Lets try this again

[McRocky]

At long last, ready to buy a kilt...
Lots of questions

first, traditional vs. casual
My band kilt is military/traditional, rides about an inch or two above navel, and I find it a little uncomfortable. I have considered a "casual" style, thinking that the only difference is that the casual rides lower, about where dress pants would sit...just on the hip. All other things being equal...belt loops, pleating, construction, are there other considerations in choosing traditional or casual?

second...the highlands of South Asia
There is a company in Pakistan called Greenland Pipe Company (where did they get that name???) who advertises kilts and accessories at prices that are too good to be true...8 yard kilt 70% wool, military standards for under $50...ghillie brogues for under 20. My first instinct is to dismiss this as, clearly, too good to be true. Anybody had any experience with these guys?

third...wool vs. polyviscose
are there advantages with polyviscose that I should know about? I have been told that it does not hang or move as well as wool...true? what about travelling...does one survive being packed in a suitcase better than the other?

fourth...
I have spoken to people at USA Kilts and ScotWeb. Any observations on how reliable they are? quality and satisfaction?

I have read some of the posts on this forum and got some good pointers already. Thanks to all...

Bruce

[Eleazar]

You be open'n a can-worms you are lad.

Sure to get plenty of opinions...

As for mine, I like both casual and traditional, depends on when and where I'm going to wear it.

I don't have a wool kilt, yet, but they do tend to be warmer I've heard.

Just my 2 cents, and I'm sure there are plenty more to come.

Welcome to the addiction!

[bricelythgoe]

I have had a 5 yard wool from Burnett's and Struth, a USAK casual, and currently have an 8 yard PV from Skye highland outfitters. I liked the 5 yard, but it was too warm for me. I LOVE the PV from SHO. I liked it so much that I sold the 5 yard wool so I could get a 6 yard PV. Most people will differ from me, however (they will recommend wool. SHO has that as well). I prefer PV over wool.

The reason I liked SHO was how flexible he was. He does not even list 6 yard kilts on his website, but I wanted one. After one e-mail to him, he gave me a price and agreed to make it. He was and is great to work with.

Just my opinion.

Brice

[Riverkilt]

You don't say where in the world you are or how you'll be wearing the kilt.

I'd be wary of "too good to be true" There was a far eastern company so advertising but not bothering to deliver or respond a couple years ago. Think it had a different name and was pushing hemp kilts though. Search this board for threads on kiltmakers you're interested in.

Remember - you can have any two of price, quality, or service.

Learn the difference between kiltmakers and middlemen. I have come to prefer working direct with kiltmakers - less chance for error, no middleman to pay.

I highly recommend knowing the name of the kiltmaker, not just the person who "can get it made for you, or had it made and surprise, its your size."

I heard so much good stuff about USA Kilts I thought it was too good to be true. But I risked ordering one. Now I've ordered 13 USA Kilts casuals and 12 USA Kilts Semi-traditionals and I have a new Texas Bluebonnet tartan kilt on order in the semi-trad. So far so good. Rocky delivers.

If you're looking for a quality wool hand sewn kilt I recommend you check the credentials of the kiltmakers you review and find out if they're full time or part time kiltmakers. You can check my gallery to see my choice, but you may prefer someone else for multiple reasons.

This is the fun part - reviewing the options. Really doesn't make too much difference who you pick first since you'll be hooked and buying kilts from other kiltmakers anyway.

[Eric Schutte]

McRocky, I have recently received (2) 16 oz. handmade wool kilts from Strathmore Woollens of Farfor, Scotland.(They have lighter weights too!) These kilts will last my whole life and they are handmade. I dealt directly with Jonathon Brown, who is the sales manager. I received my kilts within about 30-45 days after ordering them. GREAT COMPANY and GREAT PEOPLE. The cost was VERY reasonable at about 505.00 USD delivered. Anyway, you might want to at least check them out. Just google up Starthmore Woollens.....

Just my .02 worth, but I am VERY happy with what I have received!!

Take care, McRocky

Eric Schutte

[gseven1]

Just to add my opinion here, I really like the wool kilts for the winter, they are definitely warmer. In the summer however, I love my casual UK's. The pockets are absolutely wonderful.

[NewEnglander]

I recently ordered a wool kilt at the traditional (above navel) height and after having it for a month returned it to the kilt maker to have it hemmed so I would be able to wear it at the lower "pants" waist. Looking at a lot of the pictures on this forum, I personally have a hard time telling traditional vs casual waists in even formal pictures. Could just be me though.
One of my other kilts is a PV casual from Rocky at USA Kilts. It's a wonderful thing. Cool and comfortable, I actually wore it on a 3 mile hike yesterday, but have dressed it up for family holidays as well. Their customer service there is great too. If you have any questions at all, just give them a call or drop Rocky an email. I recently ordered another casual kilt from them and they helped out by sending me tartan swatches to check out ahead of time and to walk me through some measurement questions.
I can't speak for Scotweb as I've never ordered from them before, but a search here on XMTS will very likely turn up plenty of info for you to consider.
Best of luck...and remember, without pics it didn't happen!

[Antonio]

Rocky did my 8yd 16oz Italian-American... and he did it quick... it was like 2 months from conception, design, weave, then build! He's currently making me an 8yd 13oz American Heritage! I highly recommend USA Kilts!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Regarding the $50 kilts you mentioned being offered, I can only reiterate Ron's advice -- you get what you pay for. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

On the matter of "casual" vs. "traditional," I can only advise you that these terms do not really have universal set-in-stone definitions. People seem to be honing in on the rise of the kilt. However, if you ordered a "casual" kilt from our gift shop, we have them made to wear at the natural waist, just like a traditional kilt. In our case, the only real differences between the two are that the casual kilt contains about half the cloth, and is machine stitched rather than hand stitched.

So you really first need to decide on who you are going to get your kilt from and then talk to them about what the differences are in their kilt styles.

Keep in mind, too, that kilts are designed to be worn high, at your natural waist. I find that sometimes men find that it takes a little while to get used to wearing a garment at their natural waist only because most men's pants today are made to be worn lower on the hip. But once they get used to the higher waist, they are fine with it.

As the kilt is designed to be worn at the natural waist, it should not really be uncomfortable when it is worn there. So I wonder if perhaps there is some other problem with the fit of your kilt that makes it uncomfortable to wear.

Also, the kilt looks better worn at the natural waist. To my eye (and I think many are of the same opinion), when a kilt is worn lower down on the hip, it always looks a bit off, like the kilt is slipping down or about to fall off -- or like the person wearing it didn't really know about kilts and how they are designed to fit.

So I'd personally give the high waisted kilt another try, especially if you can get one tailor made to your measurements. I think you'll find it more comfortable and better looking than you might imagine.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Another thought -- you mention your band kilt is a military kilt. Many military kilts have a 4" rise above the waist, while civilian kilts typically have a 2" rise. Both are worn at the natural waist, but perhaps the extra high rise of the military kilt is what is causing your discomfort?

Also, military kilts are typically of a much heavier weight wool than civilian kilts (regimental cloth today is typically 18 oz, but in the past has been as high as 22 or 24 oz, wheras 16 oz is considered "heavy weight" for a civilian kilt). Again, this might be a factor in how your band kilt feels when you wear it.