New Kilt Day and some comparison

[RedBurbach]

Hello all,

I have enjoyed reading the wealth of info available on this site and finally found it fit for me to make my own first post and share some information for others to hopefully use.

I just received my new Stillwater Kilt in the mail today and I love it! It is the Weathered MacKenzie and the colors are perfect for fall and spring. This will be my second kilt and I thought it fit to compare it to my other which is a Tartanista I ordered online. The Tartanista is in the Black Watch tartan and both are listed as being acrylic.

I ordered both of these in a size 38 based on my measurements and to have the most overlap at the apron, I think that a 36 would fit, but I would rather get the straps moved than have an apron that is too short. Speaking of aprons, that is the main comparison of this post. In this post here Steve discusses how to measure a kilt for the waist which got me thinking about measuring other proportions of the kilt. I noticed that the apron on the size 38 Tartanista just did not fit the same as a 40 Tartanista or my 38 SWK. The front apron barely made its way across and it took carefully positioning for the apron to cover the under-apron. There was also a noticeable pull from the left side with the over-apron and pleats which I do not think looked good. Nothing was puckering or tight, it just looked as though there was not enough fabric used.

I went ahead and measured the front apron for all three of the kilts that I have Tartanista (38 and 40) and the SWK ( 38 ).

Front Apron at hem

• Tartanista 38 - 19.5in
• Tartanista 40 - 20.75in
• SWK 40 - 23.0in

Front Apron at waist

Tartinista 40 - 18in
SWK 40 - 19in




I find that the fit (not to mention the feel, color, and drape) of the SWK to be far superior to the Tartanista. This is to be expected at the change in price range. I also suspect that the change in price lends itself to a change in econnomy and material useage as is evidence in the measurements. Again, this is all my hypothesis from comparing the two of these kilts with what I have learned from you wise folks here. To my eye, they both have the same sort of flare or taper at the knee so the additional material of the SWK gives it a better fit and drape on my body ( and I suspect on others' as well!)

If anything is totally off or I'm missing something hugely obvious, let me know and we'll both learn. Otherwise, thank you so much for the awesome forum and I look forward to many years of posts!

[Liam]

Welcome to the forum!

[Crazy Dave]

Very glad to see that you like your Stillwater Kilt. I have been considering buying their heavyweight wool kilt in saffron. (I have both Scottish and Irish blood.) The company seems to be well thought of here. Did you buy the thrifty, economy or standard kilt? The only kilt I own to compare it to is a MacPherson Red Sport Kilt, which is my first kilt purchase, and I like very much, but I am certain there is better out there.

Dave

[RedBurbach]

Very glad to see that you like your Stillwater Kilt. I have been considering buying their heavyweight wool kilt in saffron. (I have both Scottish and Irish blood.) The company seems to be well thought of here. Did you buy the thrifty, economy or standard kilt? The only kilt I own to compare it to is a MacPherson Red Sport Kilt, which is my first kilt purchase, and I like very much, but I am certain there is better out there.

Dave

Dave, I went with the standard. Everything that I read seemed to point to just biting the (well priced) bullet and getting one from that product line. The wool is too heavy for my use and the limited tartan selection didn't help sell it either.

I was taking a look at the saffron as well before I made my purchase. As much as I would like to also represent my Irish heritage, I just couldn't see myself regularly wearing a saffron kilt. [Matching hair probably doesn't help sway me either! ;) ] I don't doubt that I would be a lovely kilt though. I like that the dye varies between the different roll of fabric being used and if the hand is like my Standard MacKenzie it will definitely look good on the wearer. I really like the fringe on my apron and I think with the saffron it would look stellar.

Also, they are still offering the 10% off on two kilts, which is what almost swayed me into getting two. For my next kilts I will definitely be considering SWK. If you have any other questions feel free to ask and I'll help as best I can!

[Crazy Dave]

I didn't see anything about 10% off, but the standard price is so reasonable that i'm not going to sweat it.

I used to have long red hair, but losing my hair has made we switch to a crewcut. When you lose your hair you have two choices, Larry or Curley and I have made my choice.

I did meet a man in a saffron kilt at the Irish Festival near Towson, MD. The kilt looked great!

Dave

[RedBurbach]

Having seen it worn in person and combined with the excellent economy of the SWK it is no doubt you'll enjoy it when it arrives. I forgot to mention, I picked up one of their kilt pins with my order (and a couple more for gifts) and they too are A1 quality with the detail on the pin. It lowered the cost on shipping a bit and at ~$12 was a nice addition the the ever growing collection.

[OC Richard]

It is the Weathered MacKenzie and the colors are perfect for fall and spring.

Congrats on your kilt! That's a beautiful tartan.

Perhaps due to the massive popularity of the TV show Outlander Weathered Colours are being seen more.

It's a trend I see beginning to get underway in the Pipe Band world, more bands turning to Weathered Colours and brown tweed waistcoats.

[RedBurbach]

Gents,

With regards to the front apron approximately how much should it 'curve around' or be in excess past your thighs? With regards to the flare of the apron, the SWK certainly has more fabric in the front apron than some of my knockabout kilts and I am just wondering if there is a standard on measurement and fit.

For instance, when standing and looking straight into a mirror should the front edges of the apron just evenly match up with the pleats on each side or should there be more coverage than that? On one of my kilts I have taken the buckles in so that it is smaller in the waist and now the front apron covers one of the right pleats (when looking down at it) and I like this look quite a bit.

For the left-hand side of the kilt, with knife pleating the pleats seem to want to 'open up' where they transition to the front apron. Is this normal or signs of less than optimal amounts of material being used?

[The Wizard of BC]

As I said before - Up at the level of the top strap, the width of the apron should be a little more than 1/2 of the waist circumference.
Down at the level of the hips, the width of the apron will be slightly less than 1/2 of the hip circumference.
How much this difference is down at the selvedge edge depends on the difference between the waist and hips. There is no set or 'standard' amount of flare.

But in the photo below you can see that the apron edge falls straight down from the hips along the line that would be the side seam of a pair of pants.

At the sides, the edges of the aprons should fall straight down and vertical. The apron edges should not splay open from the rest of the pleats. Not at all.
And the edges of the aprons should gently curve around the legs, not flip forward.




On the right side it is quite possible that the right edge of the outer apron overlaps the pleats. This is especially true of a kilt that has been made smaller.

The one thing that is very unsightly is when a kilt is too small and the outer apron does not fully overlap the under apron. Oh, an inch is OK as the under apron will just look like another pleat. But more than an inch and it quickly becomes very evident that the kilt is too small.

[OC Richard]

I know this thread isn't about historical kilts, but it is interesting to see how often Victorian kilts have narrower front aprons than modern kilts.

As Steve's photo shows, the front apron takes up around half the kilt's circumference.

But in Victorian photos the front aprons are narrower, the pleats coming around both sides: