Photos from Scottish Village at Grand Central Station in NYC

**UmAnOnion** · 3rd April 06, 01:37 PM

Greetings all,
as mentioned in previous thread, I ventured up to the Scottish Village erected for Tartan Week.
Most of the displays there were tourist related - showing places to stay , where to go & what to do & the like but i did snap a few shots that woudl be of interest to this group specifically...

a group of greeters - looking very smart in thier regalia - the guy on the left was very well suited but the guy on the right - partially blocked by the lovely young lady in her mini-kilt was looking a little ragged as his kilt was hanging down to MID CALF and his sporran was wandering off to the side. I was tempted to speak to him about it but decided to mind my own business for a change

this was a display of kilts/scottish garb worn by celebrities, either in movies or in real life: Laim Neeson, Alan Cumming, Robbie Williams, Jack Osborne & a few others - the names are below each mannequin.

continued...

**Big Paul** · 3rd April 06, 01:47 PM

Nice pics!

**UmAnOnion** · 3rd April 06, 01:50 PM

Finally made it to the 21st Century Kilts corner - didnt get a chance to snap a pic of the overall booth as it was a bit of a mob scene in that corner... tartan books everywhere & a mammoth reference of surnames & tartans.

I did manage to grab one of the kilts they had hanging there

THIS THING WEIGHED A TON with fabulously heavy fabric & very very VERY deep pleats. wish i woudl have had a chance/th enerve to try it on but was on best behaviour. Howie, the man behind 21CK was off getting ready for the Dressed to kilt fashion show tonight so i didnt get a chacne to talk with him, but the guy at the counter was nice enough.

My jaw dropped to the floor at the site of the pinstriped suit (which was the personal property of the counter guy - didnt get his name). Really sharp looking & professional- what really got me was the tie/hankie/flash combo... all done of teh same fabric - nice nice touch. great detailing on the stiching and overall finish. I had almost recovered from the shock of the appearance when he hit me with the price tag ($1400.00 for the whole thing ) at whoch point i had to walk away as the laughter from my credit cards was getting out of hand.

continued...

**UmAnOnion** · 3rd April 06, 02:01 PM

as i staggered away from the 21st CK booth i ran across the following characters:

one of the random guides - was in NYC for the first time ever & wigged out by the crowds. He had a few stories of venturing into Times Square late last night kilted & the responces he got but as there were ladies present he refused to divuldge much info... he did let slip that the sporran was SEAL SKIN but whispered it so as to not tiop off the PETA folks to his location.

this chap - Wee Willie - with his escort, was making the rounds in the village. he didnt have much to say but according to his escort he had had a bit too much of the glenfiddich they were sampling before i got there so it was best if he kept quiet. loved the matching great kilts tho...

this gentleman was working at another counter - i was fascinated by the sporran which is well over 100 years old - also made of seal skin (shudder) it had been the sporran of his great grand father (as had the kilt!!!) and had been passed down over the generations. The kilt looked as if it had a bit of a history, with a little patching on the side but looked ready to hit the hills for many more years to come.

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**UmAnOnion** · 3rd April 06, 02:07 PM

as i was heading out the door sw the following in a display case:

Thought of the Derek when i saw this as it woudl have been a great addition to his pirate outfit...

each peice was made by local (in Scotland) craftsmen and were not for sale during the show (thank goodness) I was tempted to make an offer for the second kilt pin in from the left - nice & clean - not too fussy. luckily it was securely locked behind the glass so i escaped intact.

actually went back to the 21CK booth and bought one of thier lightning bolt kilt pins - the guy gave it to me for $20 as opposed to the 25 pounds its listed for in thier catalogue... sometimes brown nosing (and name dropping - mentioning Xmarks earned me a few brownie points ) has its benefits...

Will be heading back on thursday & hopefully will have a few more pics to share

Cheers

**Mattg** · 3rd April 06, 02:10 PM

Man, those are sweet!

**way2fractious** · 3rd April 06, 02:24 PM

UAO, great job on reporting the going-ons in NYC. Makes me wish I were back there... even briefly... maybe with lots of money, too... dream, dream, dream...

**Colin** · 3rd April 06, 02:38 PM

Originally Posted by UmAnOnion

Nice pins, but I love the tartan, anyone wanting to guess what it may be?

**Hamish** · 3rd April 06, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by UmAnOnion

as i was heading out the door sw the following in a display case.

Thought of the Derek when i saw this as it woudl have been a great addition to his pirate outfit...

each peice was made by local (in Scotland) craftsmen and were not for sale during the show (thank goodness) I was tempted to make an offer for the second kilt pin in from the left - nice & clean - not too fussy. luckily it was securely locked behind the glass so i escaped intact.

actually went back to the 21CK booth and bought one of thier lightning bolt kilt pins - the guy gave it to me for $20 as opposed to the 25 pounds its listed for in thier catalogue... sometimes brown nosing (and name dropping - mentioning Xmarks earned me a few brownie points ) has its benefits...

Will be heading back on thursday & hopefully will have a few more pics to share

Cheers

Colin,

I am glad you made it (and will do so again) to the Scottish Village exhibit, and thanks for taking so many great photos - more on Thursday? I recognise the 'Pirate' sporran. It's one of a range of contempoary sporrans made by Sporran Nation ( www.sporran-nation.co.uk ). Howie (TFCK) stocks them in his Edinburgh showroom. It's a pity you missed Howie, he's such a great guy, but if you catch up with him when you return, say "Hi" from me and tell him I'll call him at home next week. Thanks.

The other guy you spoke to at the TFCK stand was probably Hugh - I recognise his pinstripe suit with matching accessories which he wore to the grand opening of Howie's Royal Mile showroom last year. Hugh's another great guy who has been with Howie's family kiltmaking business for many years. Do say "Hi" to him also, on my behalf.

Enjoy the rest of Tartan Week.