Need advice for christmas.

[Satirist]

I've bought my 2 sons ages 9 and 11, stillwater kilts for christmas. No problem there. They both love kilts and have wanted them since summer. The problem is that my daughter age 7, also wants one. She knows that boys kilts are different than girls kilts, but she wants to match her big brothers. So my question is: Where can I get a girls kilted skirt in the royal stewart tartan? I can't seem to find one locally.

[Sciuropterus]

Just get her the same kilt you got your other kids. Women in pipe bands wear kilts that open on the right, no big deal.

I guess it is a double standard, I would not be caught dead in anything that opened on the left, but I have no problem with women wearing a "men's" kilt that opens on the right.

[Mike n NC]

You might run a check on ebay, I see childrens kilts and kilted skirts on there quite a bit.

Mike

[Freelander Sporrano]

Kilts for girls. Generally the aprons are open on the left and the pleats run the other way.

There must be loads of places on the net that would sell you a girls skirt for your Daughter

However I'd get a boys kilt if time is short and It may be alright as your lads will have the same

I don't know what the lads would think of it however

[Barb T]

Hi guys

If we're talking _traditional_ kilts here, then there's only one kind of kilt, and it's a man's garment. Traditionally speaking, women aren't supposed to wear kilts. So there's really no such thing as a man's kilt and a woman's kilt. There's just a traditional Highland kilt that is hand stitched, typically has 7-8 yards of tartan, opens on the right (from the perspective of the wearer), comes to the top of the knee cap, etc. Now, before anyone gets all lathered up, remember that I'm talking about traditional kilts here!

There is another garment called a kilted skirt that opens on the left, is commonly longer than top-of-the-knee, is made of lighter fabric, is usually machine-stitched, and has much less fabric and none of the traditional internal construction of a traditional kilt. This isn't a "woman's kilt" (which is really an oxymoron), but it is a garment that women commonly wear.

Having said all this, lots of women wear kilts. I mean real, traditional kilts described in paragraph one. Any woman in a pipe band wears a traditional kilt, and all girls (except the wee ones) and women who compete as Highland dancers wear traditional kilts that open on the right and have all of the same kind of construction as a "man's" kilt. That's one of the reasons it costs so much to outfit a Highland dancer - they aren't dancing in costume but rather in the national dress of Scotland.

When women were first allowed to compete in the Highland dances in the 40s or early 50s (Sword Dance, Fling, Seann Triubhas, etc.), they had to wear the same outfits as the men, sporran and all (I've seen pictures of my daughter's Highland dance teacher in those outfits!). Over the last few decades, the girls now wear velvet vests, blouses with puffy sleeves, and no sporran, but the kilt has stayed exactly the same. See pic below.

So, I think your daughter needs a regular kilt! Think about some of the gorgeous dress tartans woven by D.C. Dalgliesh. The tartans in the pic below are the Antarctica (far left), Dress Nova Scotia (the other blue and white one), and I think the green one you can see more of is Dress Green Lindsay (although I'd have to check). The other green one that you can barely see is Dress Green Cunningham.

Cheers,

Barb

[Rob]

I've bought my 2 sons ages 9 and 11, stillwater kilts for christmas. No problem there. They both love kilts and have wanted them since summer. The problem is that my daughter age 7, also wants one. She knows that boys kilts are different than girls kilts, but she wants to match her big brothers. So my question is: Where can I get a girls kilted skirt in the royal stewart tartan? I can't seem to find one locally.

Satirist,

Elijah (an Xmarks member) is advertising girl's kilts on his King Kilts web site.

http://www.adamsweb.us/kingkilts/prince.htm

Rob

[dana]

Hi guys



Antarctica (far left), Dress Nova Scotia (the other blue and white one), and I think the green one you can see more of is Dress Green Lindsay (although I'd have to check). The other green one that you can barely see is Dress Green Cunningham.

Cheers,

Barb

Hi Barb,

There's an Antarctica tartan? I've been to the "ICE" two times now, so that would be a meaningful tartan for me. Very cool. I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the info.

dana

[Barb T]

Hi Dana

You can order both the Antarctica and the Arctic tartan from Ros Jones on the Isle of Mull at http://www.celtictartans.com/our_own_tartans.htm
The web site also has description of what the colors stand for. It's a nice weight for a lighter kilt (it's a D.C. Dalgiesh weave), and it also makes a swell heavier shirt. My husband's worn his Antarctica tartan shirt south of the Antarctic circle several times.

Cheers,

Barb

[Jimmy Carbomb]

I've bought my 2 sons ages 9 and 11, stillwater kilts for christmas. No problem there. They both love kilts and have wanted them since summer. The problem is that my daughter age 7, also wants one. She knows that boys kilts are different than girls kilts, but she wants to match her big brothers. So my question is: Where can I get a girls kilted skirt in the royal stewart tartan? I can't seem to find one locally.

SHOOT! If she was older, I could have sent you one. There's a closet full of women's "skilts" here that aren't being used. Unfortunately, they're way too big for her. Any smaller ones are being worn by my 6, 12 and 13 year old daughters.

Try asking Kelly at USAKilts. If you give her the measurements and the tartan, I'm sure she could kick one out in no time... even in time for Christmas. But, you'll need to do this FAST for shipping. Tell her that it's for a smaller child and you MIGHT just get a price break too. We used to do kid's kilts all the time, and even have outfitted parade groups.

[Satirist]

Thanks for all the help guys. I think I'll go with the first suggestion. It's almost like an omen. Sciuropterus is in MN. Stillwater Kilts is in MN. My kids are spending the holidays with their grandparents. Guess where? Yep MN. I can just have them shipped right there and it's local, and inexpensive compared to some others. Thanks again everyone.

Oh, and Barb, You are just full of kilt information. Thanks. Nice pic.