Ex hire or Pakistan??????

**Steve Ashton** · 20th September 17, 12:35 AM

have you actually encountered Hungarian-made Highland Dress? That would be interesting to see.

Yes, I actually have. And the quality was not bad at all. I don't think any kilts are made there but the jackets were of a better quality than some made in the UK for the rental/hire market with fusible interfacing.

**DutchLegacy** · 20th September 17, 03:17 AM

I suspect that the label in the photo is from Pakistan? I see quite a lot of those on the Dutch counterpart of Gumtree, Marktplaats.nl (marketplace) Most of them advertise these kilts as having originally cost around 250 GBP, but I find that hard to believe. Does anyone know the maker of these kilts?

**OC Richard** · 20th September 17, 04:53 AM

Yes I've seen that exact label on a hundred Pakistani kilts, crudely machine-sewn and made from that flimsy synthetic non-wool stuff.

**OC Richard** · 20th September 17, 04:55 AM

Originally Posted by Steve Ashton

Yes, I actually have. And the quality was not bad at all. I don't think any kilts are made there but the jackets were of a better quality than some made in the UK for the rental/hire market with fusible interfacing.

That's cool. I'd like to see one of the Hungarian-made Argyll jackets, to see the shape of the cutaway, the positioning of the pocket flaps, and the design of the cuffs.

Most Pakistani Argyll jackets can be spotted due to those things.

By "fusible interfacing" is that the sort of jackets that after a few years the front of the jacket starts getting that bubbly look, like the wool is coming off the backing in places? I hate that.

Anyhow to dial in our eye a bit, here's a jacket made by House Of Edgar:

And a Kilts4Less jacket currently being sold on Ebay

**DutchLegacy** · 20th September 17, 05:19 AM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

Yes I've seen that exact label on a hundred Pakistani kilts, crudely machine-sewn and made from that flimsy synthetic non-wool stuff.

That is what I thought. Thank you Richard, for confirming my suspicions!

**OC Richard** · 7th October 17, 05:10 AM

Germaine to this thread, because the "heritage" name crops up again, is this sporran:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/half-dress-d...kAAOSwoF1ZxMPJ

The seller says it was made in Scotland.

Note that the photo of the reverse doesn't show a stamp that states such.

Rather, the stamp says Heritage Highland Clothing. No mention of place of manufacture.

I do wonder if it's yet another guise of Heritage Of Scotland, the widely-seen seller of Pakistani goods.

**llyd** · 7th October 17, 06:01 AM

This is a helpful thread....Been eyeballing these and the Regimental surplus stuff on ebay....especially as I am pretty skinny.

**llyd** · 7th October 17, 06:06 AM

This is a helpful thread....Been eyeballing these and the Regimental surplus stuff on ebay....especially as I am pretty skinny.

**derosa** · 7th October 17, 08:42 AM

Dialing in my eye, other then color what's the differences between the two. On the whole they look the same and nothing to me jumps out as one being better then the other.

**thecompaqguy** · 7th October 17, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

Feedback score isn't always a guarantee. Many buyers don't know enough to realize that they're getting Pakistani-made goods. Many don't realize that such a thing as Pakistani-made Highland Dress exists. They see something listed on Ebay that claims or implies that it's a legitimate Scottish-made item, they buy it, and when they get the item it seems fine and they leave good feedback.

Somebody who has seen hundreds of UK-made jackets and hundreds of Pakistani and Indian-made jackets can spot the different right away.

There are one or two sellers on Ebay who list vast numbers of "ex-hire" items which I don't believe are such. They're new items, which appear to my eye to be mostly from Pakistan or India. I examined one of these "ex-hire" kilts, implied to be UK-made (though not openly claimed), and said to be of heavyweight 100% wool tartan fabric. The kilt was actually a crudely-made machine-sewn thing made out of flimsy Pakistani-made tartan with a dubious wool content.

I've asked a current Ebay seller about certain of their jackets, which they claim are Scottish-made, but which evidently have no label stating such.

Keep in mind that any firm or company anywhere on earth can call itself "Scottish Products Company" or "Authentic Scottish LTD" or what have you. If there's no label stating "Made in UK", "Made in Scotland", or "Made in Britain" I would assume that it's not.

From time the seller or kilt maker insists it's an "Authentic Scottish Kilt" or otherwise, it's Pakistani

Gold Brothers (aka Scotland Kilt Company) sell "The Kilt" PV, which is I think a higher-end Pakistani kilt; but Scotland Kilt Company also sell ex-hire kilts (usually anything over £100 is quality) which are made in the UK. I have just bought a nice Anderson tartan ex-hire from them. Another good place for kilts is "Kilts4U", and I generally search 'ex-hire kilts' and decent ones can be had ranging from £100 upwards. A couple of the Pakistani outfits have cottoned on (pun intended) to this, and unknown higher priced brands like "The Ceilidh Collection" or dubious tartans you've never heard of (like Dalrymple) are enough red flags for me