Checkered Kilt Hose Etiquette?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

While it is true that argyle hose is usually often expensive, Hawick Sock Company makes a fairly large range of it that go with many tartans, and at reasonable prices, often retailing at less that US$60. The problem is finding retailers who carry them. Or how to buy them directly from the manufacturer.

Hawick Sock Company (real name is House of Cheviot) does make full Argyle hose, but absolutely not at $60 or less retail!

They make the Lewis hose we carry, which are solid color, and retail for $48. And this is about as low a retail price as we could sell them at and not lose our shirt on shipping costs, etc.

They also make the Balmoral hose we offer (which are a solid sock with a entralac top). These retail for $150, and again, that's about as low a retail price as we can offer these at (the tops are knit by hand).

We are, hopefully, in the new year going to begin offering diced and full argyle hose from them through our gift shop, and I anticipate the retail price being between $200 and $250, though I will try and keep that as low as I can. This is the same price range that you will find at most places, including Cuillin Craft, Highland Clans, Kenneth Short, and House of Tartan.

Note, I have not actually ordered argyle hose from the above companies, but I am providing links to their web sites for the purposes of price comparion. (Remember that the pound to dollar exchange rate is currently about 2:1). I know that Highland Clans carries other hose from House of Cheviot, so I would suspect that their argyle and diced hose come from them, as well, but I cannot confirm that. Kenneth Short is another hosiery firm in Hawick.

In short, unless you come across a real steal of a deal, you are not going to find an inexpensive pair of Argyll hose that is not also a cheap pair of hose. J. Higgins offers diced hose for $60. I have personally owned a pair of these and were not impressed with the quality. But you get what you pay for. If one needed diced hose and could not afford the price, these are a good alternative. But I wouldn't reccomend them as a matter of course. Higgins used to offer custom Argyle hose at about $75, I think, but I no longer see them listed on their web site. I've known two or three people who ordered them and none were happy with their purchase.

If someone were looking for a good deal on Argyle hose, House of Tartan has some listed on a sale page, for just over $100. These are pre-made, so you have to be happy with the colors and sizes that are available.

Then in my searching I came across this page offering custom hand knit argyll hose for $145. I have not done business with them, so I cannot speak of the quality, but if they are any good at all, that's a very good price for a pair of hand knit full tartan hose. If anyone has done business with them I'd like to hear what your impression of the socks was.

In short, argyle (full tartan) hose and diced hose are going to be expensive, no matter how you cut it, if you want any kind of quality at all. These are, for the most part, going to be custom ordered products, either machine knit in very small quantities, or hand knit to order. The upside is that if you buy from a reputable source, you will be getting a very fine quality product that will last a very long time -- and that's the real definition of "frugal!"