Soon-to-be-Kilted, Montreal QC

[Mathew MacKillop]

Hello All,

Wanted to stop in here and say "hello" and make introductions and such. So, Hi!
In a few months, I will be officiating the wedding of two dear friends, and for such an meaningful occasion, I thought I would honour them both, and my own heritage, by doing it kilted. This, of course, leads to questions for someone who has always wanted, but was never able to afford, a kilt and all the other items that go with it. Browsing your fine forum for the past few days has been most informative, but I am still not completely sure of my choices. I will lay out my plans so far, and would appreciate feedback.
First, some context: This will be a late afternoon wedding in early June, and will take place indoors. The dress code is semi-formal; the groom will be wearing a nice suit and the bride presumably will look amazing, but for the rest there will be no tuxedos or anything so fancy. I have asked for, and been given permission, to wear the kilt by both of them. I am constrained by a green-centric dress code, which limits my choice of tartan. Once the wedding is done, I do not plan to hang up my kilt and let it gather dust; I'm going to wear that thing everywhere I can. So, my shopping list so far:

- SWK Heavyweight Black Watch
- Moderately priced semi-dress or just a very sharp looking black day sporran
- Bottle green kilt Hose
- White Shirt, black Wallace-type kilt jacket with a black 5 button waistcoat
- Bottle green tie

I have decided to skip the gillie brogues and find some nice looking black dress shoes that can also be worn with pants. It seems that there are a few merchants that offer the belts, sporran, kilt pins and such at reasonable prices. I have not, however, found a friendly price for the jacket and waistcoat. The PC or Argyll can be found at a discount on ebay, but these are much too formal for my needs and I question the quality of items that cost half of what the ones from advertisers here offer. Then again, I'm pretty set on the SWK Kilt, which is itself priced at a fraction of the cost of a traditional kilt...decisions!

[Father Bill]

Welcome to the "Great Rabble!"

You haven't indicated your denomination; that could influence your decisions to some extent. You know there's a green variant on clergy tartan? I confess that I shudder at constraining choice of tartan to match somebody's preferred colour scheme. It's somewhat akin to changing the name on your nametag to match the bride's preferred onomatopoeia. Nonetheless...

Cheers and Blessings,

Father Bill+

[Mathew MacKillop]

Greetings Father Bill!

Thank you for the welcome. Let us just say that this is a civil marriage. I have no connection to any denomination. I was baptized Anglican, for what it's worth. In the spirit of the rules I read upon joining, though, let's just say that I am non-religious and leave it at that.
Regarding the dress code; I agree with you 100%, but though I may be man enough to wear a kilt proudly, I am certainly NOT man enough to contradict the bride-to-be. I frequently thank her to-be husband for "taking one for the team"... on the other hand, I am also not a very big fan of wearing tartans not associated with my Family, and us MacKillops have a very, very Red tartan (and is not offered by anyone short of having the fabric custom woven), and specifically I was told to avoid red given that with all the green, it would end looking a lot like Christmas. There are of course MacDonald hunting tartans that could be acceptable, but I have a hard time telling who is "allowed" what in that enormous clan.
My other option is to go Douglas, my Grandmother's name, as they have many a very nice green tartan. On the other hand, cost is a factor and I may just wait for my 2nd kilt and pay a little more for a custom made in that tartan. So far the Black Watch option seems the most reasonable.

Regards,

Mathew

[Spartan Tartan]

from Rhode Island

[Stitchwiz]

Hi Matthew,

This is the right time of year to check out the specials! We have several X Mark Partners who have some very good sales on right now, some are ex-hire which will give you lightly worn, good quality garments that are an excellent value. You will find the threads with the sales by going to the top left and click on the Forum button. Scroll down until you find the section called X Mark Partners. Click on the thread that interests you. Or you can look across the top and down the sides of the website and click on the ones that appeal to you, then browse around their site. Good luck!

from Owen Sound, ON

[GMan]

Welcome glad that you are here. This place is a goldmine of information, enjoy!

[Mathew MacKillop]

Hi, and thank you for the welcome.

For budget reasons, the SWK Heavyweight seems to me the only viable option. Decent construction and 100% wool, versus the next-best alternative (in my mind) of a USAKilts Semi-trad at twice the price for less yardage. The custom fit ones, I think, will come later once the finances improve. I'm thinking, too, that shipping from the US to Canada is likely to be lest trouble than from the UK, though I may be wrong in this.
The jacket, though, still eludes me. Plenty of ex-rental PCs and Argyll's out there, but the Wallace seems more rare, even new, and equally expensive. Paying twice the cost of my kilt for a jacket and vest that will see less use seems...wrong, somehow.
At any rate, thanks again one and all for the kind welcome.

[Nile]

Hello Mathew. Welcome to X Marks. Thank you for that great introduction. You've certainly come to the right place for the questions you are asking and you've found your support for your adventures in kilt wearing.

- SWK Heavyweight Black Watch
- Moderately priced semi-dress or just a very sharp looking black day sporran
- Bottle green kilt Hose
- White Shirt, black Wallace-type kilt jacket with a black 5 button waistcoat
- Bottle green tie

I have decided to skip the gillie brogues and find some nice looking black dress shoes that can also be worn with pants.

Nothing wrong with your start up list. It will give you a good base to build on. I also agree with your decision on the shoes.

Glad you joined the kilted rabble and I look forward to your participation.

Nile

[McClef]

from South Wales UK!

[Tarheel]

Well met Matthew. Great "first kit" choices for the occasion. Good luck with the jacket and vest. The sporran, kilt pin, etc. will come easier. Good call on not "up-staging the bride." Welcome from Oxford, MS.