Okay people: I've looked in shops and boutiques; searched websites and scanned web-warehouses; studied pictures and scrutinized downloads without sucess. My question remains this: is there truly such variance in material and craftsmanship to justify prices ranging from $225 to $600 for a Prince Charlie jacket? From what I've seen the bulk of these jackets are made from similar weight baratea wool (with the heavier not always being the more expensive); is this a case of "you get what you pay for" or is it "good marketing"? Don't get me wrong-I'm not adverse to saving up and spending money; but I won't spend money for a name or image in lieu of a quality product, or if there is no appreciable difference.

Bryan...displaying my ignorance to the right people...

One would assume it would have to do with the quality of the materials & the workmanship.

There are various quialities of wool, & polyester or acetate may be subsituted for silk on the lapels.

Quality workmanship involves much more hand sewing & takes longer to complete. Also, the more expensive jackets should be at least semi-tailored, if not made-to-measure.

Sherry

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Originally Posted by Sherry

One would assume it would have to do with the quality of the materials & the workmanship.

There are various quialities of wool, & polyester or acetate may be subsituted for silk on the lapels.

Quality workmanship involves much more hand sewing & takes longer to complete. Also, the more expensive jackets should be at least semi-tailored, if not made-to-measure.

Sherry

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Excellent points, Sherry -- you really do "get what you pay for". When I buy an article of clothing from a long-established business, such as Brooks Brothers, T.M. Lewin, Barbour, L.L. Bean, etc., then I know that I am dealing with a reputable company that has worked for many years to establish a quality reputation behind it -- and that's not to say that newer firms do not, but it gives a peace of mind that I am spending my money wisely.

Cheers, (B)

Todd

If a PC jacket is what floats your boat... go for the real deal but, as Todd suggests, buy a quality product and from a reputible dealer. Like a quality kilt... it should last a lifetime. A while back, I saved up my nickles and bought a genuine "made in Scotland" argyll jacket because I felt the PC was just a bit too formal for most functions or venues that I attend. The quality and detailing was well worth the $450 I shelled out for it. And while I only wear it perhaps 6 or 7 times a year, that's still much more than I would be inclined to wear a suit!!

I recently visited the Hector Russell shop in Toronto to purchase some jackets and a kilt. If you check out their web site:

http://www.hector-russell.ca/index.html

you will notice that they offer two black Argyll jackets, one for $550 CAD and the other for $395 CAD. They are both fine quality jackets, indeed, I purchased a green/blue Lovat jacket at the lower price point. However for the black Argyll, I opted for the more expensive version. It was noticeably better quality and fit. The difference was immediately obvious when I donned the jacket.

Rick

As the Quarter Master for my pipe band I spend a lot of time searching sites when I need to buy something and I too have sat there dazed and confused over the wide range of prices. The best conclusion that I came to is whether or not the company in question made the garment themselves or did they buy and simply resell it taking into considerations quality and the level of tailoring. I have found many of the lower cost jackets are off the shelf with little to no tailoring. After exhaustive searches for band uniforms I have settled on J Higgins as the bands main supplier. The staff is very knowledgeable and the quality of their products are outstanding and the prices are quite reasonable. I have ordered kilts, spats, sporrans, hose, and doublets from them. A good example of their level of quality when I ordered the first set of kilts from them not only did they ask for the traditional measurements but asked for additional measurement that no other kilt maker (with the exception of Ann Stewart) has asked for and it shows when you see these kilts next to some of the older kilts. They even asked for photographs, front and back, of one of our kilts so that there was no doubts when matching them up to the older kilts. Lastly, I just received my new doublet and all I can say is WOW!!!!

www.jhiggins.net

I've been ordering stuff from JHiggins recently, as well, and am totally impressed with their customer service and the quality of the goods. My next traditional kilt will be from them, no doubt. I'm glad to hear a glowing review of their work.

Yes, I expected that such things as you mentioned would provide for the differences Sherry, but I'm still pretty confused. I've looked at the J. Higgins website (15 oz, satin lapels, scottish made), the scottishkilts.net website (15 oz, silk lapels, scottish-made), North of St Andrews website (13 oz, cheapest price), the kiltstore (13,15 oz for the economy/best buy models, LUxury MR model w/ silk lapels), Hector Russell (not much information, actually), and it's all left me even more twitterpated. I've been leaning towards the Scottishkilts.net PC (because I've ordered from them before and they don't add a cost penalty for 50L sizes); I'd contemplate one of the more expensive, custom tailored jackets, but it would only be as good as the measurements I could provide them (me being the weak link in these equations).

The end result of this thread is that I still don't know what I'll do.

Bryan...Maybe I'll just avoid formal situations... ;)

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Originally Posted by Schultz

I've been ordering stuff from JHiggins recently, as well, and am totally impressed with their customer service and the quality of the goods. My next traditional kilt will be from them, no doubt. I'm glad to hear a glowing review of their work.

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My experience with Higgins has been the complete opposite recently. I used to buy from Higgins on a regular basis back in the mid '90's; they were very quick about getting orders out, especially to those of us who are with a 200-mile radius of Lenexa, Kansas, and Tom, the fellow who handled phone orders, was a pleasure to work with. My first tailored kilt was from Higgins, and it was of high quality.

My second kilt from them, however, was not. It seemed of less quality than the first -- and several other gents I know with multiple kilts from Higgins have had similar experiences. Tom is no longer there, and the new fellow seems to be not as up on customer service as he was.

I don't recommend Higgins anymore to first-time kilt wearers because of their "hit-and-miss" nature anymore.

Todd

I purchased my Black Argyle Jacket from Matt Newsome at www.scottishtartans.org , I am happy with the quality of the jacket and the price. The sizes are consistent with our US clothing sizes.