Popularising Kilts by Bringing Prices Down

**Ugly Bear** · 26th January 06, 04:23 AM

Originally Posted by Ackwell

I wouldn't trust a kiltmaker named "McKilts"... How cheap can you make your company name to sound?

Huh? So having a name that begins with "Mc" makes you cheap? Dabbling with an ugly Scottish stereotype, are you?

Sadly, that seems to hold in this particular case. The website itself says, "Don't accept inferior knockoffs." Boy, who knows how many sales they talked themselves out of with that line?

**AckZel** · 26th January 06, 05:52 AM

I didn't mean that. But it sounds like a souvenir shop doesn't it? Just using "Mc" beginning doesn't make a shop really 100% Scottish right? It feels they just try to ride with the "Mc". They try to make it look good and respectable by wrong means. "Mc" won't make you cheap by using it wrongly will. (By the way, motorbike club called "MC Kilts" would be just too cool!)

**cessna152towser** · 26th January 06, 06:09 AM

Thanks all for your comments. I'm just looking for a cheap casual kilt for loafing around in; the three kilts which I currently own are all serious quality kilts which are too good for nipping out to the shops or sitting around the house and garden. On another thread, the kilts made by Mercy, although aimed at the punk/goth market, seem to have had a more favourable reception on this forum and despite their cheap price and use of cotton/polyester, seem to look like a more accurate representation of the male scottish kilt, so I may decide to get one of these, which at £24.99 seems a reasonable buy for the money. The McKilts come in around the same price and sounded tempting as they are marketed here in Scotland (some of the tourist shops in places like Edinburgh and Fort William stock them, compared with the Mercy kilt which seems to be only available by mail order) but from what I've seen and read I don't think the McKilt would pass muster.

**GlassMan** · 26th January 06, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by cessna152towser

Thanks all for your comments. I'm just looking for a cheap casual kilt for loafing around in; the three kilts which I currently own are all serious quality kilts which are too good for nipping out to the shops or sitting around the house and garden. On another thread, the kilts made by Mercy, although aimed at the punk/goth market, seem to have had a more favourable reception on this forum and despite their cheap price and use of cotton/polyester, seem to look like a more accurate representation of the male scottish kilt, so I may decide to get one of these, which at £24.99 seems a reasonable buy for the money. The McKilts come in around the same price and sounded tempting as they are marketed here in Scotland (some of the tourist shops in places like Edinburgh and Fort William stock them, compared with the Mercy kilt which seems to be only available by mail order) but from what I've seen and read I don't think the McKilt would pass muster.

If you really want a reasonably priced kilt that actually looks good, checkout Stillwater Kilts Economy line.

**Colin** · 26th January 06, 09:49 AM

They look like cheap Pakistan kilts. A lot of the tartans are just not "right" in terms of colouring. If you want a cheap kilt for just knocking around, go for a Stillwater or a contemporary one like Freedom Kilts (utility is good for kicking around when there is a pocket for the remote

).

Seriously though if you want a kilt for kicking around, don't go for the cheapest option. Spend a bit extra and get something you would still be proud to wear out and about. Don't fall victim to the "hey look how cheap these Sportkilts are....." scenario.

**Hamish** · 26th January 06, 05:36 PM

Well, it looks like you guys have got the message!

I have seen these 'kilts' in the 'tourist-trap' souvenir shops around Scotland, particularly in Edinburgh, and they are absolute rubbish - I'd not buy one to use as a cleaning cloth for my car!!

Just look at the photos: there is no shape because the pleats hang from the waistband; the pleating either to sett or stripe is non-existent; there is little attempt at alignment of the tartan - need I go on?

The website is that of a wholesale company which is looking for new retailers to take the line. I doubt they would sell a single kilt to an individual at retail level ............, but on the other hand, if there's a fast buck to be made.....!

At least they are honest in stating that they import their goods, but do not let on exactly where they source them - almost certainly it is from the Pakistani or Eastern European sweat shops.

Yes, these are precisely what the long-established, genuine kiltmakers are up in arms about - not because of the ridiculously low retail prices but because of the damage that is so quickly done to the fine reputation of those master craftsmen by the sales of such trash to unsuspecting tourists.

**Manu** · 26th January 06, 06:00 PM

I guess all these posts can be summarized in a single sentence...stay away from these rags!!!!! Stillwater is definetely far better choice than that, or maybe Amerikilts for instance.

**ByDand** · 26th January 06, 06:13 AM

Their web page says it all when they say "our kilts are exclusively imported by us". The custome kilt page says they need an order for 500 kilts!!! Glassman is right when you take a close look at the kilts they do seem to be of questionable quality. Personally I'll stick with what we have here on the site and those who contribute to us. I think this is why the Scottish kilt manufacturers are up in arms over CHEAP knockoffs. With truth in advertising, maybe McKilts should be called McKnockoffs!