A few weeks ago, I mentioned three new kilts that I had acquired and promised to post photos soon. Fair enough, my "soon" has become "one day", and I am sorry for that, but I am here now.......

Firstly, for some strange and inexpliccable reason, I seem to be unable to post direct links here to individual images in my Photo Album at IMFF.net as I have done in the past, at least not links that work. I'm having to ask you to access that photo album via this link:
http://albums.imff.net/hamish
go to page 8 of it and scroll down to the last four images. Each of those is a thumbnail and can be enlarged (maybe twice) by clicking on it.

The first two images of those four show a new tweed kilt I discovered at The House of Bruar ( www.houseofbruar.com ), a very expensive-looking country clothing firm in Perthshire, Scotland. It is the only kilt they list and is tucked away under 'trousers' in their on-line catalogue, but it's great! It is machine stitched and is equipped with two high-quality leather straps/buckles. It is off-the-peg and consists of approximately 5½ yards of roughly 16oz tweed; it has 22 pleats, full-width aprons and a double fringe. The swing-factor is impressive, but that is obviously down to the weight rather than the yardage. I absolutely love this kilt but I had to call the firm for details of it because the website is sadly lacking in that area. At £195 I believe this to be excellent value.

Having said that, it is only fair to say that my pal, Dave W, having fallen in love with my kilt, ordered one for himself. He was disappointed in it (there was a flaw in the weave conspicuous on the top apron) and returned it. He received no apology for the faulty item, no apology for the inconvenience caused, and he had great difficulty in getting a full refund to include his postal expenses! He is not reordering, but I am more than content with mine and would still recommend the company.

It is probably obvious what the other two kilts are: Utilikilts. A Workman's in caramel to replace the very first Utilikilt I had, also a caramel Workman's, which was made for me by Steven Villegas himself back in 2000. I have worn that one almost to death and so it has now been washed, pressed, wrapped in acid-free tissue and is hanging, archived in dust-proof conditions, for future generations to wonder at!!!

The other is a Nightwatch Camo Utilikilt which replaces nothing. It's an addition to my "Kilt Kollection". This is a superbly lightweight and comfortable kilt, perfect for the rather extreme summer heat we've been experiencing these past ten days.

Both these Utilikilts were brought to England for me personally by Megan Haas, co-founder of Utilikilts, so whilst they are standard stock items, they do have a certain 'something' about them!

Again, apologies for the lack of direct links. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of gallery facilities here, I wouldn't know.