Getting married, perfect excuse for a good kilt... suggestions?

[LordDamax]

I'm getting married in March. Want a kilt. Perfect excuse to buy a good, authentic kilt. I have some utilikilts, two I've made, and one of the nice ones from... oh lord... its been so many years since I bought it I dont remember the name of it... the place that has them mass produced in singapore or something, but they look pretty decent... stillwater kilts?

Anyways (Oh, and Hi all! Its been years since I signed in here, glad to see my account is still in good standing!), here's my issues:

I'm getting married in 3 months. (3/12/10) So time is a consideration.
I'd like a good, well made, "authentic" kilt. It doesnt need to be 8 yards, 5 or so will do, but I want it to look good, I want it to feel good, have that sway to it...
And I'd like to spend around $350 or less. I can go slightly more if its worth it, and I'd love to save as much money as I possibly can.

I got an email from TartanWeb the other day, and they have a few 5 yard kilts I was looking at for around 190 pounds, which is right about $320 or so I think last time I google converted it. How are their kilts?

Any other suggestions?

Last time I spent any time here, Bear's kilts were pretty fantastic, but he had a huge waiting list. And other than that name, I dont remember any others! Who are the newcomers? Who's got the best deals?

Help! I'm getting married in three months and dont even know where to start!

[Tobus]

I'll put in a vote for USA Kilts. They have a 5-yard wool kilt that's right at your price range ($350). Shipping would be free.

http://www.usakilts.com/store/5yardwool_kiltpage.php

Rocky's customer service is outstanding. And he should be able to deliver easily within your time frame, especially if you pay the modest $35 rush fee to have it out the door in 3 weeks.

[HeathBar]

http://www.burnetts-struth.com/index.php?cPath=160

These seem to get a good review and they are well below your price range. Though the range in their specials is limited.

[MacBean]

Burnett's and Struth has 64 varieties of heavy weight casual on sale and a smaller number of lighter ones. I have one of their heavy weights and as a 5 yarder, it feels just about perfect. I was fortunate in that my tartan was one of their listings. I like USA Kilts too and may get an 8-yarder from them as they are only 3 mi from my house.

[ForresterModern]

You have not stated a specific desire for a specific tartan, so I assume you have no strong clan affiliation. If so a generic or district tartan would work great.

Tartanweb has custom standard machine sewn 8 yd kilts in 16oz Marton Mills Jura tartans for round $311 plus s/h. Their choices include Black Isle, Caledonia Ancient. Black Watch, Isle of Skye, Holyrood, and many other non-clan affiliated tartans(as well as a lot of clan tartans), and their turnaround time is pretty good, especially if you let them know you have a time constraint. From them the same thing in Lochcarron STrome select tartans is nearly $350.

Interestingly, their sister site scottishkilts.net carries the exact same stock and is basically the same store under a different name, but their price for the Jura range is close to $350 while their price for the Lochcarron tartans is under $320 plus s/h. The Lochcarron range, however, carries mostly clan tartans but does include two variants of the Black Watch as well as Scotland's National.

I own two kilts from Scottishkilts and love both (Isle of Skye and MacDonald of Glencoe Muted) and have another on order from Tartanweb. They make a nice kilt. Unfortunately communication can be difficult with them sometimes.

There are others as well who could put out a good quality reasonably priced kilt in under three months, but around xmas time that is pushing it for many kiltmakers who are very busy right now.

Good luck, and congratulations on your engagement.

[iustus]

Congratulations.

I'm not sure how much of the attire you have going now, but for my own money, I'd go for a Heavy Weight: 5 yard Kilt.

I have not seen the handiwork of Scotweb as of yet, but I have a kilt on the way from them now.

My humble recommendation is the following:

Hit the Scotweb discount bar on the top of the page. Got to kilts, 5yrd tartan or 5yrd Self-coloured kilt page. When your time comes to pick a tartan, view tartans by advanced search with the "Budget" box clicked. Search those tartans for one that suits you... you looking at something around $250 +/- $30.

I have found that the "Budget" tartan materials are often 16oz and the lighter weaves are sometimes more pricey.

Seems like you could also go for the Essential Scotweb Casual kilt and choose the budget tartan possibilities... 16oz MacKintosh is something around $175 but I don't know what the kilt is like. I would send an email to get more info. How much is Machine sewn, Hand sewn, etc. That is a very inexpensive kilt...

I think the time element is 3-5 weeks plus 20 days for standard shipping $0 and 2-5 days quick shipping.

Hope that adds to your possibilities.

peace,
justin

[Hothir Ethelnor]

I'm a kiltmaker who is not too busy.

[Nighthawk]

I'm a kiltmaker who is not too busy.

I just sent this guy a PM. I'm very interested in getting a sample of his work- always patronize the little guys first in my opinion! So, with that being said- My friend is a wedding coordinator, and we actually deal with this same issue. Scotweb have a quick turnaround time and make fine products, so you won't go wrong buying from them. However--- I'm a big supporter of the idea of buying locally, so I would recomend USA Kilts over anyone else. Their quality is better than Scotweb, and their prices are competetive- a little higher, as a matter of fact, but from Scotweb, we in the States end up paying $35 for shipping and $75 + for customs, which I assume is where the extra cost of a USAK come from. It adds up quite nicely as a matter of fact. And in the long run, you actually end up saving a bit with USAK. SO- no customs/shipping, better quality- USA Kilts is really the best value for the money that you're going to get I say.

[Sammac]

From personal experience both USAKILTS and Scotweb sell quality kilts. From reading posts on here there are a good many excellent kilt makers on this sight.

[MacLowlife]

LD, have you considered a military kilt from WHAT PRICE GLORY? I think they have some on sale for $200. I gather they are heavy AND made with a high rise waist, but they bear consideration. I have no affiliation and no experience...

http://onlinemilitaria.net/shopexd.asp?id=1702&bc=no