Cheapo eBay Kilts

[Barry]

I've bought two kilts from fredonline, both around £15. The first is an all black poly-viscose that I use for DIY and gardening. The other is an acrylic in what appears to be Burberry pattern (I won't call it tartan). I just use it for what it is - a casual kilt. Both are comfortable and as I keep away from naked flames, the material is not an issue. Both fit me acceptably and the service was good from fredonline. These klts go thu the washing machine, too.
No, they are in a different league to my Lochcarron etc, but then I wouldn't be tilling the good earth in them!

Like most things in life they are worth what you paid for them.

BTW I only ever wear my "real" kilts outside the confines of my home. Present the best to the world!!

[cessna152towser]

I have had a few cheap kilts and sporrans from Fredonline. His service is very good, but you get what you pay for in quality. The value budget kilts at £15.99 are acrylic and have no fell and are really just kilted skirts. I have two of these. The one in Wallace tartan would be passable for going to a rugby match, but in the absence of a tartan the navy blue one looks more like an old fashioned schoolgirl skirt, despite being labelled as a man's highland kilt designed in Scotland. The ones which cost around £30 from Fredonline are more presentable, but again they are really only good enough for casual wear.

[sharpdressedscot]

It would seem 99% of them are "girls" kilts. Is the only diff between the mens and womens the waist size and length? Because they both say genuine kilt. The darn girl's ones are the only ones in my size lol.

It's OK you're not alone, I feel ya!

[Scratchy's Lass]

The overall conscensus seems to fall where my own thoughts were - so I also feel wonderfully validated (being a kilt newbie lass of a kilted newbie, especially)

Mr. Scratchy send me word of his interest in and curiosity about a "New Deluxe Honour Of Scotland Tartan Scottish Kilt" by the ebay seller Fredonline - and I came here today specifically to see about starting a thread to solicit opinions.

He was looking at the "Honour of Scotland Tartan Scottish Kilt" here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Deluxe-Honou...ayphotohosting

I had a few thoughts after looking into the auction itself and the seller's feedback and such, and was hoping it wouldn't be a violation of TOS to post about the auction - and TA DA! There's already a recent thread covering exactly some of my concerns.

I wasn't impressed, I didn't think, upon looking closely at the enlarged pictures in the auction..... quality-wise was my main concern. But, then again, what do I know as a mere Newbie Lass?

I was also kicking around some numbers, looking for dollar/value correlations. It does appear the seller has quite a volume biz.

I thought to myself, "Self.......

As of a couple days ago, the British Pound to USD exchange rate was about 2 of theirs to one of ours. If we apply that info to the kilt at hand, using their $65 Buy It Now price, that means that the MOST they value it at on their side of the pond is is $33 GPB... and they MUST have marked it up SOME for a profit (although many Ebay sellers these days just hike up the shipping costs since they don't have to pay Ebay commission on the shipping part of a sale/auction).

Using their Buy It Now of $65 USD, and adding ~$30 for shipping = $95 USD converted into GPB is just under 48 GPB that they value it at in THEIR currency. Would be slightly less if one won the auction at the current required min. bid of $59.99. ($95 USD = ~ 63 Euros) Interesting that the included "insurance" has a $55 USD limit.

Not to knock the seller or his kilt products, which surely have their place in the market.... but I didn't think this particular auction's pictures were of a kilt that showed the degree of quality/workmanship that I usually see in the pictures of kilts which are posted in threads here, for example. I did wonder whether perhaps the kilt in the auction just didn't show up well in the photographs.

Since Mr. Scratchy doesn't garden (hard to do in an apartment ) I'm thinking he'd be better served by feeding his kilt addiction through different selections and vendors. And "hot" wearing wouldn't do at all, especially while I'm stuck down here in the Valley of The Dust
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[Dukeof Kircaldy]

I thinkthere are better choices. And you can always make your own if you are at all creative in that way. There are books out there on the topic of kiltmaking.

While I like to know how things are made, from what I understand kiltmaking is a bot too labour intensive for my tastes. It's worth it to pay for a decent kilt whether handmade or hand finished.