Wendy Keith Designs - Kilt Hose

**MacCathmhaoil** · 16th May 13, 05:55 AM

Sometime ago I had ordered new kilt hose from Wendy Keith Designs and having had them for a while I now feel able to provide an objective review of these hose.

My choice of Wendy Keith was prompted by three factors.
Firstly I had noticed a style of hose being worn by HRH Prince Charles on numerous occasions with basket weave cuffs, a look I quite like. Upon investigation I discovered that the hose I liked had been provided, under Royal Warrant, by Wendy Keith. Secondly the colour choices of the yarns were more to my liking than the colour palettes of some other manufacturers and most importantly they are knit by artisans in their homes. Personally I am a big supporter of artisanal crafts of any type and will when able, support an artisan over a larger corporate entity!

The first thing one notices is the quality feel of the hose and when you look at the stitching they truly are a work of art. The hose have a very nice feel due to the yarns and are extremely comfortable to wear, especially when spending hours on your feet. I have also been unable to find any signs of wear after multiple uses, I think it safe to say they look as good today as the day they arrived!

I realize that not every one can afford to spend £90. on every pair of kilt hose, I certainly am not in the financial position for such but look at it more of an investment of sorts. I know the initial cost was steep, I also know that they will outlast hose of less quality and look very nice while doing so. There are a number of other purveyors of fine bespoke kilt hose out there such as Almost Unwearoutable who's prices are significantly less (£55. Vs. £90.) but the colours they had available were not exactly what I was looking for!
In my humble opinion while Wendy Keith Designs hose are £90. they are well worth the investment, extremely comfortable, durable and of obvious quality. All in all I have to say I'm hooked, I now have a change jar set on my dresser collecting loose coinage for my next pair(s)!
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**frank_a** · 16th May 13, 06:21 AM

Great review and wonderful looking hose. May your change jar fill quickly!

Frank

**Grizzly** · 16th May 13, 06:52 AM

Darn you those are gorgeous. Um.........£90 you say? mmm..........I wonder if the council would mind if I didnt pay the council tax next month.

**BCAC** · 16th May 13, 06:58 AM

VERY nice kilt hose but my Scottishness will not let me pay £90 for socks. This is also the reason that I don't own any Argyll hose.

**MacCathmhaoil** · 16th May 13, 07:00 AM

Originally Posted by Grizzly

Darn you those are gorgeous. Um.........£90 you say? mmm..........I wonder if the council would mind if I didnt pay the council tax next month.

Go for it! You may end up homeless but think how nice you'll look. LOL!

**Lime** · 16th May 13, 07:16 AM

Those really are beautiful kilt hose; I do like the cuff similar to Almost Unwearoutable's "Aln" design but a little bigger.

I wonder if the council would mind if I didnt pay the council tax next month.

Try Jan/Feb: best of both worlds!

**Pleater** · 16th May 13, 07:49 AM

A photo of them actually being worn would give the full effect - though they do look rather good.

As a knitter of hose for some 45 years now I must say that if you want the top quality and hand knitted, then you either need to pay that sort of price or accept lesser quality, or the use of slave labour. If I had to pay myself for what I make I don't think I could afford it.

There are some reductions when buying in bulk, but just the yarn for a pair of blue and white hose cost me 13 pounds, though once I finish them I don't envisage having to make them again.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

**BCAC** · 16th May 13, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by Pleater

A photo of them actually being worn would give the full effect - though they do look rather good.

As a knitter of hose for some 45 years now I must say that if you want the top quality and hand knitted, then you either need to pay that sort of price or accept lesser quality, or the use of slave labour. If I had to pay myself for what I make I don't think I could afford it.

There are some reductions when buying in bulk, but just the yarn for a pair of blue and white hose cost me 13 pounds, though once I finish them I don't envisage having to make them again.

Anne the Pleater :ootd;

You're right, of course, Anne.

These are top quality hand knitted (by artisans in their own homes) kilt hose and these people should be paid a fair price for their labour.

Maybe one day.

I mean one can save money to be able to afford some of these socks, no?

It's not as if we're buying kilt hose every week nor every month.

**MacCathmhaoil** · 16th May 13, 09:25 AM

I agree whole heartedly that if you want the quality of bespoke hand knit kilt hose then you will have to pay for it, I have no problem paying the premium price to help support the artisan/knitter. I can't afford to buy all of my hose from such but when I can I will, there are too many examples of arts such as this dying out due to lack of financial viability. Really not much difference than buying a kilt, you can pay a bit extra and have one hand stitched by Barb T., Matt Newsome or John at Keltoi or an off the rack, mass produced Asian import. I know which I'd rather spend my money on!