outfitting an entire band??

[highland mafia]

So... After many years of playing in several pipe bands myself and 11 other like minded players are finally in a position to start a new band. We will be focusing nearly entirely on competition. We'll be starting in grade 3 this summer but hope to move to grade 2 the season after. We need to outfit 6 pipers and 6 drum corps (3 sides, 2 tenor and a bass). But we want to do it a wee bit away from the norm. Firstly we want a nice daywear outfit. We're thinking isle of skye tartan, a nice earth tone tweed vest with a bit of a pattern (maybe a brown with a purplely line?). A brown daywear sporran, white shirt, and striped tie to pick up a few of the common colours in the tartan etc. But we don't have a ton of sponsorship funds. Especially after drums and chanters. So we need to keep the uniform costs down as much as possible. Also we have all roasted in the humid south western Ontario summers over the years. So after much thought I am leaning towards USA kilts. But I'm curious if you think a 5 yard kilt would hang well for a pipe band? Or should we really stay with an 8 yard? What weight cloth would be best for a 5 yard and be cool enough for our summers? To be honest we'd even consider PV cloth if it was cool enough and still looked good! But man.. That seems too extreme. If there's any other ideas from anyone to keep cost down, look great, and stay comfortable I'm all ears!
Thanks