Hmm...a hiccup with Lochcarron

[madmacs]

Wow, that is just inexcusable.

Were it me, though, I'd probably want to give them a chance to regain their honor. I think you can be pretty sure that with the manager shepherding it through the process personally you'd end up with, if anything, an even more meticulously made kilt than you would have if your original specs were followed.

While I can agree with Dale's comment somewhat, I would probably ask myself and Locharron where the communication breakdown occurred.

I would have expected there to be some QA/QC in place that would check order vs delivered item prior to shipping... But having just been bought out i'm sure there's a lot on peoples minds there...

[OC Richard]

Sorry to say, but my quarter-century of dealing with Scottish firms has made me fairly jaded, and I myself would have never imagined that they would have had the kilt finished when I happened to arrive, no matter what date was agreed upon beforehand.

I myself wouldn't have begun expecting anything until around double the quoted wait time.

And poor communication about sizing etc seems nearly universal as well, sorry to say.

Did you see a load of MacDonald kilts being sold on Ebay? They're listed by the mill/maker, the listing saying that they were returned by the pipe band because they were all pleated to the sett rather than to the stripe as ordered. Image that, making 30 or so kilts all the wrong way and nobody noticing.

I had an incredible experience with diced hose tops. I have 18" calves so I can't wear ex-MOD hosetops. I ordered them from the very maker who makes them for the Army. I sent them measurements, both in inches and in centimeters, so as to be completely clear. When the hosetops came they were tiny, the size for a child, in fact would fit snugly around my wrists.

I sent them back and they apologised and sent a second pair. These were at least an adult size, but far too small for me. Mind you, these were very expensive bepoke hosetops, supposedly woven to my measurements.

So next I took some ribbon, put it around my calf, and sewed it, forming a loop which made the size of my calf absolutely clear (measurements in inches and centemeters didn't seem to have any meaning to these people) and I mailed this loop of ribbon to them. They sent a third pair, slightly bigger yet, but still rather tight.

There seemed to be no way on earth to communicate a size to them.

Compare this to the local shop where I went in to get measured for bespoke full tartan hose: the fellow measured me, sent off the order, and when the hose came they fit perfectly. (Actually if anything a tiny bit large, which I don't mind at all.)

[pascs]

Sorry to hear of your problems and an incorrectly produced kilt is pretty inexcusable. Once the sizes have been given there is no excuse for making it the wrong size.

But please dont tar all Scottish kilt makers with the same brush. I recently needed to have a 16oz kilt made at very short notice. The kilt maker I used phoned the lady who makes the kilts and confirmed that it could be done by the date required. I provided my sizes and when I arrived in Scotland on the date given and the kilt was ready and perfect fit

[figheadair]

Don't be tempted to wear it. Contact Lochcarron (email so you have an audit trail), explain the error and ask them to correct your order at their expense. Note the return postage and ask for a refund of that too.

[1oldsarge]

You might check if a reputable kilt maker in this country could shorten the kilt. Might be a way to salvage this yet.