If kilts were invented today they'd be sold by The Gap, Banana Republic, K-Mart, Mervyn's, Nike and Sears. Oh, and possibly REI. Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren would sell upscale ones.

So, for what they'd be made of, go to those stores and see what men's clothes are made of. What do men wear? Blue Jeans and Dockers, or the Gap's home brew of the same thing. How abaout Carhart work pants? Ditto for Old Navy, or whatever you want to pick. There are essentially no wool garments found in those stores, with the exception of REI. Can you go to Sears and find a nice pair of wool slacks? Nope. Ain't gonna happen. Kilts sold in those stores, which is where 95 percent of American men get their clothes, will be made out of the materials found there already. Polyester, cotton, acrylic and blends.

Go to a Nike store and imagine what a "Just do it" workout swoosh kilt would look like. It would be made of rayon. It would have an embroidered signature of some pro player on it or be made in the local basketball or hockey teams logo, licensed from the NBA or the NHL. It would cost $40. It would be pretty much like the Sport Kilts that we all love to hate, or the Lip Service kilts that everyone loathes.

The upper echelon of "nice" kilts, the ones you'd pay $100 - $150 for would be found in upper class men's clothing stores, sort of the Scottish equivalent of Armani or Ralph Lauren or Nieman Marcus. The Mens section in Macy's would carry them. Those are Bear Kilts and USA Kilts. The medium-end of those are not made of wool, but they'remade of something significantly nicer than poly-cotton or rayon. In other words...a Bear Kilt in poly-viscose. The "exclusive" section in the Macy's mens store or in the Armani outlet would carry $300-$400 wool kilts... Bear Kilts in wool or USA Kilts traditionals. Maybe a speciality shop would carry Balmoral Highlandwear $400 casual kilts in wool. Maybe.

When you go to a custom tailor where you pay $1,000 and more for a suit made to fit you, THAT is where the handmade $500 wool kilts that everyone loves to love would be found. However, are those clothes that regular people just wear around every day?