Where to order 37 kilts?

[Wolf]

Hi
Me and my fellow newbies from our student club want buy ourselves some kilts (well, it's more like a kind of fraternity, except that we don't live together and that it's mixed. It's a belgian thing: "Le baptême estudiantin/Studentendoop" might ring a bell.)
So to cut a long story short we want to get everyone a kilt (maybe only for the guys and a tartan skirt for the girls we don't know yet, this thing is only an idea right now) and well price is kinda of an issue. The quality of said kilts not necessarily as mush as most people won't be wearing it very often (and mostly just to go out and party with it anyway).
Any ideas are welcome!

PS: there's 37 of us and we live in Belgium

[Zardoz]

Stillwater ?

http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/

[Chas]

Mark at Frugal Corner. They often do bulk buys.

www.thefrugalcorner.com

Regards

Chas

[O'Callaghan]

None of the above.

If you want that many kilts you should contact one of the Pakistani kiltmakers. They are all located in the town of Sialkot, Pakistan, which is in the Pakistani half of the Punjab, but on the border with India. Google the location and some kilt related keywords and you should find several websites, but none of them take online orders. You have to e-mail them for a price list and pay them by international money order. Some of them will go as low as US $12 per kilt if you order at least a dozen, which should overcome the minor inconvenience of not being able to order in a few clicks.

I guess I just gave away the big secret of all the budget kilt vendors!

PS: This is where the above-mentionned vendors get their kilts, so it would be silly to use a middle man. That's all they are.

I don't know if they take Euros. They often give prices in both pounds and dollars, though. My guess is they will, because it's all money!

[Chas]

None of the above.

If you want that many kilts you should contact one of the Pakistani kiltmakers. They are all located in the town of Sialkot, Pakistan, which is in the Pakistani half of the Punjab, but on the border with India. Google the location and some kilt related keywords and you should find several websites, but none of them take online orders. You have to e-mail them for a price list and pay them by international money order. Some of them will go as low as US $12 per kilt if you order at least a dozen, which should overcome the minor inconvenience of not being able to order in a few clicks.

I guess I just gave away the big secret of all the budget kilt vendors!

PS: This is where the above-mentionned vendors get their kilts, so it would be silly to use a middle man. That's all they are.

I don't know if they take Euros. They often give prices in both pounds and dollars, though. My guess is they will, because it's all money!

I would advise against this course of action. Both Stillwater and Frugal Corner have a proven track record. And why is that, because they have done the hard work and found good kiltmakers in Pakistan (not all are). Just because a man is a tailor, does not mean he is a kiltmaker. There are many fabric workers in Sialkot, but that does not mean that they know anything about kiltmaking.

There is an issue at this very moment involving another forum, where a bulk order of kilts was made by reputable fabric workers incorrectly (very incorrectly).

There's more to buying a kilt than price.

Regards

Chas

[seanachie]

I know of the problem Chas refers to and I would agree with his advice.
I am a newbie and have already bought 2 kilts from Jerry at Stillwater and he is fantastic. I have no idea if he can fulfill an order for 37 at once, but if he can I would sleep easy at night knowing the order was in good hands. I would worry about all the vagaries of dealing with someone I did not know in a foreign country. What happens if the product does not match what you ordered, how will you address this? What if a dispute arises, what avenues do you have to get a refund?

[csbdr]

None of the above.

If you want that many kilts you should contact one of the Pakistani kiltmakers. They are all located in the town of Sialkot, Pakistan, which is in the Pakistani half of the Punjab, but on the border with India. Google the location and some kilt related keywords and you should find several websites, but none of them take online orders. You have to e-mail them for a price list and pay them by international money order. Some of them will go as low as US $12 per kilt if you order at least a dozen, which should overcome the minor inconvenience of not being able to order in a few clicks.

I guess I just gave away the big secret of all the budget kilt vendors!

PS: This is where the above-mentionned vendors get their kilts, so it would be silly to use a middle man. That's all they are.

I don't know if they take Euros. They often give prices in both pounds and dollars, though. My guess is they will, because it's all money!

I'll be straight, "another forum" had a bulk order of kilts made up through a company, who "brokered" the deal to Pakistan and they came out aweful. The company we dealt with, who "brokered" the deal, is well known, and offered to use their contacts with manufacturers there to get a good price. Made the decision on price rather than quality/reputation. Range of issues including no taper to hips, aprons too narrow, no reverse pleat, multitude of weaving flaws, rips (fixed and not), pulls, buckles falling apart, cheap stiff straps, you name it, and all to be found in any given kilt. It was a real shame. I would NEVER advocate going with Pakistani construction UNLESS, it is with an established and reputable company who will stand behind their product (like Stillwater, for example). Dealing with someplace like SWK will generally offer a means of recourse if there is a problem. Right now, having dealt more or less directly with the factory, there is very little which is likely to be done to rectify the situation. So I respectfully disagree.

[wildrover]

Made the decision on price rather than quality/reputation.

As soon as I hear somebody say that, I know they learned an expensive lesson regarding the longevity of regret versus the passing satisfaction of a low price.

IIWY, I'd look at getting quotes from a few vendors here on a discounted price for 37 quality articles, and I would NOT expect them by Feb 1. I have participated in quite a few group buys over the years, and I've found in every case that impatience and rushed work only leads to poor quality...every time. Let the vendor set a finish date, and don't expect them by Feb 1...I can't stress that enough.

Also, bear in mind that it is the kilt (or miniskirt), and the tartan, that will identify you as a group (that, and you'll be a bunch of people with an obvious identifying feature)...not the size, cut, material, source, stitching, number or style of pleats, length, rise, number of buckles, or anything else. You will have a much easier time if you choose a tartan and then let your members sort out their kilts on their own. There is no reason to tell everyone to buy a 20$ kilt, if someone has the desire and money for a 100$ kilt.

More common tartans will be easier to find, too...for example, if you pick Black Watch or Royal Stewart, chances are good that several dozen vendors have a kilt on the shelf and ready to ship right this second. In addition, this spreads the workload to many vendors, and other than being good karma, increases the likelihood that you'll get 37 articles of clothing in roughly eight weeks.

Finally, and knowing full well that I might get my head bitten off here, I will say that unless you're starting a pipe band, kilts are for guys, skirts are for girls.

-Sean

[RockyR]

Aside from Jerry at SWK, there are many vendors up here who have competitive prices for bulk orders on quality kilts... even low priced ones. SHO kilts, FK, USAK, etc... go down the list of advertisers.

[MartinGrenoble]

There are kilt merchants on the celtic fringes of Europe, you know. No need to have your kilts transported from the other side of the Atlantic.
Everyone pretends to hate "Heritage of Scotland", but they cater for all tastes, and many of us are quite happy with their service.

Martin