First Casual Kilt

[IrishRebel79]

What Dutchy said... I’ve bought five from Rocky and the guys at USA Kilts since March of this year. My wife calls it an addiction...

Sláinte!
-Rob

[lanejustin]

WOOHOO, the kilt will be here tomorrow! I was afraid I was going to be out of town already when it got in, but it turns out it's going to make it a day early. I'll post pictures ASAP.

[kingandrew]

I frequently wear my kilt when my wife and I go out to dinner or spend the day walking in the park. My wife (who is also pretty introverted and likes to "fit in") loves it and thinks I look great in it. So I'm lucky that way.

Perhaps she feels that I'll be getting all the attention and no one will bother her. But she is very supportive (indulgent?) of my kilt wearing. I've taken her to Burns Suppers and other such events and I generally wear the kilt with my Prince Charlie for formal events (such as galas and going to the opera), so she's used to me wearing it in a variety of situations.

And it's true that you will attract a great deal of attention from the ladies when you wear your kilt. If only I had known this back in my single days...

Andrew

[sailorruss]

I just bought my first custom kilt (my other two being a Utilikilt, and a cheap off the rack kilt I got at a Ren Fest). I ordered a Casual MacLean Hunting Modern, and am really excited to get it in to start wearing. I chose this particular tartan, as I am a Lane, and I figure that's pretty darn close. Also, I play Ingress, and much of my kilt wearing will be for events, where I play on the "green" team, the Enlightened. I will be using a Team pin for my kilt pin, which is not quite heavy enough, but I like the look of it. I'll try to post a picture of me in my full kit when I get it.

The one issue I've had so far is getting my wife to be "okay" with me wearing it out in public. I'd love to, but she'd prefer if I wore it to events that did not include her.

Although its the only kilt I own at this point, I have to say I'm really impressed and I enjoy my USA Kilt a lot. I got the Menzies (Dewar too!) tartan, and it is a great addition to my wardrobe. I have the same issue you do, but all my wife does is roll her eyes.

I'm out in Cocoa, FL if you ever want to say hello.

Best to you.

[Tobinn]

I'm trying to decide between the casual and the semi-traditional USAK. Outside of the basic differences of Velcro vs. Buckles and no fringe vs. fringe and the pleat size of 1.5" vs. 1" $100 vs. $220 what's the main difference? I see that the casual may have slightly less yardage. This will be my first kilt. I'm a rather traditional sort as far as style goes. I see the material is the same. Is there a difference in the construction? Is there a difference in the fit? I know that one can spend three or four times as much on a kilt but a couple of hundred dollars is a chunk of change to me and I want to make sure that I'm happy with my choice.

I did have a concern about the Velcro but, through other posts, it seems that Velcro plus belt = no worries.

As always - thanks for the advice and input!!

[Dollander]

I believe the main difference aside from what you already mentioned is indeed the fit. The casual is meant to be worn down at the trouser waist, while the semi-trad is worn at full rise just like a traditional wool kilt.

[Liam]

I'm trying to decide between the casual and the semi-traditional USAK. Outside of the basic differences of Velcro vs. Buckles and no fringe vs. fringe and the pleat size of 1.5" vs. 1" $100 vs. $220 what's the main difference? I see that the casual may have slightly less yardage. This will be my first kilt. I'm a rather traditional sort as far as style goes. I see the material is the same. Is there a difference in the construction? Is there a difference in the fit? I know that one can spend three or four times as much on a kilt but a couple of hundred dollars is a chunk of change to me and I want to make sure that I'm happy with my choice.

I did have a concern about the Velcro but, through other posts, it seems that Velcro plus belt = no worries.

As always - thanks for the advice and input!!

I think you would be happiest with the semi-traditional IMHO.

[Richrail]

I believe it is a lot easier to dress down the semi-traditional kilt than to dress up the casual.

[Tobinn]

I think you would be happiest with the semi-traditional IMHO.

I think you are correct, sir!

Now, does anyone have an opinion between the USAK Semi-traditional ($230) vs. the J. Higgins PV economy ($130)? On paper they're seem quite similar as both include buckles, belt loops, fringe and take full measurements. Both also use MM PV (I asked). So I wonder what the real difference is. I'm going to guess it's in the construction but I was wondering if anyone could further educate me.

As always, I am grateful for your opinions and advice!!

[RockyR]

From what I've seen (in person and on their site), the Higgins Value kilt seems to be a cross between our Casual and our Semi Trad. They have the pleat width (1.75" on the one I saw) and depth of our Casual, but the the straps and buckles of our Semi Trad. If their pleats are that wide, then they're likely using 3 to 4 yards or so of cloth per kilt. Our Semi Trad uses roughly 5 to 6.5 yards of cloth and has 1" wide pleats. While it may not matter in this particular case if you're looking for a clan tartan, USA Kilts has a dozen or so tartans that are exclusive to us in PV (American Heritage, Firefighters Memorial, Law Enforcement, Irish American, Ireland's National, Tara, US Service Tartans, etc) that no other company, even ones using MM cloth, carries.

As I have an obvious 'dog in the fight' with this question, I will leave it to others up here to discuss 'more subjective' differences / aspects of the kilts (quality, attention to detail, customer experience, etc).

Just to be clear, this is in no way meant to sound 'negative' towards another company. I'm simply explaining 'quantitative differences' and leaving subjective qualities to others to discuss.