Help me get kilted in Vancouver, Canada

[fluter]

from the lowlands of South Carolina, and best wishes to the happy couple.

You should make an appointment to meet Robert MacDonald and talk with him. Tell him about your financial reservations, and I suspect you'll get good advice about your options. Robert is also a piper, if one is required.

Then get over to Victoria and meet Steve. Same drill, speak and listen.


You don't say what time of day the wedding is, which makes a difference in attire. In any case, if the bridegroom is wearing a tweed jacket, then you don't want to be dressed more formally than he is! The Prince Charlie jacket is equivalent to a tux/dinner jacket/black tie.

Two overriding thoughts occur to me: If you are part of the wedding party, then your sister should have a voice in how you're turned out. You should at least fit in with the rest of the crew, be they kilted, trousered, or breeched. If you're a bridesmaid's opposite number (groomsman) then you might (in my locality) escort one of the ladies, serve as usher for the guests, or otherwise be on display before, during, and after the service.

Secondly, you don't want to let the side (sis) down. Don't consider "getting by" with an $80 acrylic kilt; in this situation, that is definitely "not on." An intermediate option such as a short-yardage wool "casual" kilt, or a high-quality poly-viscose from Canadian Casual Kilts or USA Kilts will work better. However I'd say you want an honest to goodness full-yardage wool kilt that will pass muster next to the bridegroom. This may mean renting, and that is an excellent option. Ask Robert and Steve about rental options locally. Some of our sponsors provide kilt rental. The only downside of rental is that you may not be able to get your preferred tartan.

Come to think of it, you should ask your future brother-in-law all of these questions. Keep asking us, and we'll keep answering; but you should know his views as soon as possible! Keep reading, use the search button, and check out pictures of our members in various levels of formality.

More thoughts at random:
The majority of us here are confirmed kilt-wearers, so our inclination is to get our own kit. Renting will allow you to see whether you want to become one of us, and will let you wear a high-quality outfit for an important occasion. You might test the waters with a casual kilt, but there's very little time to waste...

If you have a kilt made for you, you should start the process as soon as possible. It may take a couple of months, some makers may have too long a waiting list, and you want to allow time to correct any problems with fit and such. This is a custom made garment, so you have to commit to the process early; and then you're well and truly committed!

Steve at Freedom Kilts makes a "contemporary kilt" which is not constructed like the traditional one. However, if you get his tartan model, you'll be well kilted for any occasion; and you can have pockets! It may not be much cheaper than a full-on trad kilt from WCK, but it's top quality. According to the Web site, the price is $285 plus the cost of the cost of the fabric; and the fabric is not cheap.

In sum: the first order of business is to sound out the bridegroom. Second, talk with Robert and Steve. If you want to order a kilt elsewhere, there will be plenty of advice available here, but take care of #1 and #2.

Keep reading:
One kilt, ten looks by McMurdo and Panache
Search threads with wedding in the title

[agraham]

Wow so many great replies and all between midnight and 9 am.
I just got off the phone with Robert MacDonald. He's obviously very enthusiastic about kilts and that comes through. I'm going to email him for a quote. Right now I'm leaning about 50% in his direction.
Looking at freedom kilts I'm not sure it's for me. They make "contemporary" kilts. I think I want something traditional tho. It seems like http://www.freedomkilts.com/model.php?val=tartan would be the one to get if any. The focus on pockets is not interesting to me. A kilt already has a giant pocket hanging in the front.
Looking at Burnett & Struth the prices are similar to Roberts':
http://www.burnetts-struth.com/index...th=109_130_135
Heavy Weight Edinburgh Kilt $603.00
Balmoral Heavy Weight Kilt $699.00
Which is right for me?
All the other kilts at B&S are called "casual" which I assume is not appropriate for a wedding.
If I'm going to spend that kind of money I think I'd rather go to Robert.

Alright I'm off to House of Maclaren to see what they say. I'll report back when I've made a decision.

[ronstew]

Watts Costume Rentals on W. 6th Ave and Tartantown on Coquitlam can fix you up with formal rentals. I would not want to be in a Prince Charlie if the groom is in tweed, though, so you might need to get a jacket anyway.

Part of the cost of Robert MacDonald's kilts lies in the fact that they are military box pleat kilts. That is a modified knife pleat, more work to make, and it is fabulous. I suspect that I will be getting my next kilt from him, but that won't be this year.

My kilt in Xmarks tartan was made by Sadie Livingston in 100 Mile House. She is a charming Scottish lady. Her web site is http://scottishdesign.net, and her phone number is 250-395-2253. Although her email address is info@scottishdesign.net, I recommend the telephone. She uses the same source for short tartan runs that Robert MacDonald uses, D.C. Dalgliesh. She gets the more common tartans from all the mills, though. I highly recommend her.

My dad ordered a Scottish-made kilt through the House of McLaren in Gastown. It's okay, but nothing better than you can get locally made.

[agraham]

OK so here's where I am so far...

I've decided only a proper wool traditional kilt will do. I'm not going to buy a casual kilt specifically for a wedding. If I'm going to own a kilt I don't want it to be second hand - I want it to be all the way mine. If I'm going to rent it will have to be in London, since I'll be out of the country for a month so renting from a Vancouver place will be too expensive.
It seems like although Robert's kilts are a bit pricey, they are of excellent quality and a kilt of similar quality is simply not going to be found for much less. I like the idea of being measured up and having the kilt made up locally by an ex-member of supplier to the Seaforth Highlanders.
So the decision is down to buy from Robert or rent in London. I'm going to ruminate on that for a while.
As for the sporran and the rest of the guffins I'll rent them in London - although I don't know if I want to wear rented hose - I'll probably buy that.
Now I turn my attention to the jacket. I've learned to today that the tweed I want is "Harris Tweed" and not "Donegal Tweed". That's probably obvious to everyone else.
Finding a tweed jacket in this town is really hard. I've been to the downtown department stores and suit shops and nothing. If I can find one my stepmother should be able to help me convert it.
I'm just going to ask my sister which would fit in better, a simple jacket with epaulettes like so:
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/j...695/index.html
or a "Braemar jacket" like so
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/c...693/index.html
I think that second one looks pretty sharp.
I'm going to hit the thrift shops now.

[Raphael]

Go to tailor and get your jacket tailor made. Rob used a tailor on Commercial drive for one of his jackets.