A call to regulate the term "kilt"

[Monkey@Arms]

Time to check out the sporran legion
SANDRA DICK (sdick@edinburghnews.com)
IT is, of course, the definitive iconic item that the world associates with every true Scotsman.

Made from yard upon yard of the finest wool, the muted weave traditionally inspired by nature's palate all skilfully hand sewn to a centuries-old fashion.

Like the skirl of the bagpipes, buttery shortbread or Auld Lang Syne tearfully sung on a frosty New Year's Day washed down with a peaty nip, the kilt is seen the globe over as having "Made in Scotland" stamped right through it.

Unless, perhaps, it's a £20 version made in some far-flung sweatshop in an indeterminable chequered manmade weave.

Mounting despair over the quality of tartanwear on sale at a string of Royal Mile tourist shops combined with news of proposals for a new national tartan register - aimed at cataloguing tartan designs from around the world in one place - has sparked a fresh debate over just what makes Scotland's national dress.

And, just as Parma ham must come from Parma, bubbly is mere fizz unless it was made in the French region of Champagne and whisky is protected by an internationally recognised trademark, so, some argue, the time has come for legislation to ensure only Highland dress made in Scotland to exacting standards should dare to bear the official title "kilt".

The call for rules to protect Scotland's national dress and ensure only quality fabric can carry the description "tartan" is being led by Graham Russell, chairman of the Edinburgh branch of the Federation of Small Businesses.

"The kilt is part of the national identity, it is something that the people of Scotland should be proud of. But a great deal of what is sold under the name of being tartan is plaid, or worse, checks," he argues. "And the items which are being called 'kilts' are nothing better than mini skirts.

"Look at malt whisky, Parma ham and other items that are branded through where they are produced. They have a clear requirement that they meet a certain standard. You can't make whisky in England and sell it as the real thing - it has to be made in Scotland, that is highly protected and rightly so.

"Yet we have an item of national dress that has been vulgarised by it being manufactured anywhere in the world down to a poor quality. These items are being sold to honest, trusting tourists who think they are taking home something that is part of Scotland's national dress.

"I have actually seen 'kilts' on sale with sporrans printed on the front - it might be a joke but it is vulgarising Scotland's national dress."

High Street kiltmaker Geoffrey Nicholsby - whose Castlehill shop is surrounded by outlets specialising in cut-price "leisure" kilts - agrees that there is the need for some kind of quality branding to ensure anything marketed as a kilt meets stringent standards.

"Our competitors are selling gent's full kilts at £130. I know that can't be a handmade, eight-yard kilt in quality wool for that price because it simply can't be done. So what is being sold is either a light, poor quality cloth or there isn't enough fabric to make a proper kilt," he says.

"At least if there is some kind of regulation whereby the word 'tartan' refers to a material that has been woven in Scotland, then it would at least help stop the cheap imports of cloths made in India, Pakistan and China."

His business, Geoffrey Tailor, produces kilts made from - depending on the customer's size - eight yards of full weight worsted fabric and his traditional kilts are hand sewn.

But despite urging a national standard to protect the integrity of the true kilt, he has no quibble with "fashion" kilts in alternative fabrics ranging from leather to denim - in fact, his son Howie, pioneered them.

"Yes, we make modern kilts," he admits. "But we do not pass them off as being handmade if they have been machine made."

"And I'm not against 'junk' tourist shops because they exist in every city. However, they can't be allowed to pass off their junk as the real thing."

Calls for a broader look at the Scottish kilt industry come as the Scottish Parliament prepares to consider a Private Members Bill for a national tartan register, proposed by Tory MSP Jamie McGrigor and backed by many traditional kiltmakers and mills.

The register, he says could include tartans from regiments, clans and even from America and Canadian clubs which have their own style of tartan. "We want to show we are doing something at last to show we are proud of our tartan and get rid of any past image of tartan as being part of the shortbread, tartan and haggis," he adds.

The moves to reclaim tartan follows a Scottish Enterprise study which revealed the Scottish tartan industry to be worth at least £350 million a year. An estimated 10,000 jobs in Scotland are also in some way dependent on the industry. And while the Scottish Tartans Authority and the Scottish Tartans World Register exist to hold records of around 7000 different kinds of tartans, with 150 new designs being created every year, one national register would help eliminate confusion among weavers and kiltmakers.

But while the idea of a tartan register has been widely welcomed, not everyone agrees that there is a desperate need to regulate what is done with the final product.

Alison Adamson-Ross has made kilts by hand for Julia Roberts, Madonna's baby son Rocco and actors Michael Caine and Roger Moore at McPherson Scotland in Grosvener Street, a business launched by her forefathers and which has been established for over six decades. While she is no fan of tartan trash, she believes to legislate would be a bureaucratic nightmare.

"It is very hard for a kiltmaker to compete with the machine- produced kilts, but it is very difficult to say what is right and what is wrong," she says.

"A machine-manufactured kilt is still a kilt even though it's not as good as a hand sewn one. And, although I'm no fan of them, kilts made from, say black cloth instead of tartan, are still kilts.

"And if customers choose to wear a cheap version that is really little more than a lady's skirt, dressed up in all the trinkets, belts and buckles . . . well at least we can have a laugh at them."

This article: http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1431842007

Last updated: 07-Sep-07 12:06 BST

Best regards,

Jake

[ardchoille]

I agree totally. A garment that is machine-made of other than true tartan, and not custom made to the wearer's measurements, is not a kilt. Instead of using the word "kilt", they should use the word "garment". Any kilt is also a garment.. but any garment is not always a kilt regardless of how you dress it up. There is simply no comparison between a Rolls Royce and a Volkswagen Beetle.

[ccga3359]

I agree totally. A garment that is machine-made of other than true tartan, and not custom made to the wearer's measurements, is not a kilt. Instead of using the word "kilt", they should use the word "garment". Any kilt is also a garment.. but any garment is not always a kilt regardless of how you dress it up. There is simply no comparison between a Rolls Royce and a Volkswagen Beetle.

But it also stated that it had to be made in Scotland to be called a kilt. What about our Newsome or Tewkesbury? They would be merely handsewn garments? Although they would be of no less quality. This is the first step of Kilt Police (sit down Panache!).

On a lighter side, at one time Rolls Royce was owned by Volkswagen. instead let's compare the VW beetle to a Porsche 356...

[ardchoille]

But it also stated that it had to be made in Scotland to be called a kilt. What about our Newsome or Tewkesbury? They would be merely handsewn garments?

Newsome - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a kilt.
Tewksbury - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a kilt.

On a lighter side, at one time Rolls Royce was owned by Volkswagen. instead let's compare the VW beetle to a Porsche 356...

It matters not who owns it (ownership is irrelevant).. I am referring to the quality of the finished product.

[ccga3359]

Newsome - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a kilt.
Tewksbury - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a kilt.

And, just as Parma ham must come from Parma, bubbly is mere fizz unless it was made in the French region of Champagne and whisky is protected by an internationally recognised trademark, so, some argue, the time has come for legislation to ensure only Highland dress made in Scotland to exacting standards should dare to bear the official title "kilt".

"Look at malt whisky, Parma ham and other items that are branded through where they are produced. They have a clear requirement that they meet a certain standard. You can't make whisky in England and sell it as the real thing - it has to be made in Scotland, that is highly protected and rightly so.

Ergo according to the owner of the quote's ideas:
Newsome - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a garment.
Tewksbury - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a garment.


As to the cars just because a Rolls has hand formed aluminum panels and burled walnut dash does not mean higher quality*. Having owned VW's it was a dependable car that required little maintenance and was cheap to run. The highest recorded mileage was 1,000,000 kms on the original engine. One could buy how many Beetles for the price of one RR? Price alone, country of manufacturer should ever be an indication of quality. Likewise by country of origin, Germany (Karl Benz) not England was regarded as the birth place of the petrol-engined automoble. And where was today's kilt invented? How many report that the modern kilt was actually invented in England, by n Englishman. Imagine the fallout if any kilt not made in England is not considered a kilt?



*With respect to Rollerboy 1975.

[morrison]

That article I believe was way humoring of our affinity to categorize things. It was an excellent jab in the ribs. The Mercedes name on the Mercedes Benz could mean that the automobile mfgr is not truly German, but, a hybrid of a sort because the name Mercedes is a spanish derivative!

Ergo according to the owner of the quote's ideas:
Newsome - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a garment.
Tewksbury - made by hand, of true tartan, to the wearer's measurements.. this is a garment.


As to the cars just because a Rolls has hand formed aluminum panels and burled walnut dash does not mean higher quality*. Having owned VW's it was a dependable car that required little maintenance and was cheap to run. The highest recorded mileage was 1,000,000 kms on the original engine. One could buy how many Beetles for the price of one RR? Price alone, country of manufacturer should ever be an indication of quality. Likewise by country of origin, Germany (Karl Benz) not England was regarded as the birth place of the petrol-engined automoble. And where was today's kilt invented? How many report that the modern kilt was actually invented in England, by n Englishman. Imagine the fallout if any kilt not made in England is not considered a kilt?
*With respect to Rollerboy 1975.

http://www.cyberparent.com/wheels/mercedes.htm

Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were born only 60 miles apart in southern Germany. Daimler was born March 17, 1834. A decade later, on November 25, Carl Benz was born.

Although they grew up with little in common, both boys were fascinated by machines from an early age. Because their approach to building cars was quite different, it is doubtful, though, that they met or even knew what the other was doing.

In 1886, Carl Benz built a motorized tricycle. His first four-wheeler, the Victoria, was built in 1893. The first production car was the 1894 Benz Velo which participated in the first recorded car race, the Paris-Rouen race. In 1895, Benz built his first truck.

In 1886, Gottlieb Daimler literally built a horseless carriage. In 1888 Daimler made a business deal with William Steinway (of piano fame) to produce Daimler's products in the US. From 1904 until a fire in 1907, Steinway produced Mercedes passenger cars, Daimler's light trucks, and his engines on Long Island.

Ironically, history says Daimler, generally considered to be the father of modern automobiles never liked to drive, if, indeed he ever learned to drive. On March 6, 1990, Daimler died, leaving control of his company to his chief engineer Wilhelm Mayback.

By November 22 of that year, Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschat had produced a special car for Emil Jellinek. Jellinek named the car after his ten-year-old daughter Mercedes. Lighter and smaller, the new Mercedes had 35 hp and a top speed of 55 mph!

[Archangel]

I agree totally. A garment that is machine-made of other than true tartan, and not custom made to the wearer's measurements, is not a kilt. Instead of using the word "kilt", they should use the word "garment". Any kilt is also a garment.. but any garment is not always a kilt regardless of how you dress it up. There is simply no comparison between a Rolls Royce and a Volkswagen Beetle.

This a taxonomy problem and we'd have to be taxologists.

Here's what you have done: garment would equal vehicle, rolls and vw are both automobiles, more specifically passenger vehicle. At that point, they are the same thing: passenger vehicle. There needs to be further distinction to separate the two vehicles: one is luxury, the other modest. However, you then have to figure in Mexican or German VWs, Bentley's, etc. You haven't even begun to look at other vehicle or automobile manufacturers.

In the same way, we are talking about an article of clothing, that type is called a skirt, that type is called a kilt. Now somebody want to make a case for subdividing that.

If they get their way, what about R-Kilts' black leather kilt? How would he be able to market that? It's not woven, it's not plaid/tartan, it's not made in Scotland, I'm pretty sure the leather doesn't even come from Scotland. How well could Rob market his product if these people get their way? Rob's Leather Skirts for Men probably isn't going to do much for him.

My answer would be to build consumer awareness, there's a lot more choice than they think out there and there's some cautions, too.

[Kid Cossack]

I agree totally. A garment that is machine-made of other than true tartan, and not custom made to the wearer's measurements, is not a kilt. Instead of using the word "kilt", they should use the word "garment". Any kilt is also a garment.. but any garment is not always a kilt regardless of how you dress it up. There is simply no comparison between a Rolls Royce and a Volkswagen Beetle.

I guess I'd better call Rocky and tell him he needs to rename his shop USA Garments.

Made-to-measure, yes, but machine-sewn (the models I buy, anyway) and why that poly-viscose isn't quite worsted wool.

Nah! Taxonomic issues can get complicated really quickly.

[Pikeman]

Since blue jeans are part of the American cowboy cultural dress, should only those pants approved by the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association be allowed to be called "blue jeans"? Of course not. The idea of regulating an item that has not been copyrighted or patented by an individual, but is part of a vague cultural tradition belongs to totalitarian regimes, not modern democracies.

If kilt makers are upset about the competition then they should use "hand sewn" "Made in Scotland" or other descriptive phrases in their advertisement.

And, as Matt Newsome has pointed out repeatedly, the idea that certain tartans belong to individual clans is a relatively recent notion.

Say no to those who would be clothing police.

[DTrain]

This is insanity. A kilt is a name for the style of garment, regardless of fabric or country of origin. A kilt is a kilt is a kilt. Do Bermuda shorts only come from Bermuda? How about Hawaiian shirts? Or Madras plaid jackets? I believe that tourists in Scotland can distinguish a touristy shop with tourist items from a fine tailor that produces handmade, all wool kilts.

Just because it isn't made in Scotland, by hand, of tartan does not mean that you can't call it a KILT. Perhaps they can come up with something to distinguish those kilts from lower end ones, such as "genuine Scottish kilt" or something.