FC's track record for speed of delivery could not be more different from Stillwater. People joke that Stillwater kilts arrive almost before you order them.

I've no personal experience with USA kilts. They are a little more expensive than Stillwater or Frugal Corner. Their casual kilts are PV, which is arguably better than acryllic, but the cost edges towards Stillwater's wool kilts. They carry all the Irish tartan ranges of both House of Edgar and Marton Mills. The former weave Irish National and the latter Ireland's National, the appearance of which being about as similar as their names (i.e. very), and then they each have a tartan for each of the traditional 32 Irish counties, but in these there is no resemblance atall between the tartans for any particular county woven by either mill, they are entirely different. Do you know which county your best man's forebears came from anyway?

The only Irish tartan from Burnett and Struth is something called O'Saffron, which seems to be proprietary to them, although in another thread someone said it resembles the tartan of the Canadian Irish Regiment, in which I presume he didn't serve? The background colour in that is saffron, of course.

Bear in mind that, although there are a number of somewhat older Irish tartans in existence, none of those mentionned here predates 1990!!! Given that fact, and the fact that you will be wearing a wool kilt in your clan's tartan, plus the need to be sure of having your best man's kilt before your wedding day, I would recommend getting him either a green or a saffron wool kilt from Stillwater.

In fact, given the colours of your clan tartan, I would get him a green one, otherwise your lovely bride-to-be will complain that saffron messes up the colour scheme for the day, and that is something you want to avoid on pain of death. Take that as an advisory from an old married man. The only caveat is, don't get him green (or even Irish/Ireland's National) if his family are Ulster Scots, or what Americans call Scots Irish or (incorrectly) Scotch Irish. I know that is tantamount to discussing politics, but you don't want to start a war! (Especially not on your wedding day)