Weathering

[Hamish]

I have to disagree with Ron's advice, somewhat, regarding a choice for your first kilt.

In my opinion, unless you know right off that you are going to own more than one kilt, your first kilt should be very versitile. That means something you can wear with a t-shirt at the highland games, and something you can dress up with a bow tie and formal jacket to attend the tartan ball.

A camo kilt, or other non-traditional style, usually just isn't going to cut it across the spectrum for versitility.

So if, for the time being, this kilt is going to be your one and only, I'd reccomend a traditional tartan kilt, as suitable for all occasions.

As far as the wool getting wet, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. It's not going to damage the wool one bit. If you get caught in a real downpour and the kilt gets absolutely saoked through, you will notice it is a lot heavier! But then again, if you are in that kind of a downpour, all your clothes are going to be soaked regardless.

The one thing to remember when your kilt is wet is not to sit down in it for any length of time, as the moisture combined with your body weight will "press" the wrinkles into your kilt as you sit.

I have never had to "re-press" the pleats into any of my kilts except for once, and that was because, as I was packing up to go home from the Games, it began to rain. My kilt got pretty soaked, and then I sat in it in the car for an hour and a half driving home. By the time I got there the kilt was a mess! But a few minutes with the iron and all was well.

As for cleaning it, yes dry clean or spot clean works fine. I haven't tried the bath tub method myself, but I've been told it works just great. You won't need to clean it that often. Personally, I hardly ever clean mine.

Why not? Well, think about it. The kilt doesn't really come into that much contact with your skin. The pleats just hang losely about your legs, and at the waist, where it fits snug, you will have a shirt of some sort between your skin and the kilt. So the oils from your skin, and persperation, don't really come into contact with your kilt at all. Unless I spill something on the outside of my kilt, I don't feel the need to clean them -- and then, a little spot cleaning is usually enough to get the job done.

The less you take your kilt to the cleaners, the less wear you put on your kilt, and that's a good thing.

Aye,
Matt

Every word is spot on, Matt, as always.

Too many guys, mainly those new to kilt wearing, seem to be paranoid about cleaning their kilts. Some of my woollen traditional kilts have never been cleaned - even my oldest kilt, which was tailored for me over 30 years ago and which I wore incessantly through the '70s, '80s and '90s for my Highland Dancing and Scottish Country Dancing displays and demonstrations, has probably been dry cleaned no more than 5 or 6 times ....... and it still looks like a new kilt!

As for washing a wool kilt: there is no way at all that I would ever attempt such a thing.