I got a new kilt last week but have not had a good opportunity to take it out for a stroll til I looked at my work schedule today and discovered I would be in the office, no meetings, no travel, no patient care, for the whole day---perfect for a workday kilted.
A few months ago I came across a seemingly new Glasgow based online kilt and other highlandwear store called thetartanstore.co.uk that was different from others and did not seem affiliated with any other of the known stores I have haunted before. They had some interesting stuff, including some nice looking modern jacket and waistcoat combos in novel but very attractive materials. They offered a “grand opening” 20% off and free shipping coupon so I decided to look around a bit more and came across an interesting finding in the machine sewn kilt section, the fact that they would make a kilt in any tartan listed in the Scottish Tartan World Registry (STWR), with no extra charge for custom weaves. Between the discount and the custom weave potential, I was bitten by the bug to try them out by ordering a new 8 yd 16oz kilt in custom weave and relatively unknown Douglas Brown (STWR 2523), a modern color version of a Douglas tartan variation listed in Bishop and McBain’s tartan book with colors similar to the weathered Douglas but modern and far more vivid. I have a thing for Douglas variants (Ancient, Ancient Red, now Brown, and hopefully Weathered someday) as our family was affiliated with the Douglases in the border regions. After three months (I was notified shortly after ordering that there would be a delay due to the custom weave, but no additional charge) I received a tightly wrapped package containing my kilt compactly folded once each way into a quarter of its normal size. Standard three rows of basting stitches. Besides a few extra wrinkles that are a bit stubborn to even repeated hits with my steamer it seems like a very nice kilt. The fell and pleats are well lined up, generally invisible stitches, 3 quality buckles and straps and two belt loops, standard lining and construction otherwise, with a triple fringe front apron. Fit is spot on in the next to last of 6 strap holes (I have lost some weight recently). They sent a notification of shipping and tracking via Parelforce but it did not work, with the kilt arrived about three weeks later via USPS. Kilt used 7.7yds of linear tartan along the selvedge, appears to have been made of likely Dalgleish tartan (that nice feeling finish and a standard not tuck in selvedge), has 30 two inch deep pleats with one inch reveal each, and one reverse pleat about an inch and a half deep along the right margin of the under apron. NO problems IMHO with the kilt or the service, a great price and a custom weave rare tartan, definitely comparable to other machine sewns I own and difficult to tell from the few handsewns I own at casual review. And free flashes too---the nice rectangular ones with the bottom fringe, not the chevron cut ones. Pictures as below after being worn all day while I sat at my desk then drove home in the car, and ate dinner, so pardon the few extra wrinkles. Straight on rear pleat shot a bit too wrinkly to show ---must steam and maybe iron some soon.
I am still personally stuck on a custom kiltmaker making most of my kilts but could not pass up the opportunity to get a custom weave rare tartan machine sewn tank that cost me less than it probably would have cost me to get the custom weave tartan done alone. And I remain interested in some of their other accessories, specifically their kilt jackets and waistcoats.











Now to see how much luck it brings me on the golf course.

jeff